Don Eastman's Key Note Address to Headwaters Communities in Action
Building Momentum Event - June 22, 2006
Hockley Valley Resort
Thank you to Steering Committee for their invitation.
Appreciate the invite, more than a little apprehensive of being asked to inspire and educate.
So tonight I will give some ruminations of a dyspeptic public servant.
I am by vocation an economic development practitioner,
I am by training a geographer
I am by nature just a curious guy who happens to be as fascinated by glaciated landscapes as I am with older industrial neighbourhoods in big cities.
I think one of the traits that I have brought to my practice is a desire to understand how things work together and an appreciation that there usually is more than one reason why things are the way they are.
So too, in developing a long term plan to chart a course for the future sustainability of a diverse region, we need to be aware of who else has a stake in our future, an understanding of how our actions impact others, and an appreciation of the need to listen, learn from others and give a damn about the future.
I am fond of the passage in the bible that a prophet is without honour in his hometown.
I think it speaks to the tendency we have to not think that we have the solution to our problems within our own grasp, that somehow the answer from an outside consultant must be better than what we hear from our colleagues, and that if only the province would give us more resources, our problems will be solved.
Let me tell you, that in 25 years of professional practice I have yet to see a local or regional government be satisfied with the resources or tax powers which senior governments have given them.
Truth is that the money all comes from the same place. There is always more demand than there is supply because we want it know, and we want someone else to pay for it.
This is certainly true with respect to health care, water rates, road widening, parks maintenance, ice time and lots of other public services.
But I am not here tonight to preach about fiscal restraint, or take a political side in a debate that will go on for as long as democracy exists.
No tonight I want to talk about the importance of collaboration or as I want to call it, a community catalyst.
Now those scientists that are here tonight or those of you that remember grade 12 chemistry…
You will remember that a catalyst is a substance that accelerates the rate of a chemical reaction but is not changed or consumed by the ensuing reaction.
I think that this apt parallel/metaphor for the process of developing a community development strategy.
We need to accelerate the collaborative process within the community to cope with, and find solutions to the increasing pace of change that is going on around us and placing pressure on our way of life, our way of doing business and our ways of seeing the world.
I have noted that your work to date has talked about social prosperity.
That is the ability to maintain a high quality of life and a good standard of living for its residents
It’s also about providing access to employment opportunities, community services, health care adequate housing and education.
In other words, it’s all the things that most of us, especially if you are around my age (52) took for granted when we were growing up.
But increasingly and tonight’s attendance is proof of that…
That we cannot take these things for granted…
It’s not someone else’s problem.
In a recent speech, our City Manager, Shirley Hoy reflected on some of the context around which we have to build our efforts to collaborate. I reflected on some of her thoughts in preparing my comments for tonight.
The reality is that to manage resources wisely and govern in the public interest different orders of government and different segments of the community must talk to each other and engage in a “controlled reaction” to manage change. It’s this reaction that we seek to catalyze.
I noted in the work that has been done to date that the strategic thrust of the work to date is to focus on the intersections of the spheres of health and well-being, education to employment and environmental quality.
It’s also worth realizing that over the years we have structured our systems of public administration and public service delivery in the context of social, economic and physical environments that generate needs, expectations, issues and conflicts that must be addresses.
These environments are constantly changing. It stands to reason then that our public institutors must change and adapt to the evolving context so they can remain relevant, responsive and effective.
But they don’t always do that well do they?
Governments are complex systems, that don’t react well to rapid change. The dramatic challenges that we are facing from increasing population growth, disaffected youth, lagging responses to community needs and the changing live-work pattern of our communities is not well served by the relatively immobile silos of traditional government structure.
These changes are being driven by increasing mobility:
- Mobility of people
- Mobility of goods and services
- Mobility of capital
- Mobility of ideas
Our laws and basic statures that define the roles of government were set up over 100 years ago in a time of limited mobility and narrow awareness.
When people, ideas, goods and capital move freely between territories, provinces and nations, the need for collaboration amongst governments and communities grows in direct proportion.
The mobility of tax objects means that decisions made by one level of government will invariably affect the fiscal situation and planning of another
Increased mobility also drives higher expectations of performance and accountability. We can see what others have, and we want it know. Similarly, we know almost immediately if something is wrong and we demand redress. Think about the prospect of the Watergate hearings in the context of today’s media scrutiny. Or think about the Gomery inquiry and the degree to which it uncovered inappropriate behaviour which only five years ago would have been unnoticed.
Mobility and communications technology also removes borders.
The economic/environmental/social/security problems of one jurisdiction become the problems of the one next door.
Smog doesn’t stay where it’s created. SARS impacts an entire provincial tourism economy; homelessness is not a problem solely in the central city.
In an increasing mobile society, the number of borderless problems and our interdependence will continue to grow.
Donald Savoie, in an article published in the journal, Canadian Public Administration, critically examines the new conditions for accountability under the changing conditions of contemporary governance. “When you draw boundaries," he says, "you not only establish space within which people can operate, you also draw a visible understanding of how things work. When you remove boundaries, you remove this understanding.”
This underscores the need to work hard at developing a new approach to tackling the issues and challenges in planning collaboratively.
It’s not always about creating a new organization but building or broadening the existing web of personal relationships for a broader purpose.
Ground Rules
So what are some of the ground rules that we need to establish in order to create a climate for successful collaboration?
- 1.We need to have an awareness of who is interested and who is involved in developing a plan for the future of our community. We need to have a mutual understanding of the extent of each others authority and roles
Now this may sound a bit odd because all of you here tonight share an interest in a sustainable future for Headwaters Communities. But in this time-poverty lifestyle that accompanies all this mobility I talked about, there is often a sense of “I’m alright Jack” and that this long range planning stuff is really government’s job. I won’t go so far as suggest we are our brother’s keeper, but we do share a responsibility to understand our respective roles to sustain the health and welfare of our communities.
Finding out who is interested and willing to get involved in a sustained long term community building project is one of the most basic conditions for success, yet its also one of the most difficult to achieve.
- 2.There needs to be a shared understanding of the definition of the problem or issue at hand.
Have we defined our challenges in common terms?
Quality of life is one of those oft heard expressions but it might mean different things to someone who just bought a five acre estate home in Caledon than to someone who grew up in Terra Nova and likes things just the way they were 60 years ago.
We also hear lots about fiscal challenges but again that means something different to someone in the private sector than someone who is a municipal politician or a deputy minister.
- 3.There needs to be a shared commitment to the outcome, to making things happen.
Charting the course for the future is not one organization’s responsibility alone. But judging by the participation tonight, this is already well understood.
You need to have measurable indicators of success so people can clearly see how you have succeeded.
Stewardship is not just participation.
- 4. There needs to be a mutual trust and respect between the parties
You may not like the Prime Minister or the Premier or the Mayor, but they have a job and a responsibility, and we need to work with the parties and governments we elect if we want democratic and legitimate change.
Similarly, community groups do themselves no favours by taking extreme positions and hijacking meetings to make a particular political point.
So there are my suggestions for the ground rules that must be in place to foster effective collaboration in a multi-jurisdictional and changing environment.
I can think of a couple of recent examples of community collaboration which have wrought change even in the absence of a specific planning or political jurisdiction.
Save the Oak Ridges Moraine
The first was the evolution of STORM, the Save the Oak Ridges Moraine.
The idea for a coalition on the Oak Ridges Moraine flowed out of a meeting in October 1989 of community-based groups and individuals concerned about development pressures in different areas of the Oak Ridges Moraine. It quickly became apparent that the stories were describing common local concerns of urban development, aggregate applications, disappearing forests and that this was a larger issue that extended over many watersheds and municipalities.
In March 1990, Save the Oak Ridges Moraine Coalition was officially incorporated as a not-for-profit organization. Recognizing the problems presented by multi-jurisdictional governance (24 area municipalities and eight regional and county upper-tier municipalities) along its 160-kilometre length, STORM's primary goal, from the outset, was to seek provincial legislation for the Oak Ridges Moraine, modelled after the highly successful Niagara Escarpment Planning and Development Act and Plan.
Closely related to this goal was the urgent need for ecosystem-based land-use planning that acknowledged the fragility of watersheds and headwaters regions. And since so many rivers, creeks and streams have their source in the moraine; STORM's active concern has extended to the watersheds on both sides of this height of land.
STORM played a key role in raising the profile of the moraine at both the local and provincial levels, resulting in an "expression of provincial interest" in the moraine in 1990 by the provincial government. STORM was appointed as one of 14 members of the provincial Oak Ridges Moraine Technical Working Committee from 1991 to 1994. This three-year planning study produced the first comprehensive long-term strategy for the Moraine in 1994. STORM was also involved in the citizens' advisory committee appointed to coordinate public consultation on the strategy. However, the province never implemented this long-term strategy.
On December 14, 2001 STORM's vision of moraine-specific legislation and provincial land use plan for the Oak Ridges Moraine was realized. However, experience tells us that regulation, on its own, is insufficient and that political will, an engaged and informed public and private and public partnerships are all essential to ensure long-term success.
The Monitoring the Moraine project is a response by citizens of environmental organizations to the need for broad-based partnerships and credible ecological and policy data about the state of the environment and implementation of the Plan.
Another example of community collaboration is the Alliance for a Better Georgina.
This community led initiative was led by concerned citizens in the municipality of Georgina, which had been created as one of the nine municipalities of York Region. Georgina, an amalgam of the towns of Sutton, Pefferlaw, Keswick, and several smaller hamlets like Baldwin, Egypt and Ravenshoe, collaborated on a community mapping project to define in greater detail the integrated natural environment and settlement history of the antecedent settlements, and has since moved on to develop a community plan that addresses environmental monitoring, youth involvement and civic pride in all corners of the broader community.
Collaboration
Much can be achieved when people come together in a spirit of common purpose.
Let me return to my chemistry lesson.
What is the catalyst?
The catalyst is collaboration.
The reagents that we need to bring together are:
- Creativity
- Connectivity
- Continuity
Creativity
The economic competitiveness of our communities will increasingly be driven by innovation and creativity. Whether you express success in terms of technological innovation by metrics such as new IPO’s or patents or percentage or R&D performed or number of knowledge workers whether you measure success in terms of new artistic and theatre groups, galleries, artists and local arts programs for youth, the key thing is to create a climate that nourishes and encourages creativity. Innovation by definition implies mistakes. It’s how we learn, not what we learn that is critical to being creative which forms the basis for future economic success.
Connectivity is something we already know about. Access to broadband and the exponentially increasing store of information on the Internet is a precondition to not only economic success but democratic and social inclusivity. Students without access to the internet are essentially marginalized, businesses that cannot download supply chain information on an as needed basis are disadvantaged and governments without electronic service delivery are increasingly irrelevant to a tech savvy and expectant constituency.
Connectivity
An interesting example of a community effort to build greater connectivity is the South Shore Community Broadband Network.
SSCB (South Shore Community Broadband) was formed to bring Georgina, East Gwillimbury, and Georgina Island into the broadband age. There is a misconception held by some that we are simply trying to find a fast, cheap way to connect to the Internet. No. We are bringing the Internet here, making it a permanent part of our local communication infrastructure. It will be available in rural areas as well as the more urbanized areas. As a cooperative community effort, the end result will be a product affordable by everyone. These are the advantages of being in local, not-for-profit hands.
SSCB began in December 2001 under the name of the Georgina High Tech Task Force. An open forum discussion group, it focused on the growing problem posed by the poor telecommunications infrastructure in Georgina and surrounding areas.
What emerged from this group was SSCB as an organization with a commitment to bring the best possible broadband service to our organizations and citizens at the best possible price.
SSCB was legally incorporated as a not-for-profit organization in September 2003, and operates on a community-wide partnership principle. The Board of Directors currently includes representation from the Town of Georgina, Town of East Gwillimbury, and Chippewa’s of Georgina Island First Nation, South Lake Community Futures, Georgina Chamber of Commerce, and 7 local businesses. In addition, they are encouraging participation from the Regional Government, the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority and other community organizations. In the future, they will also be exploring partnerships with our local school boards and social service organizations to implement programs that will ensure universal access to every local business and household, regardless of location or income.
Continuity
The last element in our catalysis is continuity.
Coming together is a beginning, developing a vision, and articulating a plan is an important milestone, but the real effort is implementation.
To be successful, a collaborative catalysis requires more than funding and organizational structure. It requires an ongoing participation by residents and stakeholders (an annual summit), a continued reassessment and constructive dialogue that asks “why are we still doing this?” and most importantly, infusion of enthusiasm.
Fortunately, enthusiasm can be one of the most plentiful and renewable resources on the planet. But it takes all of the above to really make the chemistry work.
I started out by telling you that collaboration can be the catalyst that can accelerate the process. I hope that I have given you some inspiration to move ahead in your efforts to plan organize and implement a new strategy that builds a community that our grandchildren will be proud to live and work in.
Biography of Don Eastwood
General Manager Economic Development, Culture, and Tourism, City of Toronto
Don was born in Montreal but grew up in Burlington Ontario.He attended the University of Waterloo where he obtained both a Bachelor of Environmental Studies (B.E.S.) in 1977 and a Master’s Degree (M.A.) in Economic Geography in 1982.
Don worked in the private sector for Dominion Life Assurance Company in Waterloo between 1978 and 2000.Don has been employed in municipal economic development since 1983, starting with the Economic Development Division of the City of Toronto, later moving to Halton Region in 1985, and then assuming the role of General Manager of the City of Cambridge Business Development Department in 1987, during the construction and start-up of Toyota Motor Corporation’s first Canadian automotive assembly plant in Cambridge.
In 1997, Don assumed the role of the founding CEO of the Canada’s Technology Triangle Accelerator Network (CTTAN) an initiative to provide early stage equity capital and advice to emerging fast-growth companies in the Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge area.In 1998, Don accepted a position as Director of Economic Development for the Regional Municipality of York.
Between 2002 and 2003 Don undertook the CEO role of the Oakville Economic Development Alliance during a time of restructuring.
Don returned to York Region in 2003 to oversee the development and implementation of York Region’s long term economic development and tourism strategy.
In 2006 Don was appointed to the position of General Manager, Economic Development Culture and Tourism for the City of Toronto with senior management responsibility for all of investment marketing, business retention, and economic research for the City of Toronto. Don’s additional management responsibilities include oversight of the operations of all of the city’s arts programs and service delivery, cultural and heritage properties, the implementation of the Creative City strategy and tourism industry development initiatives.
Don and his wife Pat reside in Aurora Ontario with their three children, Katie, Amy and Max.
