Countywide Vision

About the Program

Category: County Administration and Management (Best in Category)

Year: 2014

The Countywide Vision is an active, ongoing, collaborative process aimed at setting a course for the county as a whole, improving life within the county, and making the county attractive to investors. This is being accomplished by strengthening each of the elements of a “complete community” (education, economy, wellness, public safety, housing, water, environment, infrastructure, image, and quality of life), with the understanding that the elements are interrelated and depend on each other’s success. The San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors launched the Countywide Vision in 2010, eventually in partnership with the county’s council of governments, and is being managed by the San Bernardino County Administrative Office in cooperation with the COG and specific community leaders. The Vision was defined via public input and discussions among subject-area experts. It is being achieved via moderated meetings of element groups, in which goals are established, monitored, and reached. Element group leaders meet regularly to share information and look for opportunities for collaboration. To date, the process has resulted in a countywide water inventory, a best business practices inventory, an inventory of developable land, a roadmap to the success of all county children from cradle to career, and an exhaustive report on community wellness created through a partnership of hundreds of experts and stakeholders. The Countywide Vision has also led to the establishment and active pursuit of two regional goals, each requiring the cooperation of several element groups. One regional goal calls for supporting the success of every child from cradle to career. This is being addressed collaboratively by the education, wellness, economy, public safety, and housing, element groups. The other calls for the establishment of San Bernardino County as a model for business friendliness. This is being achieved collaboratively by the economy, education, wellness, public safety, housing, and water element groups.