BFPD Strategic Plan 2025-2027 - Flipbook - Page 9
Stakeholder Engagement
To answer the question “Where are we now?,” the Strategic Planning Process began with
gaining an understanding of the operating environment. This is the first activity in
developing a Strategic Plan as internal and external forces, dynamics, and constraints must
be considered to arrive at the most effective strategy.
Assessing the environment:
Assessing the environment ultimately included three focus groups and individual interviews
with middle management, Commission members and residents. Bartlett Fire District made
numerous attempts to connect with residents who had not received services from the fire
district. A public meeting was planned for residents to give feedback about fire services and
to tour the newly remodeled fire station, if desired. Information about the meeting was
shared via the Fire District website, the Village of Bartlett newsletter, and social media.
Ultimately the public meeting was cancelled for lack of participation.
One of the focus groups, consisting of other taxing bodies, was primarily composed of
residents of the fire district. As detailed below, it was reported in this focus group and in the
interviews with residents that had received services that Bartlett Fire District is regarded as
providing exemplary services to the community. The outreach methods employed are
consistently successful for other area taxing bodies, and the Fire District utilized the robust
network of the Village in addition to it’s own outreach. It can be difficult to obtain
community feedback from those who have not received services when residents are
extremely satisfied with services received; based on the lack of engagement in spite of
numerous attempts through multiple channels, that appears to be the case with Bartlett Fire
District.
Focus groups:
As environmental factors change over time, they need to be evaluated and incorporated
into the strategic thinking and planning process using current data. As a result, the focus
groups were limited in scope and consisted of members of other taxing units, and
employees of Bartlett Fire District. Each focus group discussed what participants saw as
strengths of the Fire District along with opportunities for change.
Individual interviews were also conducted with residents who received services in the
last two years to understand their experiences. All residents who had received fire or
EMS services were invited to participate. Additionally, individual interviews with held
with members of middle management and Commissioners.
The results of these efforts were presented to the Fire District Board at the first Strategic
Planning Session on April 16, 2025 and are summarized below.
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