Planning Outside Government

It’s easy to trust government to solve our problems.  But the most detailed planning is often done not by government, but by private interests.  A private company may initiate planning to:

·         Meet government requirements;

·         Demonstrate a corporate social ethic, ensuring that damage to the environment is minimized;

·         Maintain or enhance the company’s reputation in the community and provide legitimacy to its work;

·         Minimize the likelihood of disruptive protests, costly litigation or other disruption by upset community members;

·         Follow certification requirements or other rules that will allow the company to market a “green” or socially responsible product to the consumer; or

·         Meet other company goals.

In addition, non-profit organizations and First Nations with a special interest in a particular area may undertake planning of their own.  For example, many community groups have developed “ecosystem-based” land use plans to provide a contrast to the logging or mining plans of corporations.  Planning can allow the environmental or First Nations organization to:

·         focus their resources on the areas of most concern to them;

·         muster public interest in, and support for, a particular vision of land-use for an area;

·         bring together important information and recommendations that will enhance the ability of the organization to provide comments to, or to negotiate with, industry or government (this can be especially important for First Nations who may have a constitutional right to be consulted); or

·         put industry or government on notice as to what a community group or First Nation expects in a certain area.

Types of Private Planning

With the exception of private planning required by specific legislation, the types of planning that private parties can engage in are limited only by the willingness of the parties to talk.  Some question to consider include?

·         How many participants? – Is the process “multi-stakeholder”, involving parties representing a range of interests (e.g. - industry, the environmental community, First Nations, community groups, etc.)  Or it can be a more internal process carried out for one party only?

·         How are participants chosen? – The result of a process can often be determined by who chooses the participants?

·         What is the scope of the planning? – Does the planning cover a large or a small area, and all aspects of a development, or one particular technical problem?  What are the expected outcomes, and are they limited by anything? 

·         How will the planning be organized? – Will there be a facilitator or mediator?  If the parties or experts involved can’t agree, will someone impose a decision?  When and where will meetings take place?  These questions can have a huge impact on how a plan comes together. 

·         What is the role for public and community input?  How should experts be used? – In general the public is involved in planning to help determine goals and desired outcomes, while experts advise on the more technical steps of how those goals or outcomes will be reached.  (See Importance of Good Information in Planning page for more information).  Sometimes, however, the goals have been determined before the public gets involved, leaving little room for real public input. 

·         How will a plan be implemented? – A key question is what result will a plan have once it is created?  Since private plans don’t have the force of law or the structure of a government agency behind them, it’s especially important to understand how the plan will be implemented.  The best plan in the world will be useless if no one with the power to implemente it will do so.

These questions should give an idea of the range of structures open for voluntary planning processes.  It is not possible to provide a comprehensive course on planning theory and how to structure a planning process, although some general recommendations on planning processes may be found in the Guide page on Participating in a Planning Process.

Related Guide Pages:

·         Private Planning Required by Government

·         Voluntary Private Planning

·         Implementation of a Private Plan

·         Participating in a Planning Process