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RHPL Strategic Plan 2021-25

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RHPL Strategic Plan 2021-25

Richmond Hill Public Library

Library Operations & Management | 2021

Innovation Synopsis

RHPL collaborated on foresight-infused strategy, creating a Strategic Plan underpinned by the theme of “resilience in a global society.” The plan is a blueprint for “creating world-class library experiences that motivate you to confidently adapt and thrive in a world of change, and enhance Richmond Hill as a place to live, visit and do business.”

Challenge/Opportunity

Strategic planning hadn’t been done for 8 years. We had no formal strategic management processes, we’d fallen behind on technology and experience, and had low internal culture scores. Customer expectations and behaviors were shifting. Then came the disruption of COVID-19. With a new leadership team in place, RHPL’s opportunity was to start from scratch — to design an innovative strategic planning process that would lead to a transformational plan to move RHPL into the future with a renewed sense of purpose and ambition.


Key Elements of Innovation

  • Collaborative Strategy: included all levels of staff in decision-making from executive to para-professional
  • Strategic Foresight: in-depth horizon scan and eight future scenarios looking 20 years out
  • Global Mindset: positioning RHPL in the context of a global society, subject to the forces of our increasingly complex world
  • Culture Survey: benchmarked against 1,000+ public, private and NFP organizations.
  • Virtual Collaboration and Six-Month Timeline: digital tools and aggressive timeline drove momentum

Achieved Outcomes

  • Results-oriented and empowered team members
  • Development of a global, future-oriented mindset across RHPL
  • Increase in innovation capacity across RHPL
  • Growth of evidence-based decision-making
  • Dramatically improved organizational health
  • Increased nimbleness due to growth in collaboration skills
  • Growth in customer satisfaction
  • Increased use, both in-person and digital
  • Expanding diversity of customers due to increase in inclusive content and policy

Learn more from the Richmond Hill Public Library Strategic Plan 2021-25 Board Report presented in September 2021.