Canada has a long tradition of commodity-driven economic growth, from agriculture to forestry to the oil sands that made Alberta rich in the new century.

Lethbridge is betting on a different future, in which innovation creates a diversified economy that can weather the winds of global change.

The ChallengeLethbridge is an agri-food, manufacturing, financial and transportation centre that is significantly influenced by its strength in post-secondary education and research. It is the fourth largest city in Alberta. In 2015, it had a population of 95,000. It is now positioning for future success in the knowledge economy by creating a deliberate strategy to become an Intelligent Community.

Intelligent Communities are defined by the Intelligent Community Forum (ICF) as meeting six criteria known to increase competitiveness in the broadband economy:• Broadband Connectivity• Knowledge Workforce• Innovation • Digital Equality• Sustainability• Marketing & Advocacy

Although the project started only a year earlier, Lethbridge was recognized by the ICF in October 2015 as one of the Top 21 Intelligent Communities in the world – a remarkable tribute to the leadership of the project co-sponsors, Economic Development Lethbridge and the City of Lethbridge.

A Collaborative ApproachHow was Lethbridge able to progress so rapidly on this journey? Economic Development Lethbridge CEO Trevor Lewington suggests: “We continue to have tremendous engagement from a broad range of partners and stakeholders. We also recognize that this collaborative approach will be even more important as we shift from strategy development to implementation, and eventually through to sustainability.”

This broad engagement was mobilized through an Intelligent Community Steering Committee, with twenty members representing all sectors: • Municipal Government• Business, Industry, and Agriculture• Education – K-12, College, and University• Community and Cultural Groups

The Steering Committee was instrumental from the outset in broadening the goal and defining an aspirational vision for the future, which the community has now committed to work together to create.

Integral Strategy™To bring focus to this vision, the Integral Strategy Network was engaged to facilitate development of an Intelligent Community Strategy Roadmap in mid-2015. Integral

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Strategy™ engages stakeholders in thinking deeply about a challenge where they need to take collective action. It is a powerful vehicle for collaboration where the goal is to create transformative change.

Key informants were interviewed initially, to gain insight into the challenge and increase the level of engagement. A series of four workshops were subsequently held with the Steering Committee, which worked collaboratively to create the Roadmap.

Strategy Roadmaps are a visual representation of strategy that establishes a clear goal, defines required supporting outcomes, identifies the actions required to achieve them, and describes the resulting benefits. The map is a concrete expression of the strategic intentions of a stakeholder community and how they can be realized.

The process used to create the Roadmap is iterative. Each successive workshop brought the group closer together, creating a shared understanding of the issues and a collaborative approach to tackling the complex challenge of creating an intelligent community. Most importantly, participants recognized their common interests, the interdependency of outcomes regardless of sector, the synergies that could be realized, and the importance of mutual accountability.

Building directly on the consensus achieved in the workshops, a final draft of the Strategy Roadmap was prepared for public consultation.

A community open house was held where the roadmap was reviewed in detail. This attracted 65 participants. People were invited to suggest any missing items and to identify what was most important to them. They were then asked to indicate areas where they were currently working, and where they expected to be involved within the next 12 months. Two “contribution maps” were

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subsequently created to document areas of stakeholder contribution and collaboration.

Feedback from the open house was reviewed with the Steering Committee and a final version of the Roadmap was published in November 2015. The process led to the group agreeing on the collective benefit of becoming an Intelligent Community:

Lethbridge is a vibrant and thriving community that offers opportunity and a high quality of life for people in the city and the region.

Community GoalsOne of the important products of the Strategy Roadmap process are eleven clearly defined goals the community will now pursue:

• Lethbridge creates favourable conditions for entrepreneurs.

• Lethbridge is a creative, inclusive and innovative community.

• Lethbridge increases skills and literacy needed in an intelligent community.

• There is equitable, safe and affordable access to the resources of an intelligent community.

• Stakeholders understand the goals and benefits.

• There is a shared vision and strong leadership.

• Cross-sector partnerships are created.

• There is broad community collaboration.

• Pervasive, high-performing and cost-effective communications infrastructure connects the community and links it to the region and the world.

• Data and information are widely shared and disseminated.

• Applications are developed to meet community needs.

With the Strategy Roadmap as the framework for implementation, work will continue with expanded action teams and broad engagement with the business, education, and community sectors in the city and surrounding region.

“This was a fascinating process. We have heard nothing but positive feedback from the participants. What I particularly liked about the process, and what happens next, is that it is not just a report that sits in a binder, but it engages people in the community. It is such an organic tool that it allows us to continue working forward. The Strategy Roadmap is a great way to articulate it… this is not a tangible goal, so it needs a sophisticated approach to articulate the vision.” Jaylene UlmerDirector, Marketing & CommunicationsEconomic Development Lethbridge

“The Strategy Roadmap is absolutely key, as there are roughly 22 different community stakeholders who worked together to help develop it... so it wasn’t just EDL or the City’s IT department identifying what was important to the community, but the community itself.” Trevor ButlerGeneral Manager, Information TechnologyCity of Lethbridge

“It was unique. It made perfect sense… probably the best tool to help us get to where we wanted to go and to get off on the right foot. We want a strategy that ultimately the community owns.” Doug Hawkins (Executive Sponsor)Director of Infrastructure ServicesCity of Lethbridge

“The biggest impact is in getting awareness, getting people to talk about it, so it is an engagement strategy. We set up a “pop up” booth in the local mall to create awareness, and it was really interesting to speak to a mother of young children, to find that it meant opportunities for jobs ten years down the road.” Vicky Bennett Intelligent Community Program ManagerCity of Lethbridge

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For further information on Integral Strategy™ see: integralstrategy.net. For information on the Lethbridge Intelligent Community Strategy see: intelligentYQL.ca.