FINANCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE COMMITTEE
	TO:	Mayor and Members of Council
	FROM:	Stuart Taylor, Director, Strategic Services
	PREPARED BY:	Cathy Joyce, Manager of Community Partnerships
	DATE OF MEETING:	2004-Jun-28
	SUBJECT:	Partnership Policy

RECOMMENDATION:

That the policy guidelines for partnership, sponsorship and advertising activities attached as Appendix A in this report be approved;

PURPOSE:

The purpose of this report is to seek Council approval of policy and processes for partnership development and implementation within the Community and Fire Services Commission and across the organization.

BACKGROUND:

In the fall of 2001 the Town of Markham began a Core Service Review (CSR), which focused on identifying areas for organizational improvements and efficiencies. As the Review reached the end of its life cycle, a number of opportunities were deemed to be high priority core service implementation (CSI) initiatives; one of which was the Revenue Accelerator Project. This project identified potential revenue opportunities across the organization and produced a corporate revenue strategy that would enhance the finances of the Town of Markham. One of these opportunities was an integrated sponsorship strategy.

Incremental Approach to Implementation

The Revenue Accelerator project identified innovative concepts that will require research, policy development and process mapping, all of which will take time to implement. Currently, the organization is structured and resourced to move revenue accelerator projects ahead on a step-by-step basis.

Focusing on the “best” opportunities, cultivating them and then progressing into the next initiative will allow us to measure success, make revisions where required and evaluate our efforts against the following;

· Community and Council acceptance of the effort

· Alignment with the strategic goals of the organization

· Establishing a benchmark for return on investment measurement

· Ability to enhance the Town of Markham’s reputation

· Ability to manage risks

· Ability to leverage the knowledge and sustain efforts

Revenue accelerator programs provide the opportunity to enhance fiscal stewardship. These programs will also be considered in relation to our other Corporate Goals such as our desire to build quality communities and to achieve organizational excellence.

Current Situation:

Historically, departments have handled partnership activities on an individual basis resulting in:

· Limited opportunity to share information or measure customer satisfaction

· Lack of research and therefore no true partnership fit or targeting

· Virtually no opportunity for “big picture” partnering or clustering of services

· Low levels of relationship nurturing

· Sometimes bothersome repeat requests for support by multiple contacts from the Town of Markham

· Low level of recognition and limited ability to offer customized recognition

· Narrow perception of value and no opportunity to assign a collective value to partners who support the Town of Markham on multiple initiatives

· Limited communication and understanding of partnership activity across the organization

· Missed opportunities for corporate branding and messaging through consistent sales materials and presentations

The policy recommended in this report will allow us to respect, improve and in many ways capitalize on existing valuable relationships and partnerships.

Partnerships – Expanding the Opportunity

The Town already has previous experience and success in this area at our cultural venues. It would represent a natural evolution for the Town to expand partnership opportunities beyond cultural facilities; leveraging existing knowledge, identifying new opportunities, growing existing relationships and increasing the value to the Community and Fire Services Commission and ultimately the Town of Markham and its communities.

Research collected through a 1999 town-wide telephone survey (Recreation, Culture and Library Indoor Facility Master Plan) indicated that:

· Approximately 38% of Markham households utilized our Cultural venues;

· Approximately 57% of Markham households utilized indoor recreation and sport fields in Markham;

· Over 80% of Markham households utilized the Town of Markham Public Library facilities.

Annual attendance estimates for our major community centres (Thornhill Community Centre, Milliken Mills Community Centre and Centennial Community Centre) indicate over 1.2 million visits. The Town of Markham Public Libraries system generates about 1.6 million annual visits. The Cultural facilities collectively generate 200,000 visits on an annual basis.

These figures identify the opportunity to cultivate and expand our partnership thinking to include opportunities that not only touch but also enhance our facilities and services. Expanding Town of Markham product and service lines, clustering services for improved value to partners, and identifying new and innovative opportunities will improve revenue streams and ultimately build more solid relationships.

Long-term partnership success lies to a great extent in our ability to build and sustain genuine customer relationships built on mutual satisfaction and value.

This report recommends that to be successful and take full advantage of opportunities, there is a need to establish a centralized approach, develop consistent strategies and messaging and implement an information tracking system across the organization to coordinate partnership activities. This coordinated approach will allow us to identify innovative ways to enhance service levels, increase customer satisfaction and build better communities while reducing the impact on the Town of Markham’s tax base.

Partnerships – Three Main Keys to Success

There are three things that the Town must do well to advance these efforts:

1. Increase the Value:

Retaining customers and building partnerships through loyalty will ensure long-term success. Relationships need to be built in mutual benefit, offer customized recognition and provide new pathways for growth, the result is value, to the partner and in turn, to the Town of Markham.

Value is created when there is an understanding of partners, their business, and their aspirations. The Town should know their target audience and be able to identify gaps in their business that could be remedied through a partnership with the Town of Markham. This information can be matched against our service lines and potential markets to create customized recognition and successful partnerships built in mutual value.

This partner research and matching effort can be complemented with an integrated approach to advertising that offers the potential to increases partner exposure in the community.

2. Extend the Service Line Package

Partnership opportunities should include:

• Support of an existing service line such as Children’s Summer Camps, Holiday Recreational Swim and Skate sessions, Fire Prevention and Education, Seniors’ Programs…

• Launch of new and innovative services and programs and clustering of these opportunities

In many cases there is a need to work across the Commission and the organization to identify and extend partnership opportunities and develop sound policies to support the initiatives. The objective is to increase the potential for value, bring more partners to the Town and build relationships in mutual benefit that will flourish for many years.

3. Coordinate Corporate Efforts

To be successful, the Town of Markham needs to establish a coordinated approach to partnering. There is a need to track who is approaching whom, when they are approaching them and the circumstances surrounding the partnership. The intent is to filter this information through a single point of contact and establish a centralized approach, coordinated planning cycles, consistent strategies and an information tracking and control system. This approach will:

· Prevent duplication and overlap of effort

· Identify potentially larger opportunities

· Improve the partnership match and ensure mutual benefit while maximizing opportunity for growth

· Ensure efforts are tracked and communicated more effectively across the organization

· Allow performance measurements and customer satisfaction

· Improve partnering relationships (currently customers are being called by several representatives from the Town, all representing their own interests)

Each partnership will be diligently researched. Clearly defined objectives, well-defined responsibilities and accountabilities will be established.

Process for Cultivating Partnerships

It is recommended that a Partnership Networking group be established, comprised of representatives from each department in the Community and Fire Services Commission, key stakeholders and staff from across the organization.

Working together, the Partnership Networking group will uncover gaps in business and identify opportunities that are positioned for partnerships. Although the membership of the group may change, permanent representatives from Purchasing , Corporate Communications and the Strategic Initiatives Department would be part of the group. The group will solicit input from anyone with critical knowledge, expertise or interest in the partnership prior to negotiations. This process will ensure that existing policies and procedures are followed. This includes, but is not limited to, requirements for competitive bidding, ethical behaviors and conflict of interest policies.

A Partnership Activity Template (Appendix B) is attached to this report. Working through the template will lead to a complete partnership profile. The partnership opportunity will be valued, weighted and measured against pre-determined criteria for success outlined on the template. Strategies will be put to paper. Critical action items, timelines, accountabilities, lines for approval and communication strategies will be documented and followed. Performance measurement and customer satisfaction will be an important component of the template.

The Commissioner/s will review and be aware of all Partnership agreements. A Partnership Activity Template will be established and completed in full for any partnership with an anticipated value between $10,001-$25,000. Partnerships in this price range will require the approval and signature of the appropriate Commissioner and the Chief Administrative Officer. Partnerships with an anticipated value over $25,000 will require completion of the activity template, support of the appropriate Commissioner, Chief Administrative Officer and Council approval.

The responsibility for the coordination of the Partnership Networking group would reside with the Manager of Community Partnerships in the Community and Fire Services Commission.

FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS:

The 2004 budget identified revenue strategy initiatives with a total value of $725,000. Establishing a framework for the pursuit of partnerships that are based on ongoing attention to value and potential for growth can have a positive impact on this revenue target. However, this is not likely to take the form of a quantum jump in gross revenue generation but rather a progressive stream of new revenue that will flow into the organization over time.

ALIGNMENT TO CORPORATE OBJECTIVES:

Corporate Goals: Business Results:

Quality Community Customer Satisfaction

Fiscal Stewardship Staff Motivation and Satisfaction

Economic Development Financial

Organizational Excellence

BUSINESS UNITS CONSULTED AND AFFECTED:

All departments in the Community and Fire Services Commission, the Strategy, the Purchasing Department, the Financial Services Department, the Legal Services Department.

ATTACHMENTS:

Appendix A - Partnership Policy Guidelines

Appendix B – Partnership Activity Templates

____________________________________

Stuart Taylor Jim Sales

Director, Strategic Services Commissioner, Community and Fire Services

Q:\Strategic Services\Shared Data\Reports\Marketing & Partnerships\Partnership Guidelines May 4 2004.doc