“Charting a Course”
February 1997-June 1997
The last “official” phase of Flagstaff 2020, Phase Three focused on finalizing the draft Flagstaff 2020 vision statement and action plan. The Action Teams and Vision Task Force reviewed the community’s input and notes, and analyzed expert research in order to create a draft version of the final vision statement and action plan.
One aspect of Flagstaff 2020 that made it successful was the flexibility of the people involved and the flexibility of the phases themselves. Near the end of Phase Two, Phase Three was redesigned to address concerns that the Vision Task Force and other community members had about the visioning process. The redesign of Phase Three also introduced a new timeline for the final six months of the Flagstaff 2020 community visioning process.
Phase Three was redesigned to accomplish many things including: Create Action Teams with diverse members; produce and release a draft vision statement; receive and review community input on draft vision; allow NAU’s Social Research Laboratory to conduct second community survey; allow Action Teams to develop the “how-to’s” of the action plans; allow Action Teams to review their drafts to ensure consistency; and continue community outreach and involvement. This redesign also included a new timeline for the last six months of the process.
Flagstaff 2020’s transparency and open communication allowed the teams to safely voice their concerns about the timing and process of Flagstaff 2020 events and activities. In the end, this open communication allowed them to put more time and thought into their final vision statement and action plans.
One effort to receive community feedback was the short film Flagstaff: The Once and Future Mountain Town (1997). It was produced by Northern Arizona University and aired by KWFB and KNAZ. In the excerpt from the film below, the narrator highlights community involvement in Flagstaff 2020 and presents the draft vision text for review. Watch the entire film Flagstaff: The Once and Future Mountain Town via Digital Collections.