HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-2021 Strategic Plan Updated May 2018
IOWA CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
2017-2021 1
IOWA CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
2017-2021 2
The Iowa City Fire Department (ICFD) provides fire suppression, emergen cy medical services,
basic and technical rescue, hazardous materials mitigation, fire inspection, fire investigation,
public education, and domestic preparedness planning and response to the city of Iowa City.
ICFD is consistently working to achieve and/or maintain the highest level of professionalism
and efficienc y on behalf of those it serves.
In an effort to continue to work toward continual self-improvement, ICFD contracted
with the Center for Public Safety Excellence (CPSE) and the University of Iowa Institute of
Public Affairs (IPA) to facilitate a method to document the department’s path into the future—
this process resulted in the develo pment and implementation of a “Community- Driven
Strategic Plan.” The strategic plan was written in accordance with the guidelines set forth in
the CFAI Fire & Emergency Service Self -Assessment Manual 8th Ed., and is intended to guide
the organization within established parameters set forth by the authority having jurisdiction.
Both CPSE and IPA utilized the community -driven strategic planning model to go beyond just
the development of a document.—CPSE focused on soliciting community feedback from
external stakeholders, while IPA facilitated the review of programs and services by ICFD
internal stakeholders.
The Iowa City Fire Department’s strategic plan, with its foundation based in community and
membership input, sets forth a comprehensive vision and mission statement th at provides
the department with a clear path into the future. Additionally, this strategic plan identifies
the core values th at embody how the membership, individually and collectively, will carry out
the agency’s mission. In the following pages, the ICFD identifies its goals, objectives, and
strategies that will allow the agency to realize its vision.
Introduction
Contents
From the Fire Chief ....................3
Organizational Overview………….4
Community-Driven Strategic
Planning Process .......................5
External Stakeholders...............6
Mission, Vision & Values ………...7
Internal Stakeholders................8
Initiatives/Goals ......................10
Plan Implementation ..............21
IOWA CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
2017-2021 3
I an pleased to present the Iowa City Fire Department 2017-2021
Strategic Plan. It is both a road map for the ICFD and a guide for
identifying priorities so we can continue delivering excellent fire,
rescue, prevention and emergency medical services into the future.
This five-year plan represents our commitment to good stewardship
of the department resources funded by Iowa City residents. When
community stakeholders were surveyed during the strategic
planning process, we learned that the majority are very familiar with
and supportive of the wide range of emergency and non-emergency
services we provide.
The department had to answer three fundamental questions during
the strategic planning process: where are we now, where are we
going and how will we get there? The answers helped in developing a framework for the plan
that will:
• Promote department policy, operational and budget decisions.
• Maintain a motived, highly trained work force.
• Encourage a work force that is representative of the diverse community we serve.
• Provide a structure to ensure oversight and management of department programs.
We are committed to reviewing our strategic plan at least annually to ensure the plan
accomplishes what it set out to do, and to making adjustments where needed. Part of our
continued success is rooted in being a flexible organization that can anticipate and adapt to
change. The plan was reviewed in May 2018 and progress updated —action steps determined
to be completed are highlighted.
In closing, thank you to all of the Iowa City Fire Department members who shared their thoughts
and ideas through surveys and planning meetings. Your feedback and participation has been
extremely valuable. Thank you also to the residents, elected officials and other key city and
community partners who participated as part of our planning process. Your input and support
helped guide us and is critical to the success of this plan.
I invite all members of the community, along with our partner agencies, to join us in
supporting this vision for the future of the Iowa City Fire Department.
Sincerely,
John M. Grier
Fire Chief
Message from the Fire Chief
IOWA CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
2017-2021 4
Organizational Overview
Iowa City is t he cou nty seat of J ohnson County, Iowa , and the home of the University of Iowa.
The C ity is governed by a n e lected city cou ncil of s even members, of which one is elected f rom
w ithin a s mayor. The I owa C ity Fire D epartment (ICFD) h istory is a w - documented
source of local pride. Iowa City had one of the first fire departm ents in Iowa, with roots going
back to 1842 – t hree years after the founding of Iowa City and four years before Iowa’s
statehood.
Currently, t he d epartment serves a pproximately 74,220 r esidents a nd m any v isitors within
the 27.9 s quare -mile incorporated area of I owa Ci ty. The I C FD provides progressive a nd h igh
q uality f ire, e mergency medical, a nd t echnical rescue e mergency services utilizing a cadre
o f 64 f ull-time firefighters from four stations with t hree e ngine c ompanies, one quint
company, one t ru ck company, a nd a command vehicle. In a ddition to responding to nearly
7,000 e mergency calls a nnually, the ICFD provides preventive services, such a s f ire safety
inspections of commercial and University properties, site plan reviews, and fire and
environmen tal safety education. Th e ICFD a lso coll aborates w i th many o ther f ire protection
a gencies a t t he local, s tate, a nd federal l evels. Specialty areas include f ire i nvestigations, the
J ohnson C ounty Hazardous Materials Response Team, and Homeland Security and Emergency
Management.
IOWA CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
2017-2021 5
Performance Assessment
Implied within every stage of th e planning process is the ability to determine progress
made toward the goals or targets set. This assessment abili ty is a monitoring function
that simply trac ks activities. It may be as simple as a “To Do List ,” or as complicated as a
plan of action with milestones and perfo rmance measures. Also implied within the
planning process is th e ability to measure effectiveness of the actions taken in the
conduct of the organization's business.
The Community–Driven Strategic Planning Process Outline
The specific steps of the process are as follows:
1. Define the servic es provided to the community.
2. Establish the community’s service priorities.
3. Establish the community’s expectations of the organization.
4. Identify any concern s the community may have about the o rganization and its
servic es.
5. Identify the aspects of the organization and its servic es the community views
positively.
6. Revisit the Mission Statement, giving careful attention to the servic es and
programs currently provided and which logically can be provided in the future.
7. Revisit the Value s of the org anization’s membership.
8. Identify the Strengths of the organization.
9. Identify any Weak nesses of the organization.
10. Identify areas of Opportunity for the organization.
11. Identify potential Threats to the organizatio n.
12. Identify the organization’s critical issues.
13. Identify the organization’s service gaps.
14. Determine strategic initiatives for organizational improvement.
15. Establish realistic goals and objectives for the future.
16. Identify implementation tasks fo r each objective.
17. Develop a Vision of the future.
18. Develop organizational and community commitment to the plan.
Community-Driven Strategic Planning
IOWA CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
2017-2021 6
Community Group Findings
On November 12, 2015, a community forum was conducted by the Center for Public Safety
Excellence at the Iowa City Public Library to gathering feedback from the community.
The purpose of gathering feedback from the community runs parallel to a business collecting
feedback from its customers. The governmental entity, like the business, cannot truly operate
efficiently and effectively without understanding the true nature of expectations, concerns, and
strengths of its customer base. In government, that customer base is the constituency served.
Iowa City Fire Department (ICFD) solicited the feedback and input from a diverse demographic
representation of its population.
When analyzing the received feedback, priority and thematic approaches are used to get to the
heart of what is the most important to the community respondents. While all responses in the
raw-data form are important, the analysis brings to the forefront an understanding and focus
for the agency. It is important to note that all feedback from the community is important as it
applies to various areas of the department. The department is best served by conducting
greater internal analyses of the provided feedback to formulate future objectives and strategies
for continuous improvement.
Community Service Priorities
The rankings of the programs and services as provided by the 58 community members at the
community forum that was conducted on November 12, 2015, are as follows:
External Stakeholder Group Findings
PROGRAMS RANKING SCORE
Fire Suppression 1 363
Emergency Medical Services 2 311
Technical Rescue 3 268
Hazardous Materials Mitigation 4 169
Community Risk Reduction 5 166
Domestic Preparedness Planning and Response 6 159
Fire Investigation 7 124
Public Education 8 92
IOWA CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
2017-2021 7
All Iowa City Fire Department employees are guided by our mission, vision and values. The mission is the
core purpose for why the Iowa City Fire Department exists. The vision is the description for where the
department strives to be in the future. The vision should inspire and motivate. Values are the guiding
principles for the organization. These are the essential and enduring principles.
With insight garnered during the process, the internal stakeholders reviewed the mission, vision and value
statements for current and future relevance—the mission statement remained the same, while the vision
and value statements were revised to provide a more clear picture of the department and what it aims to
be.
Our Mission
The mission of the Iowa City Fire Department is to protect our
community by providing progressive, high quality emergency and
preventive services.
Our Vision
The Iowa City Fire Department will be recognized as a national leader
in our profession and as role models in our community. We will be an
exemplary, service driven organization in providing emergency and preventive services with exceptional
leadership, state of the art resources, and a healthy, highly trained, and motivated workforce. We will stay
true to our values and inspire one another in our pursuit of excellence.
Our Values
As an organization, we uphold the following values:
Accountability: We are accountable to each other and the community we have sworn to serve.
Innovation: We encourage the advancement of our services and programs through inquiry, evaluation,
problem solving and continual improvement.
Professional Excellence: We are dedicated to the pursuit of excellence and the demonstration of high
professional standards.
Respect: We believe in the dignity of every individual and value all members of the community and
organization.
Teamwork: We are committed to a teamwork environment where every stakeholder is a valued
contributor to our success .
Trustworthiness: We embolden trustworthiness as it encompasses such qualities as honesty, integrity,
loyalty and reliability.
Mission, Vision and Values
IOWA CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
2017-2021 8
Internal stakeholder input was obtained utilizing a two-step approach designed to encourage
maximum participation in the process. First, department members were invited to complete a
brief online survey. Next, department members were invited to participate in
four group planning sessions facilitated by the University of Iowa Institute of Public Affairs.
The internal survey and work sessio ns served to discuss the department’s approach to
community -d riven strategic planning, with focus on the mission, vision, values, core programs,
and supporting servic es, as well as the agency's perceived strengths, weaknesses, opportunities,
and threats.
In the process of strategic planning, the following are important:
• to review the department’s history, culture and evolution;
• to identify the current status of the department; and
• to determine where and what the department desires to be in the future.
The online survey and planning sessions generated a high level of interest and participation
from all levels and assignment areas of the organization. A total of 38 personnel completed the
online survey and 31 personnel participated in the face-to-face meetings. The level of
participation and invaluable insights of ICFD members were essential in helping to develop this
quality plan.
Internal Stakeholder Group Findings
IOWA CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
2017-2021 9
The ICFD internal stakeholders identified the following core programs provided to the community,
as well as the services that enable the agency to deliver their core programs:
Core Programs
Support Services
Internal Stakeholder Group Findings
Response
• Fire Suppression
• Emergenc y Medic al
Services
• Technical Rescue
Servic es
• Hazardous Materials
Mitigation
Community Risk Reduction
• Public Education
• Fire Prevention
• Fire Investigation
• Code Enforcement
• Data Collection and
Analysis
Preparedness
• Training and Education
• Natural/Man-made Incident
Planning
• Training • Physical Resources
• Physical Resource Maintenance • Facilities
• Human Resources • Apparatus
• Finance • Tools and Equipment
• Information Technology Services • Legal
• City Clerk • Neighborhood Development Services
• Public Works (Water, Engineering, etc.) • Law Enforcement
• Ambulance Service (pa ramedics) • Clerical—Accounting/Payroll
• Dispatch • Contract Services
• University of Iowa • Medical Community
• IAFF Local 610 • Employee Assistance Program
• Utilities • Mutual Aid
• Community Support Servic es • Non-profit Organizations
• Johnson County EMA • Social Services
• Local, State, Federal Government • Family
IOWA CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
2017-2021 10
Initiatives, Strategies and Action Steps
Critical Issues and Service Gaps
After reviewing ICFD’s core programs and support services, and identifying internal strengths
and weaknesses along with external opportunities and threats, the internal stakeholders
identified the following as critical issues and service gaps of paramount importance:
Strategic Initiatives
Having reviewed ICFD’s critical issues and service gaps, the following strategic initiatives and
goal statements were identified as the foundation for the development of strategies and action
steps:
Leadership
Develop the leadership abilities of Iowa City Fire Department employees at all levels.
Training and Education
Create a personnel development program to give all employees tools for improvement.
Health and Wellness
Provide for the health, safety and wellness of all Iowa City Fire Department employees.
Diversity
Ensure that diversity, inclusion and cultural competency are integral to the way the department
functions, both internally and externally.
Community Outreach and Partnerships
Foster community outreach and agency partnerships to strengthen department services.
Resource Management
Maintain a high quality level of service to the community through ongoing workforce develop-
ment and the maintenance and acquisition of physical resources (apparatus, equipment, facili-
ties & technology).
Fire Prevention/Public Education/Code Enforcement
Enhance fire prevention bureau and code enforcement programs.
Critical Issues
Staff Development—Training and Education Human Resource—Staffing
Fire Prevention/Code Enforcement/Fire Service Delivery—Jurisdiction and Region
Physical Resources Inter-departmental/Inter-governmental Relations
IOWA CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
2017-2021 11
Initiatives, Strategies and Action Steps
In order to achieve the mission of the Iowa City Fire Department, realistic goals, objectives and
action steps must be established. The parameters used by the planning team in the
development of the goals, strategies and action steps included the requirements that they be:
• Aligned with the mission, vision and values of the department
• Aligned with City Council strategic initiatives
• Achievable
• Measurable
• Built on consensus
As goals and strategies are management tools, they must be evaluated and updated on an
ongoing basis to identify what has been accomplished and to note changes within the
community and the organization. The attainment of a performance target should be recognized
and celebrated to provide a sense of organizational accomplishment.
The goals and strategies now become the focus of the effo rts of the department. Care was
taken by the planning team to ensure that the critical needs and areas of needed enhancement
previously identified were addressed within the goals and strategies.
By following these goals and strategies carefully, the department can be directed into its desired
future. These established goals and strategies should also greatly reduce the number of
obstacles and distrac tions for the department and its members.
The internal stakeholders set timelines for completion of objectives supporting the goals. Th e
ICFD leadership team will periodically to review progress toward these goals and strategies
and adjust timelines a s needs and the environment change.
IOWA CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
2017-2021 12
Human Resources Development—Leadership
Goal: Develop the leadership abilities of Iowa City Fire Department employees at all levels.
Strategy 1:
Establish a formal Leadership Development Initiative throughout all levels of the organization.
Action Steps
1. Develop and deliver leadership training relevant to chief and company officers with measurable
outcomes and defined expectations.
2. Develop leadership training for all department employees with measurable outcomes and defined
expectations.
STRATEGY 2:
Enhance department resources for leadership training and mentoring.
Action Steps
1. Prioritize leadership development opportunities.
2. Partner with professional leadership groups to provide education.
3. Incentivize the development of leadership skills as part of the promotional process.
STRATEGY 3:
Delegate decision making authority at the appropriate level in the organizational structure to
empower and include all employees.
Action Steps
1. Evaluate business processes to identify areas of authority and responsibility that can be delegated
and provide a formal report.
2. Review delegated areas of authority for effectiveness and revise policies and procedures as necessary
3. Seek employee ideas on cost reduction, service improvement, and problem-solving.
IOWA CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
2017-2021 13
Human Resources Development—Training & Education
Goal: Create an employee development program to give employees and supervisors tools
for improvement.
Strategy 1:
Develop a comprehensive training model for all department employees.
Action Steps
1. Utilize the standing training committee to produce a comprehensive and sequenced annual train-
ing plan that meets department and individual needs.
2. Identify and prioritize annual training to meet department identified areas of emphasis.
3. Annually evaluate the effectiveness of the plan and provide a formal report.
4. Analyze current skill sets and identify areas for cross-training and/or advancement training.
5. Institutionalize performance-based evaluation criteria for individual, company and multi-company
operations.
6. Describe a process within GP-410.02 that tracks and records completed training to ensure that all
personnel are provided the training that is required by January 1, 2018.
STRATEGY 2:
Deliver training that is effective, efficient, and accessible.
Action Steps
1. Identify complementary or alternative methods for training delivery, evaluate their effectiveness,
and provide a formal report.
2. Annually evaluate the effectiveness of training delivery and provide a formal report.
3. By June 30 annually, the training division will embrace opportunities to provide training to mutual
aid departments to build response capacity and institutionalize recruitment ties.
STRATEGY 3:
Evaluate and revise department policies, materials, and procedures to promote individual
employee development.
Action Steps
1. Update and consolidate policies, procedures, reference materials, and training libraries to reflect
current standards and practices.
2. Ensure that departmental policies and practices are clear, consistent and well communicated.
3. Examine the feasibility of establishing training standards and competencies related to all disci-
plines and skill sets.
4. Develop task books related to all skill sets.
IOWA CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
2017-2021 14
Training & Education (continued)
Goal: Create an employee development program to give employees and supervisors tools
for improvement.
Strategy 4:
Promote personal accountability, growth and development, and the meeting of workplace
expectations for all employees.
Action Steps
1. Provide on-going personnel management training for supervisors.
2. Evaluate individual accountability through performance evaluations.
3. Evaluate opportunities for educational assistance programs.
IOWA CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
2017-2021 15
Health and Wellness
Goal: Provide for the health, safety and wellness of all Iowa City Fire Department employees.
STRATEGY 1:
Enhance the health and wellness of all department employees.
Action Steps
1. Update the comprehensive health and wellness program with an emphasis on education.
2. Establish baselines for time loss to determine whether participation in a health and wellness pro-
gram reduces time loss for illness and injury.
3. Partner with other agencies to promote a holistic health and wellness program for department
members.
STRATEGY 2:
Reinforce health and safety practices to reduce safety related incidents.
Action Steps
1. Evaluate the effectiveness of the pre-incident planning program and make recommendations for improve-
ment.
2. Educate firefighters regarding their health and safety responsibilities and emphasize the im-
portance of injury prevention.
3. Support members’ successful disability rehabilitation to meet applicable city, state, federal and fire
department standards.
4. Develop recommendations to identify, reduce, or eliminate firefighter safety hazards.
STRATEGY 3:
Establish and maintain programs that promote and sustain the health and wellness of all Iowa
City Fire Department members to reduce the likelihood of firefighter injury and death.
Action Steps
1. Utilize Health and Safety advisory committee as a standing committee to direct wellness and
fitness programs.
2. In partnership with Local 610, establish performance objectives and annually evaluate the fitness
levels of all department members.
3. Annually evaluate the effectiveness of the health and wellness plan.
4. Annually evaluate the Wellness Fitness Initiative.
5. Promote ways and means for peer fitness trainers to improve firefighter health and wellness. Pre-
sent suggestions for program improvement annually.
6. Collect and record annual physical summaries, fitness assessment data, and injury/accident re-
ports to identify trends and vulnerabilities for presentation at the annual Spring Planning Meeting.
IOWA CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
2017-2021 16
Diversity
Goal: Ensure that diversity, inclusion and cultural competency are integral to the way the
department functions, both internally and externally.
STRATEGY 1:
a employees.
Action Steps
1. Encourage diversity and inclusion effort at all levels of the department.
2. Increase employee awareness regarding the benefits of a diverse workforce and how to create
and maintain a culture of mutual trust and respect.
3. Provide education to ensure employee awareness of the value of diversity.
STRATEGY 2:
Support members in delivering services within Iowa City’s multicultural community.
Action Steps
1. Provide opportunities for members to develop a high level of cultural competency in working
with multicultural communities.
2. Promote our diversity plan.
STRATEGY 3:
Promote the recruitment of men and women of diverse backgrounds.
Action Steps
1. Develop and implement an ongoing, targeted recruitment effort that effectively promotes diversity.
2. Increase educational and community outreach activities to underrepresented populations in Iowa City.
3. Review the firefighter application process with the Civil Service Commission to identify barriers
to recruitment of a diverse applicant pool.
4. Encourage individuals of diverse backgrounds to seek promotions.
IOWA CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
2017-2021 17
Community Outreach and Partnerships
Goal: Foster community outreach and agency partnerships to strengthen department
services.
STRATEGY 1:
Promote Iowa City Fire Department’s involvement in community outreach.
Action Steps
1. Develop a community outreach plan, to include regular department participation at neighborhood
and community meetings and events.
2. Each company shall annually attend a minimum of four PR events to foster healthy neighbor-
hoods and/or enhance community engagement and intergovernmental relations.
3. Prioritize established Emergency Operations time commitments to allow for community outreach.
4. Maintain a central coordinating system for tracking community outreach and report on outreach
activities on a regular basis.
5. Designate a community outreach contact for each response district/shift with clear expectations of
their role.
STRATEGY 2:
Cultivate partnerships with other organizations to support department services.
Action Steps
1. Evaluate current agency partnerships for effectiveness and increased opportunity and provide a
formal report.
2. Establish a regular, frequent communication mechanism with partner agencies.
3. Create new agency partnerships where a mutually beneficial goal can be identified.
4. Utilize partnerships to solve problems, expand services, and inform decision-making.
STRATEGY 3:
Continue research to identify the opinions and priorities of the community, and their
awareness and support for current and proposed department programs.
Action Steps
1. Conduct community surveys.
2. Use survey results to better inform our community outreach efforts.
3. In partnership with Local 610, evaluate the opportunity to conduct the Fire Ops 101 program.
4. Prepare for and make application to CFAI in 2017, for accredited agency review in 2018.
5. Develop and implement a marketing and communications plan to provide a clear understanding
of agency activities and service offerings.
6. Ensure core programs meet jurisdictional and regional service delivery demands and needs.
IOWA CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
2017-2021 18
Resource Management
Goal: Maintain a high quality level of service to the community through ongoing workforce
development and the maintenance and acquisition of physical resources (equipment,
apparatus, facilities and technology).
STRATEGY 1:
Adopt long-term human resources and fixed facilities plans.
Action Steps
1. Ensure a thorough and comprehensive examination of the staffing and deployment analysis in the
Standards of Cover document – Training Tower, Station 3 Relocation, Station 5, Station 6.
2. Develop land acquisition and design plans.
3. Submit capital improvement program funding requests as appropriate.
4. Evaluate staffing requirements and identify funding alternatives.
5. Conduct a staffing analysis that considers the department’s size, structure, skill levels and
demographics relative to community needs and national standards.
STRATEGY 2:
Plan for long term asset sustainability.
Action Steps
1. for equipment.
2. Maintain a vehicle replacement plan to ensure quality apparatus.
3. Develop a quality maintenance plan for facilities.
4. Prepare the department for an improved Public Protection Classification rating by the Insurance
Services Office (ISO) and request a reevaluation.
STRATEGY 3:
Conduct periodic evaluations of the deployment model and revise the model as needed.
Action Steps
1. Annually review and evaluate the deployment model.
2. Establish and prioritize deployment outcome objectives such as reducing response times, and op-
timizing coverage to high risk areas and target populations.
3. Compile historical data, perform trend analysis and forecast deployment workloads.
4. Develop recommendations for power staffing during peak response periods and special events.
5. Evaluate automatic-aid opportunities to enhance effective response force capabilities.
6. Adjust alarm assignments for high and special risk occupancies based upon critical task resource
requirements and the three axis risk assessment methodology.
7. Monitor and report how often and for how long all units are committed to emergency response
leaving no units available for additional calls for service.
8. Explore and recommend a method to make preplan information more accessible to incident com-
manders in the field by April 1, 2018.
9. Review programs and processes available for to assist persons requiring community assistance.
IOWA CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
2017-2021 19
Resource Management (continued)
Goal: Maintain a high quality level of service to the community through ongoing workforce
development and the maintenance and acquisition of physical resources (equipment,
apparatus, facilities and technology).
STRATEGY 4:
Effectively manage responses to non -emergency calls for efficient use of department
resources while maintaining quality service delivery.
Action Steps
1. To enhance communication between ICFD fixed facilities and to promote organizational effec-
tiveness, network with the City’s Information Technology Services department to develop a re-
placement solution for the current antiquated video conferencing system by June 30, 2018.
2. Establish a group to defi ne non-emergency events and collect historical data to use in the
analysis.
3. Survey other jurisdictions and document alternative strategies for reducing non-emergency calls.
4. Conduct analysis and develop a specific process to reduce non-emergency calls.
IOWA CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
2017-2021 20
Fire Prevention/Public Education/Code Enforcement
Goal: Enhance fire prevention bureau and code enforcement programs.
STRATEGY 1:
Adopt a long-term human capital/workforce plan.
Action Steps
1. Analyze the current program and compile a report identifying outlining the number of personnel
needed to achieve the desired level of services.
2. Identify funding opportunities to provide program sustainability.
3. Consider staffing alternatives that will meet service delivery objectives.
STRATEGY 2:
Improve efficiency of enforcement operations.
Action Steps
1. Evaluate current interagency shared technology and systems to improve data sharing.
2. Employ a technology based solution to make pre fire plans more accessible and more user
friendly.
STRATEGY 3:
Update the fire code.
Action Steps
1. Conduct community surveys.
2. Use survey results to better inform our community outreach efforts.
3. Consider greater application of permitting and permit fees to improve code compliance.
4. Review and revise local amendments to the IFC prior to the adoption cycle.
STRATEGY 4:
Develop programs for identified at-risk populations.
Action Steps
1. Conduct community surveys.
2. Use survey results to better inform our community outreach efforts.
3. Use local data to target outreach campaigns.
4. Pursue collaborative efforts with the University of Iowa to provide on-line fire and life safety edu-
cation for incoming students.
IOWA CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT STRATEGIC PLAN
2017-2021 21
Performance Measurement—Managing for Results
As output measu rement can be challenging, the organization must focus on the assessment of progress
toward achieving i mproved output.
In order to establish that the ICFD’s strategic plan is achieving results, performance measurement data
will be impl emented and integ rated as part of the plan. An i ntegrated process, known as “Managing for
Results,” will be utilized, which is based upon the following:
• The identification of strategic goals and objectives;
• The determination of resources necessary to achieve them;
• The analyzing and evaluation of performance data; and
• The use of that da ta to drive continuous improvement in the organization.
A “family of measures” that is typically utilized to indicat e and m easure performance includes the
following:
Inputs—Value of resource used to produce an output.
Outputs—Quanti ty or number of units produced which is activity - oriented and measurable.
Efficiency—Inputs used per output (or outputs per input).
Service Quality—The degree to which customers are satisfied with a program, or how
accurately or timely a service is provided.
Outcome—Qualitative consequences associated with a program/service ; i.e., the ultimate
benefit to the customer. Outcome focuses on the ultimate “why” of providing a service.
The Success of the Strategic Plan
ICFD has approached its desire to develop and implement a strategic plan by asking for and receiving
input from the commu nity and members of the ag ency during the development stage of the planning
process. Th e agency utilized professional guidance and the community-driven strategic planning
process to compile this document. The success of ICFD’s Strategic Plan will not depend upon
implemen tation of the goals and their related objectives, but from support received from the authority
having jurisdiction, membership of the agency, and the community at-large.
The ICFD strategic plan creates a platform for a wide range of beginnings. This plan will come to life
by being shared, debated, and implemented in the context of organizational realities. The final step in
the community-driven strategic planning process is to develop organizational and community
commitment to the plan. Everyone who has a stake in the present and the future of the ICFD also has a
role and responsibility i n this strategic plan.
Plan Implementation