Woden Community Service Inc Strategic Plan 2008 - 2010 

This plan was developed by the staff and Board of Woden Community Service to express our values, our approach to our work and what we aim to achieve by working with our community. 

Our Vision: 

Supporting, developing and celebrating community strength 

Our Values:

We put people first

We are committed to a cohesive and inclusive community. We seek to build positive relationships, based on respect and honest communication. We acknowledge the value of people working towards independence, self-determination and autonomy.  

We’re inclusive

We support the principles of social justice and the rights of individuals. We value diversity and the contribution it makes to our community. 

We are a proactive, responsive and innovative service

We have an open door and create a welcoming environment where people feel comfortable.  We will provide a service that is flexible and responsive. We will form partnerships with other service providers and lobby to ensure our community’s needs are met. 

We support each other to do our work

We will work as a team and will collaborate and communicate with each other in a way that demonstrates our respect, honesty, flexibility and acceptance of one another.

We value the contribution our staff makes to the community. Staff will be supported to develop professional and personal skills and provided the opportunity to deliver quality services. 

We value being part of the community

We acknowledge our role in our community delivering services, support and advocacy.  We value earning the respect of our community members and acknowledge our responsibility to maintain mutually supportive partnerships. 

We will act with honesty, integrity and transparency

We will be professional, ethical and mutually respectful in all aspects of our work. We will be accountable for the effective and efficient management of staff, finances and services. We aim to maintain up-to-date and evidence based practices. 

Our Goals:

1. Develop and deliver services to support and strengthen our community.

• Be responsive to the needs and circumstances of people seeking our assistance and offer them a service that is understanding and respectful.
• Maintain our position as an innovative service provider in the ACT by targeting programs to meet current and future needs.
• Undertake research to understand demographics, community strengths, unmet needs and emerging social issues and programs.
• Develop and implement a way of delivering our service that ensures that we work together to provide an integrated solution for people. 
• Review our program and services regularly to ensure their ability to meet the community’s needs and the aspirations of the participants.

2. Build strength in the community

• Encourage volunteering and recognise the inherent value of volunteer contributions in the development of a diverse, strong and healthy community.
• Support the development and operation of other organisations and groups.
• Encourage and support the development of community based and initiated activities that build on and celebrate community strength.
• Work with the community to address issues collaboratively.
• Develop and maintain relationships with key stakeholders and service delivery partners.
• Participate in industry, peak body, community and other forums to influence policy and initiate programs.

3. Be accountable for managing our resources responsibly.

• Operate to professional standards and in a business-like manner in securing funding and maintaining accountability.
• Review governance structures and organisational design to enable us to meet the demands of the changing business environment.
• Establish performance measures and regular review processes for all our programs.
• Seek resources required to deliver services and facilities required by the community.
• Develop budgets that reflect the services, personnel and accommodation required by the organisation.

4. Support our staff

• Identify and prioritise the training and development needs of our staff and provide the opportunity and resources to meet these in an equitable way
• Develop strategies and processes that support our staff in dealing with their day to day work including occupational health and safety, risk management and equal employment opportunities
• Reward and encourage innovative service delivery

5. Strengthen organisational capability

• Increase awareness of Woden Community Service so that we have a clear identity at the community, political and policy levels
• Establish work systems that support organisational operations
• Provide staff with the workplace environment, tools  and skills  for ongoing professional development and service delivery improvements
• Learning and development underpin WCS’s quality service delivery