SASCI to Undertake Community Values Assessment

The Southwest Alberta Sustainable Community Initiative (SASCI), in collaboration with the Municipal District of Pincher Creek No. 9, is undertaking a Community Values Assessment intended to help the MD consider community values more effectively in decision-making and develop better practices for land use and land management. 

The Assessment will engage a broad spectrum of the public within the MD of Pincher Creek. The goal is to identify community values related to the natural, social, and economic environment.  The study will also consider the relative priority of those values, and identify factors contributing to convergence and divergence in values across the MD.  The findings of the Community Values Assessment, which will be made available to the public, will assist the MD and all stakeholders to assess the compatibility of proposed developments in relation to the community’s values.

The Assessment will employ a range of methods to engage a representative cross-section of the community.  The Assessment will begin with a telephone survey of MD residents in May.  A series of small group discussions with representatives of key economic and socio-cultural sectors and stakeholder groups will occur in June.  The preliminary results of the Assessment will be presented to the MD and the community in a series of workshops planned for the fall.  Input from these workshops will be used to finalize the Assessment report.

SASCI has engaged The Praxis Group™ to assist in conducting the Assessment.  Praxis is an Alberta-based and Alberta-owned firm with considerable experience in public and stakeholder consultation, survey research, facilitation, and focus group design and implementation.  Praxis has undertaken a wide range of stakeholder engagement projects and assignments within Alberta and across western Canada, and was selected following a competitive bidding process.  SASCI will play a coordinating role in the Assessment, framing survey and focus group questions, identifying community resources, and providing local support.  Praxis will conduct the survey, facilitate the focus group and workshop discussions, and prepare and present the Assessment findings.

The MD of Pincher Creek and the provincial Rural Community Adaptation Program are funding this process. 

For further information contact:

David Green:  403-627-1750 or dgreen@sasci.ca

Celesa Horvath:  chorvath@sasci.ca