Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce - Strategic Planning Process

Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce
Strategic Planning Process

The Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce has initiated a strategic planning process to identify future directions and priorities. Part of this process involves obtaining the views of our members and other stakeholders about the various issues and choices facing our organization.

A series of focus group meetings have been scheduled on November 20 and 21 to gather direct member input to the plan. Stakeholders who are not attending these sessions are invited to complete this on-line questionnaire. Your responses will go directly to the external planning consultant helping us with the project, so your replies will be completely anonymous and confidential. You will have a chance to edit your responses after you "Submit" your survey.

The survey findings will be used at a planning session with the Chamber's Board of Directors on November 23, 2007. It is therefore important that we receive your replies no later than noon on Thursday, November 22.

You don't need to answer all the questions. Respond to the ones that interest you.

Our current mission statement reads as follows:

The Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce is the voice of business committed to anticipating and serving the needs of our members and community.

How would you rate our overall effectiveness in pursuing this mission?

Very Effective	Somewhat effective
Not too effective	Not at all effective

Do you think the mission statement accurately describes the role and mandate of the Chamber, or do you think it should be revised?

The mission statement accurately describes our mandate
The mission statement is not accurate, and should be changed

Please comment:

Indicate how you feel about the emphasis placed on the following activities carried out by the Chamber:

	Should do more of this	About the right amount now	Should do less of this
Advocating with government on behalf of business
Networking and social events
Seminars and presentations
Acting as a catalyst for community improvement
Publications and reports
Member products such as group insurance
Marketing opportunities for members

What other important directions should be considered?

Please list the major strengths and weaknesses of the Chamber.

Strengths

Weaknesses

Some external factors affecting the business environment in Sarnia Lambton are listed below. Please rank each item in terms of its impact on your business. Assign a "1" to the most significant factor, a "2" to the next factor, and so on down to "6".

Insert ranks from 1 to 6.

Immigration
Changing government policies
Border issues
Recruiting and retaining qualified staff
Changing consumer expectations
Changing local demographics

6.	Are there any other significant trends, issues or events that should be considered in developing a new strategic plan for the Chamber?

Think now of external trends, events and issues and list some future opportunities and potential threats facing the Chamber.

Opportunities

Threats

What do you feel should be the three most important directions for the Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce over the next few years?

Direction 1

Direction 2

Direction 3

9.	Feel free to offer any comments or suggestions about our strategic planning process.

Thank you for your cooperation.