Venture Selection
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There is no shortage of ideas. Everyone can agree on that fact.
However, where communities and community groups get stumped is in determining which ideas are the best, the most impactful, when a community is dealing with limited resources (human, financial, space, etc.) How does a community choose the best projects to ensure that are efforts and resources are maximized? This is the most critical step in planning and the one most often overlooked. Thankfully, Golden is not the first community to go through this process and there are many tools available to help. The framework from Victor Cumming's Venture Selection course offered through SFU's CED certificate program is one of the simplest and best for framing discussions and planning (see figure below). 
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The following excerpt explains clearly the need for this often overlooked process.
"Robust development foundations need to focus on community capacity building. To develop community capacity, there is a need for strategic investments in service provision and the voluntary sector. People across northern BC are adamant about the need to provide health care, education, and social support services across the region in a manner that recognizes the realities of rural and small-town life. Such services are important not only for community development but also as a foundation for economic development, in terms of retaining and recruiting business and industry as well as residents. A critical part of accessing and mobilizing the full capacity of community infrastructure is to ensure broad-based participation of community members and interests. Including a wider cross-section of people and moving beyond the "usual suspects" in creating community plans strengthens local innovation and leverages different networks and sources of information (Canada, Industry Canada, 2003). By diversifying and opening opportunities for participation, the full spectrum of community assets - many of which may not be apparent using traditional scoping tools and processes - can be revealed and included in the mix of possible development options. Bringing individual capacities together similarly includes supports to develop the skills of working together and facilitating constructive local debate while resolving perceptual, strategic, or ideological differences. The purpose and goal is to acquire the education and skills required for success in the ever-changing global economy." - Victor Cumming, Venture Selection Course Notes, SFU CED Certificate Program, 2010) |
“…heritage conservation is, in fact, the only strategy that is simultaneously environmental responsibility, economic responsibility, and social/cultural responsibility. You cannot have sustainable development without a major role for heritage conservation, period.” - Rypkema, 2009
Evaluation Criteria
All too often, projects are selected because of political ambition or compromise. These are often follow the paths of least resistance but their legacy is of missed opportunity.
Developing open, transparent and defendable evaluation criteria is the first step developing viable ventures. How can one find a solution if it is not clear what the problem, resources and constraints are?
Evaluation criteria need to be important constraints. They should not be an easy-to-define list of generic goals, but rather specifically designed to help your organization or community "characterize the degree to which different alternatives are expected to meet objectives."
Good evaluation criteria can be used to:
- "compare alternatives accurately and consistently;
- expose trade-offs including trade-offs among different degrees of uncertainty;
- generate productive discussion about better alternatives;
- prioritize information needs;
- communicate the rationale for and improve the transparency of decisions." - Structured Decision Making, 2016
Using the real issue of lower Kicking Horse Canyon River access, examples of decision criteria could include the following:
- high probability of marketing & offering lower canyon raft tours in 2016;
- minimal costs to rafting outfitters and local community;
- high probability of safe operations;
- high probability of being accepted by CP and government;
- attainable funding for initial capital project;
- minimal long-term operational expenses;
- minimal environmental impact;
- maximize tourism product development opportunities.
The more stringent evaluation criteria you make, the easier it will be to create scoring separation for your alternatives.
It isn’t easy to define good evaluation criteria that are widely agreed upon by stakeholders, experts and decision makers. However, the up-front investment pays off in streamlined decision making, for two principal reasons:
- - because data, modeling and expert judgment processes are focused on producing decision-relevant information;
- because large numbers of very complex options can be consistently and efficiently evaluated by multiple decision makers.
- - Structured Decision Making, 2016
Developing Alternatives
The most exciting part of community development is imagining and expanding on a kernel of an idea. Perhaps you were inspired by something you saw in another community? Or maybe you problem-solved around an everyday experience? Alternative development is where ideas take shape.
Ideally, alternatives come from real issues or opportunities. It is often useful to go through some sort of brainstorming session with others so that you can identify all of issues, possible resources. There are many brainstorming tools available online.
Each alternative that could achieve the objective should have 'built out' to better understand it's benefits and costs (financial, time, energy, space).
Ideally, alternatives come from real issues or opportunities. It is often useful to go through some sort of brainstorming session with others so that you can identify all of issues, possible resources. There are many brainstorming tools available online.
Each alternative that could achieve the objective should have 'built out' to better understand it's benefits and costs (financial, time, energy, space).
Evaluation Criteria Weighting
Your group has brainstormed a long list of evaluation criteria and fought hard to whittle it down to 3 or 4 critically important criteria. To keep things simple, try using a scoring range from 0 to 5 points per criteria - 0 meaning the alternative does not meet the criteria at all, with a score of 5 for an alternative that perfectly matching the criteria. Once your group has done this for all the alternatives against all of the criteria, sum the scores up for each alternative. Try to make use of the entire scoring range so that over the course of the 3 or 4 criteria you will have some separation in the summative scoring.
Now, ask yourselves, "Are all criteria created equal?"
You may have a the criteria of creating a) an age friendly and accessible space, b) constructed in a high traffic area, but if achieving c) at or under $100,000 is a very firm constraint, you may want to have the ability to add additional weighting or points for alternatives that meet this more important criteria. Your group can assign a weighted rang of 0 to 10 points to the c) criteria, so that alternatives that better meet the budgetary criteria are rewarded with significantly more points.
Self test: if all of your alternatives score the same, and highly, on one criteria, perhaps you should edit or remove that criteria.
Now, ask yourselves, "Are all criteria created equal?"
You may have a the criteria of creating a) an age friendly and accessible space, b) constructed in a high traffic area, but if achieving c) at or under $100,000 is a very firm constraint, you may want to have the ability to add additional weighting or points for alternatives that meet this more important criteria. Your group can assign a weighted rang of 0 to 10 points to the c) criteria, so that alternatives that better meet the budgetary criteria are rewarded with significantly more points.
Self test: if all of your alternatives score the same, and highly, on one criteria, perhaps you should edit or remove that criteria.
Decision Matrix
With a set of strategic alternatives, your evaluation criteria and weighting determined, it's time to put them into a decision matrix. A sample matrix is shown below. Just include your criteria and alternatives. Then score your alternatives (A, B, C) against the criteria. Once you sum the scores (0-5 x 3 = 0-15 range), your highest scored alternative will be your preferred strategic course of action.
Contingency
While your highest scoring alternative is your preferred strategy, it is worth identifying a contingency strategy, which should be the 2nd highest scoring alternative.
Other Models
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Here is another selection model from Artscape. They call it the Project Assessment Matrix.
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