The City of Fort St. John recently adopted a CIP with the Community Development Institute (CDI). This is a crucial first step as the CDI is both a “neutral convener” and “backbone organization” that can provide overall direction, discussion venues, and reliable data collection and analysis (Wood 2016). Having the CDI plan and implement the CIP for Fort St. John will encourage broader citizen and stakeholder engagement, as the CIP will be perceived as neutral and non-partisan.

The program and service inventory is a comprehensive list of available programs and services. It creates an opportunity to identify possible gaps and overlaps. In combination with the community profile, this information is helping service providers determine community needs and allocate resources effectively.

Dr. Michael Lait, Post Doctoral researcher and Marleen Morris, Co-Director of the Community Development Institute, presented the Fort St. John Community Profile to Fort St. John city council on March 12, 2018. The information presented in the report will be used in the CDI's work with the community to develop a social framework and an economic development plan.

Vital Signs is a national program led by local community foundations and coordinated by Community Foundations of Canada that leverages community knowledge to measure the vitality of our communities and support action towards improving our quality of life.