The state network project’s advocacy organizers have been hard at work with one of the project’s most critical tasks – preparing action plans. Each of the seven network states has prepared its own action plan that is being presented to their respective networks for comment and adoption. To see what an action plan looks like, check out California’s which has already been adopted.
The development of the action plans serves to identify core objectives within each state network while demonstrating how it supports the Safe Routes Partnership’s five year Strategic Plan. The action plans are public, living documents that are reviewed and revised regularly. While the plans focus on the state network project’s three primary policies and the strategic plan’s five focus areas, they can be supplemented with ideas and issues that network members consider relevant and important to their states. They also serve as an important tool for the state advocacy organizer to get stakeholders and other interested people to the table, in other words, to network meetings. This provides for a focused dialogue on starting a collaboration process. It also provides people with information to help decide what action teams they want to join so they can work on specific policy priorities.
All of the action plans were developed from the same model. However, that is where many of the similarities may end as work plans, which will be developed soon, will be dynamic and detailed; describing exactly what the state network plans are to accomplish the objectives presented in the action plans. They will serve as a “to-do list” for the networks and action teams. Based on the insights and needs of the network, tasks will evolve over time.
As with the California plan, the other individual state network plans will be posted on their respective state pages once developed. Keep an eye out for these sites in early September and the adopted action plans soon after.
Your feedback on the action plan for your state is important to us, so consider joining the network and getting in on the “action” early.