COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
AT THE GRAND
Thank you for your interest in The GRAND’s Community Engagement Process for 2022.
This page is dedicated to providing you with all of the information you need to participate in the conversation to the extent you desire.
WE INVITE YOU TO BECOME PART OF THE CONVERSATION
Thank you for being here.
This page exists to nurture community connection and to keep you informed.
Please check back regularly for updates as we continue to build out our plans with your input.
Our Mission
The GRAND’s current mission is to be a Culture House presenting high quality, thought-provoking art, and creating diverse and inclusive experiences, while bringing together artists and audiences. To invoke new ways of thinking, appreciating, and being.
The GRAND is a valuable community asset.
To be successful, The GRAND needs an artistic vision that is relevant to our community AND financially sustainable as well as to build a future with and for the community in which we serve.
Our ???????
Our board will be making decisions in the fall of 2022 about our long term plans, including both the artistic and business models, followed by the supporting operational structure for 2023 and beyond.
We know that it is vital we get this right.
To do so, we need to start by listening to our community.
Our opportunity
With you, we will be exploring where we have been, the impact we have had, and how we can meaningfully contribute to Calgary’s cultural future.
To learn more about how to get involved, see below.
The Goals
OUR GOALS ARE
To listen
to how The GRAND has worked with Calgary’s creative community in the past.
To understand
the outcomes of that work, both good and bad.
To learn
from our long history, so that it might inform us and allow us to move towards a positive future.
OUR HOPE IS
to connect with people and create a shared future for The GRAND.
Community Engagement Process
Our team is approaching our process by surrounding ourselves with expertise in strategic planning, artistic industry experience and business management, welcoming genuine and heartfelt intentions, and harnessing ambitious energy. Our gaps at the moment pertain to historical information and first-hand grassroots experience.
So, with full humility, open minds, and a deep desire to understand, we will launch a series of community engagement activities this spring.
We will be conducting our community engagement from a variety of platforms. The initial discovery phase is our starting framework, designed to be built upon, and by no means to put an end date to our learning. We hope the variety of options provided will include everyone’s communications preference, but if not, let us know how we can best work with you.
Small Groups
Facilitated conversations around specific topics identified by The GRAND and the community.
Forums
Large group gatherings with the purpose to inform and report back.
One-on-ones
Private conversations if preferred with the Executive Director.
Online
Surveys, newsletters and online participation in some events.
With your help and a commitment to a broad, deep, meaningful process,
we will forge a new path for Calgary’s Culture House.
We will be exploring where we have been, the impact we have had, and how we can meaningfully contribute to Calgary’s cultural future.
Our intended outcome, from the community consultation and the strategic development phase, is to equip our board to make the best decisions for a sustainable future while honouring our history and the creative community that we serve. We commit to being transparent throughout this process. We also commit to staying nimble and adapting as we learn.
The Plan
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First, we are working with a varied team of experienced consultants from many locations and industries to assess our organizational capacity and financial viability.
In other words - we are getting our house in order.
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Second, the numbers only tell part of the story. Ultimately, as a community asset, we need community buy-in to make any math make sense.
Through Community consultation we will begin to explore where we have been as an organization, what impact we have had, and how best we can contribute to Calgary’s cultural future.
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Once our listening and learning process is completed we will engage on a strategic planning exercise.
A Community Advisory Team will be created who will be tasked to advise the staff and board throughout this process, all of which is rooted in the feedback generated from the Community Engagement process.
Getting There
Once we get through the listening and learning stage, we will establish a community advisory committee made up of dedicated, thoughtful citizens from a variety of backgrounds.
We aspire to bring together artists, arts champions, and presenters to deep dive into questions and learnings that surface as we engage the community.
We aim to gather a full scope of understanding so that we can develop strategic recommendations to inform our board.
More information will be provided soon, including required roles, responsibilities, compensation, and timelines.
An Invitation
If you are interested in participating in our stakeholder engagement, taking place this spring from April to June 2022, please sign up below.
Who we are.
Coming Soon.
The staff.
The board.
The consultants.
The community advisory group.
“We are committed to making this space available to as many arts organizations as possible, not only to serve our community and live up to our mission, but because we believe that is what's best for Calgary. We are eager to pack this house with powerful activations from a broad range of perspectives.”
— Erynn Lyster, Executive Director, The GRAND
Upcoming engagement events.
COMING SOON
Letters, reports and resources.
Text here
Letter to the community
November 2021
Letter to the community
March 2022