Agenda Package - City of Vernon

Evaluation of Homelessness Strategy for the North Okanagan
PROìECl DEFINII'lON
" The focus for this proiect is to evoluate the Homelessness Strategy to
determine its effectiveness to reduce homelessness ¡n vernon and area."
Evaluation Of Homelessness Strategv For North Okanagan,
Request for Proposal, May L2, 20L0.
1.1
Problematique
When organizationsl choose to regularly analyze performance they increase their ability
to improve results, not only for today but into the future. Successful organizations, especially
those engaged in developmental programming of one form or another, are characterized by
their efforts to constantly seek to evaluate and improve on their performance' They do so
because they understand that success is not about a single event at a fixed point in time; success
is not just about achieving something but rather achieving the right thing; and success does not
occur as a consequence of happenstance.z
Since March 2007 under the broad mandate to "eliminate homelessness"3 in the North
Okanagan, the 2007 Homelessness Strategy for the North Okanagana has guided the
introduction and implementation of a number of efforts. ln this regard there are numerous
notable accomplishments, some of which are obvious and apparent while others are less
t For ease of reading I have used the term "organization" throughout this report to broadly refer to that association or
alliance of service providers and partners, charged with or assuming responsibility for, some aspect of the
homelessness challenge within the North Okanagan as defined within the Strategic Plan.
2 Organizations need to be proactive and develop a structure forthe consideration offeedback (evaluation)' There is a
need to know how the organization is doing in terms of reaching its vision, living its mission and being true to its core
values on a year-by-year basis. This requires feedback. As you can see, developing strategies is not just a one-time
event - it is continuous. This sense of continuity is what brings success and high performance to an organizat¡on.
3
There appears to be some level of confusion in respect to the underlying goal (vision) of the Homelessness Strategy
For the North Okanagan which does vary somewhat within the report itself and within the context of service provider
and/orclientperceptions. TherealsoexistssomeconfusionbetweenthefocusoftheStrategicPlanandthepurpose
oftheRFpforwhichthisevaluativeeffortispremised.
Theimplicationsof thisconfusionareaddressedinsection5of
the report, However, it is nonetheless important to highlight this issue at this point inasmuch as it impacts on the
definition of the exercise itself which is to assess effectiveness relative to reducing homelessness where the purpose
of the Strategic is not confined to this singular focus, i.e. according to the document itself the goal of the
Homelessness Strategy isto:"reduce homelessness"...and to:. "creote ønd implement sustøinoble octions [in respect
to homelessnes sl buitt on identified community needs" and to: "end homeless in the North Okonagøn. This is not to
say this confusion precludes a proper evaluation or renders the evaluation effort inconsequential
4 Social Planning Council for the North
Okanagan, April 2007.
Lochaven Management Consultants Ltd.
November 2010
Page 7
76