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Access the Age-Friendly Communities Planning Guide
Step 3: Develop an Action Plan
| AFC Planning Questions | Key Tasks |
| 4. What are the short-term and long-term goals, target populations, and objectives? (Goals) |
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| 5. What changes, interventions, or programs should be used to reach your AFC goals and objectives? (Best Practice) |
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| 6. What actions need to be taken so that the selected strategies “fit” the community context and need? (Fit) |
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| 7. What organizational capacities, partnerships, and resources are needed to implement the Action Plan? (Capacities) |
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In this step, you will learn how to select specific actions that address the key gaps in your community’s person-environment fit and develop an age-friendly Action Plan that includes short- and long-term strategies to enhance older adults’ quality of life and typically has:
- a community profile
- a description of the consultation process
- an overview of the current state
- a definition of the future state (the Action Plan)
You will learn about the process to:
- select priorities that will be the focus of your Action Plan, and for which you will further refine your initial goals and objectives. The Developing Priorities Worksheet found in the Age-Friendly Community Planning Toolkit can help you organize your findings and clarify priorities.
- refine goals and select objectives that determine what will change, for whom, by how much and by when. Aim to make your objectives Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Timebound (S.M.A.R.T).
- identify strategies (actions) to address gaps in order to develop a coherent set of changes, interventions and/or programs that address some or all of the eight AFC domains in response to local needs and assets.
- identify leads, including those your steering committee has developed, as well as key stakeholders, and other partners who can be at your disposal to share their experience and connections.
- assess the fit between proposed actions and community needs and capacities before moving ahead to assess community preparedness and anticipated barriers.
- identify timelines and resource allocation to assess whether your steering committee and partners have the capacity, time and resources to implement the proposed actions in your community. Key considerations include human resources, partnerships, finances and readiness.
- create a Program Logic Model (PLM) that is a road map for how your community’s vision to become more age-friendly and accessible will be achieved. This will also support communicating your AFC vision and Action Plan. A PLM is a living document of the best possible guess, or hypothesis, of how your Action Plan is intended to work.
- draft Action Plan using the eight domains to structure it. This will help ensure that a comprehensive set of strategies is developed with continuity to the AFC process.
- present AFC Action Plan to municipal council, since having your municipal council officially adopt your Action Plan will increase the likelihood that key strategies will receive continued attention from the community.
Read more about Step 3 in the Creating a More Inclusive Ontario: Age-Friendly Community Planning Guide.
Tools to Support Your Work
The following tools can be found in the Creating a More Inclusive Ontario: Age-Friendly Community Planning Toolkit to support Step 3:
- Developing Priorities Worksheet
- Impact-Effort Matrix
- Getting to Outcomes® Developing Goals Worksheet
- Survey for Review and Discussion of AFC Action Plan Fit with Your Community
- Guide to create a Program Logic Model
- Getting to Outcomes® Developing Assumptions Worksheet
- Getting to Outcomes® Building Your Logic Worksheet
- Working Through Roadblocks Worksheet
- Action Plan Template
Online Resource List
- Step-by-Step Guide to Qualitative Analysis (H. O’Connor and N. Gibson)
- How to Make Sense of Open-ended Responses (SurveyMonkey)