---
title: Expert Coaching on Developing a Community Plan
description: Vibrant Communities’ proven appreciative inquiry approach supports poverty reduction groups to collaboratively establish a community-wide common agenda and poverty reduction plan
---

[The Latest ](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest)

# [Expert Coaching on Developing a Community Plan](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/crp-expert-coaching-on-developing-a-community-plan)

 Written by [Alison Homer](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/author/alison-homer) | April 5, 2020

Vibrant Communities’ proven appreciative inquiry approach supports poverty reduction groups to collaboratively establish a community-wide common agenda and poverty reduction plan. Our approach has been developed over two decades of export coaching engagements between Tamarack’s founder and Co-CEO, Paul Born, and a diverse range of cities and communities across Canada and beyond.

Municipalities and community organizations regularly develop, implement, and renew local strategic plans. However, a key challenge to the traditional strategic planning approach is that stakeholders and community members are often hesitant to undertake or buy into a vision that was developed through a process that did not meaningfully include them.

Engaging a diverse range of stakeholders, and incorporating their perspectives, motivations, and aspirations, bring incredible value to both the process and the resulting poverty reduction plan. Still, creating a common agenda is no easy task.

Vibrant Communities overcomes this challenge by supporting poverty reduction groups to strategically develop community-wide common agendas that embed a comprehensive community engagement process builds buy-in from their onset. Typically conducted over a 12-18 month time periods, this process empowers partners to co-identify priority areas, undertake quick wins, and set themselves up for development of a common agenda that all parties agree to.

Milestones of this collaborative approach to developing a community-wide common agenda and poverty reduction plan include:

- Convening a core team and taking stock 
- Planning and hosting a *Top 100* event
- Revising a group’s governance structure
- Engaging the whole community
- Writing a plan 
- Planning a big event to launch the plan

Poverty reduction practitioners recognize that to move the needle on a complex issues, such as poverty, they must engage individuals and organizations from across all sectors – public, private, non-profit and citizens. Vibrant Communities’ collaborative approach brings people together to learn, dialogue, and propose collaborative solutions. The process sets a community up so that by the time their plan is launched, it is already being implemented by a diverse group of committed partners.

*Vibrant Communities – Cities Reducing Poverty membership includes access to Tamarack’s Expert Coaching Centre where members can obtain intensive support towards developing a community-wide common agenda and poverty reduction plan.*

Read more:

- Access the full guide: [Developing A Common Agenda For A Poverty Reduction Plan](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/library/developing-a-common-agenda-for-a-poverty-reduction-plan?hsLang=en-us)
- Become a Cities Reducing Poverty member: [2020 CRP Membership Brochure](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/library/vibrant-communities-cities-reducing-poverty-membership?hsLang=en-us) | [Expert Coaching 1-pager](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/Events/Events%20No%20Longer%20Offered/CRP/Expert%20Coaching%20One%20Pager.pdf?hsLang=en-us) | [Email Alison](mailto:alison@tamarackcommunity.ca)
- Read a success story from Central Iowa: [Case study #1](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/hubfs/Resources/Case%20Studies/Case%20Study%20Central%20Iowa.pdf?hsLang=en-us) 

[View full post](https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/crp-expert-coaching-on-developing-a-community-plan)

```json
{
  "@context" : "http://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "Alison Homer"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2020-06-04T18:23:57.680Z",
  "datePublished" : "2020-04-05T18:23:00Z",
  "headline" : "Expert Coaching on Developing a Community Plan",
  "image" : {
    "@type" : "ImageObject",
    "height" : 2274,
    "url" : "https://cdn2.hubspot.net/hubfs/316071/VC/Images/developing%20a%20common%20agenda.jpg",
    "width" : 3679
  },
  "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://www.tamarackcommunity.ca/latest/crp-expert-coaching-on-developing-a-community-plan",
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "height" : 60,
      "url" : "/hs/hsstatic/content_shared_assets/static-1.4092/img/default-amp-logo.png",
      "width" : 60
    },
    "name" : "The Latest"
  }
}
```