Wednesday, May 5, 2010
The April 24th session in Ste Anne du Ruisseau marked the end of the regional tour for Outlook 2014 and the end of the first phase of Outlook 2014: Engage. I can’t tell you how much our team enjoyed getting around the province to hear what was on the hearts and minds of Tories. When you hear great reviews on the sessions from people like Bonnie Hafey, Roseanne MacIsaac, Lorraine Woodfine, and Marlene Smith, and many others like them, you know you’re doing important work, because these are people that have taken the party through thick and thin and are integral to holding our party together.
The next phase is Envision, and it’s already underway. Over the days and weeks to come, members of our team will work to take the feedback that was provided to us and turn it into a report that will be presented to caucus, the provincial executive, and, ultimately, the new leader. This report is expected to be ready for June and will be discussed at the June 19 meeting of the provincial executive.
While incorporating feedback from over 150 participants from all over the province is a daunting challenge, we understand how important it is that participants feel that their ideas and thoughts are reflected in the report. To that end, we’re going through the notes we have accumulated from the sessions to see what themes have emerged and how these can be crafted into actionable recommendations. Let’s just say that we’ll have a busy May.
Regards,
Andrew Black
Chair, Outlook 2014
Thursday, April 22, 2010
One of the questions that we’ve been asking Outlook 2014 participants focuses on fundraising: “In 2014, how are we fundraising, provincially and locally?” Recent years have seen fundamental changes to the rules of fundraising; corporate donations are out and lower limits are in. The status quo is a bleak prospect for our party. As we answer questions about how we will raise funds in 2014, we can all agree that it must look different than what we’re doing today.
To date we’ve heard a few comments on what needs to change. Many people agree that we need far more monthly donors. Many others agree that we require a broad-based fundraising effort.
There’s one question that has received surprisingly little attention: What lessons do we learn from the fundraising success of our federal counterparts? Most party members will recant stories of receiving too many fundraising calls, but the success they’ve realized has put them well ahead of their opponents.
Saturday is our fourth and final regional session in Ste. Anne du Ruisseau. The first three sessions have been energizing and constructive and we’re looking forward to more of the same.
In the weeks to come I will talk about what comes next, and what we are going to do with your feedback. Thanks to everyone for their input and ideas to date, your thoughts have been the key driver of this process.
Regards, Andrew
Thursday, April 15, 2010
On Saturday we had the second of four regional sessions at the beautiful NSCC Waterfront Campus in Dartmouth. Over sixty Tories were on hand. A number of new ideas were discussed. I’ll focus on one that caught my attention.
Our party often speaks to fiscal responsibility, and understandably so. It’s been a pillar of our party’s brand. During a breakout session, one group spoke of economic responsibility. When this group was reporting back to the larger group of attendees, they described economic responsibility as being something bigger than balancing budgets; it’s about making decisions that are in the best interest of our economy while remaining fiscally responsible. I’ll paraphrase further to say that it’s about creating an environment that makes employers and employees want to stay and grow in Nova Scotia.
We’re the party that delivered eight consecutive balanced budgets. By and large we made decisions that ensured that future generations wouldn’t pay for yesterday’s bills. Under the criteria of fiscal responsibility, we generally performed admirably.
But how did we do in economic responsibility? Without proper measurements it’s hard to say, but I think it’s worth identifying some worrisome trends:
• From 2002/03 to this current year’s budget, program spending increased 76% with no meaningful change in population, mostly under our stewardship;
• Nova Scotia’s taxes are among the highest in the country - a fact that was true even before the 2% hike in HST announced this year;
• We have arguably the oldest workforce in Canada, and our workforce is expected to shed an astonishing 100,000 workers over the next 20 years.
It’s true that Nova Scotia followed a national trend of government growth and that minority governments can require compromise. Nonetheless, our vision statement states that we see Nova Scotia as being an economic leader for others to follow.
The question I have for you is this: What does an economically responsible government mean to you, and how does your definition differ from the NDP and Liberals?
This Saturday we’re in Glace Bay, we look forward to a fun weekend on the island. I’ll sign off with a few quotes from Dartmouth that I enjoyed.
Regards, Andrew
“In 2014 voters will say ‘I never thought I’d vote PC’”
“In 2014 we will have a broad-based fundraising effort.”
“Individual leadership is an important value to our party.”
And referring to the day itself:
“I had fun. I actually had fun”.
Tuesday April 6, 2010
Regards,
Andrew Black
Chair, Outlook 2014
Thursday, March 18, 2010
1. No party was using new media especially well;
2. While no party was seen as being especially effective, our party was perceived to be the least effective in using new media.
Friday, March 12, 2010
Last Saturday we kicked off the regional sessions with 37 concerned Tories at the Museum of Industry in Stellarton. I thought I’d share a small sample from members to demonstrate the concept of future-based planning.
Participants said that in 2014:
“People don’t agree with everything we say, but they respect us for our integrity.”
“Fundraising is clearer and easier.”
“We have the best voter identification records.”
“We are communicating effectively with youth.”
“People are involved with our party because they view it as essential in building our community.”
Very much to the credit of the participants, they spoke with an understanding that it’s more constructive to discuss tomorrow’s solutions than to complain about yesterday’s missteps.
Over the course of a six-hour day members went from identifying a preferred reality to developing outcomes that can be measured. It was a long day and people left tired but the anecdotal feedback has been overwhelmingly positive.
The Stellarton session was the first of four. I sincerely hope that we’ll cross paths at one of the next ones in April - Dartmouth, Sydney, or Ste. Anne du Ruisseau (Argyle).
Next week I’ll use this blog to talk about communicating effectively as a modern party. The following week I’ll go back to the mailbag to share more of the emails I have received.
Please keep your comments coming into outlook2014@pcparty.ns.ca. If you prefer traditional mail, letters can be sent through party headquarters at:
PC Headquarters
801-1660 Hollis Street
Halifax, Nova Scotia
B3J 1V7
Regards,
Andrew
Chair, Outlook 2014
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
This week’s blog post comes from Lewis Mackay, the lead facilitator to the Outlook 2014 regional sessions. The post is a must read for people who will be attending the regional sessions.
Regards,
Andrew Black
Chair, Outlook 2014
_ _ _
Outlook 2014 is an opportunity for us to step outside of the present and decide what we want to be in the future. What we represent and why Nova Scotians should trust us to govern the province and move it into the future.
Instead of focusing on the past and what worked or didn’t work and then trying to build a new approach from there, this approach allows us to step outside of that and instead build a picture of our preferred reality at a set point in the future, in our case 2014. Having clear goals and an understanding of what we will be doing at a defined point in the future, makes it much easier to develop the plans needed to achieve our goals.
This process is an opportunity to reach out and involve our membership in a way that will help us develop a clear set of goals that will resonate with Nova Scotians in ways that will encourage their support, toward building a better Nova Scotia.
In the four regional workshops in March and April we will be asking participants to develop a picture of our preferred reality for 2014. Then we will identify measures of success and finally we will have an opportunity to examine our current mission statement and determine if needs to be changed to support our preferred reality
Some of the Questions we will ask about 2014 include:
1. How are we perceived by Nova Scotians?
2. How do we perceive ourselves?
3. How have we increased voter support and to what extent?
4. How have we managed to strengthen our constituency associations?
5. What is our membership base and why do people join?
6. How are we fundraising both locally and provincially?
7. How do we communicate and how effective is it?
8. What is our mission and do Nova Scotians buy into it? How do we know?
9. What is the relationship between the party apparatus and our elected members and Leader?
Friday, February 19, 2010
This week’s blog is a video post that I hope you’ll enjoy. Two other quick points of note:
1. After last week’s blog post on values it was suggested that people might want to know what our current mission and vision statements are. They can be viewed here.
2. As the video blog states, we’ve received enough feedback for Outlook 2014 that we thought it best to create an email address for party members. Feel free to send your thoughts to: Outlook2014@pcparty.ns.ca
Thursday, February 11, 2010
One of the criticisms that our members made in the post-election tour was that they were unclear on our party’s purpose.
To be clear, Outlook 2014 is about more than values – we’re also talking about how we organize and communicate – but for the sake of this post I’ll focus on values. As we approach the regional sessions in March and April I invite you to think about how you want Nova Scotians to see our party in 2014, but first I want to set a few ground rules:
1. Be forward looking. This doesn’t mean abandoning what we’ve been, but it does mean that we look beyond today’s challenges;
2. Talk values, not policy. We don’t know what issues our next leader will face, but we know why we call ourselves Tories. Our goal is to provide direction, not a detailed roadmap;
3. Be substantive. Let’s make sure that we say something that defines and distinguishes our party.
It’s likely the case that recent headlines about expenses will be a distant memory by the time we hit the polls for the next general election. Our values, on the other hand, will forever be a part of how Nova Scotians understand us, and how we understand ourselves. So let’s talk.
Andrew Black
VP Policy
Chair, Outlook 2014
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
As you look across the province the reality of the June election sets in. Parts of Colchester and most of the valley belong to other parties, as does much of Cape Breton Municipality. Perhaps most alarming is that you can draw a line between the 25 seats that stretch between Argyle and Cape Breton West without running into a single Tory seat; a sobering reminder of the challenge ahead.
If that’s not enough reason to think about change, I’ve identified four trends that we should be concerned about:
1. Fundraising: The last three years have seen a fundamental change to the rules concerning how we are allowed to fundraise. Limits are lower and corporations are out. We haven’t adapted to the new rules yet.
2. Communications & Voter ID: Communications tools and channels have transformed. This isn’t just about Twitter and Facebook – it’s also about improving the way we organize and utilize voter information and asking more out of our websites, to name just a couple examples. The digital age is upon us.
3. Electoral Map: The electoral map will change before we go to the polls for the next general election. It’s likely that in metro, where we currently hold none of the 18 seats, that we’ll be fighting for 21 seats - maybe more.
4. Values: Our values are ambiguous. The space we own on the political spectrum is not as clear as we want it to be and our base has eroded. Some places are worse than others.
To change this we need to act now and prepare for the next election and our future as a political force in Nova Scotia. At our kick-off session on Friday we’ll begin the process of moving forward. It’s a big task that we’ll take on as a party. It’s time for us to roll up our sleeves and get to work. I’ll see you Friday.
Andrew
Friday, January 22, 2010
If I told you that in four years time we’ll be a more modern, engaged, and unified party with clearer values and purpose, would you be interested in knowing more? A new initiative, called Outlook 2014, gives each of us a unique opportunity to contribute to the future vision of the party.
I'm excited about this member driven initiative that will answer questions about where we see ourselves four years out. The key part of this is the fact that it is member driven – in true Tory fashion we will be the authors of our success story.
So why? And why now?
It’s rare in politics that we have the chance to look beyond the next election, or even beyond the next poll. That's why this is such an exciting time for Progressive Conservatives. Right now we have the chance to draw our own road map to a stronger, brighter future for our party.
Rebuilding and rebirth are part of politics. It’s not unusual for parties to adapt to new challenges, technologies, and opportunities. As our party moves towards the selection of a new leader, Outlook 2014 will play an integral part in our rebuilding process.
I’ll use this blog to explain more about the process, progress, and to keep you connected as we rebuild. I hope you’ll follow.
Regards,
Andrew Black
Vice-President, Policy
Chair, Outlook 2014
