COMITÉ CANADA TIBET COMMITTEE STRATEGIC PLAN

Transcription

1 COMITÉ CANADA TIBET COMMITTEE STRATEGIC PLAN

2 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction...3 Methodology...4 Evolving context...5 Mission, vision, and institutional values...6 Strategic objectives...7 Tactics (method)...8 Monitoring and evaluation Risks and mitigation Conclusion Adoption... 12

3 3 INTRODUCTION The Canada Tibet Committee s (CTC) Strategic Plan achieved its primary objective of securing an agreement with Citizenship and Immigration Canada for a program that will eventually bring 1000 new Tibetans to Canada. The new three-year plan presented here will carry the CTC forward for three years from 2016 to Since 2012, the CTC has undergone a restructuring process designed to refocus its mandate and to improve its efficiency and fiscal accountability. As a direct result of the restructuring, the CTC no longer maintains independent local chapters (branches), instead it operates as a centralized national organization based in Montreal. Second, the CTC no longer offers individual membership but instead enjoys a growing network of friends and supporters. And finally, the CTC Board of Directors is no longer comprised of ex-officio branchlevel designates, but is instead elected by the current Board. During the re-structuring process, the CTC revised its by-laws, mission statement, institutional values, and it adopted environmental and gender policies. It submitted an application for continuance of its not-for-profit status to the Government of Canada which was granted in December These structural changes are reflected within the CTC s new Strategic Plan

4 4 METHODOLOGY This strategic plan is the culmination of an intensive and participatory process undertaken by the Board of Directors over a period of eight months from January-September The Directors consulted broadly both internally and externally. A literature review was supplemented by external consultations with Tibetan and non-tibetan stakeholders. Information gathered was compiled and discussed in a series of telephone conferences. Opportunities and challenges were evaluated in relation to recommendations from four departmental reviews that had been carried out by the Executive Director since 2012 (including operations, communications, government relations, and campaigns). Conclusions of a Parliamentary Roundtable hosted by the CTC in Ottawa in April 2015 were taken into consideration. The views of Canadian Tibet Associations were welcomed by the Board of Directors during a September 2015 meeting held in Montreal. In addition, a fundraising needs assessment commissioned by the Board of Directors influenced final decisions. The combined outputs of these efforts informed the final strategic plan.

5 5 EVOLVING CONTEXT At the time the CTC was created in 1987, Tibet had been rocked by its first major uprising since Tibetan communities in Canada found themselves faced with a dilemma how to persuade the Government of Canada to support the Tibetan Government-in-Exile (now Central Tibetan Administration) and how to engage Canadians in that effort. There were few models to follow; the only existing Tibet support group in North America at the time was the US-Tibet Committee. The CTC created itself in the USTC image. Twenty-eight years later, the CTC operates within a very different context. The internet has inspired a radical change in the way that people interact within and across borders. There are more than 200 Tibet support groups around the world, many with significant human and financial capacity. They collaborate within a formalized network that coordinates strategies and work plans, primarily at the international level. The CTC played a leading role in the creation of that international network. As the Tibet support movement grew, Tibetan community associations in Western countries also grew in size and capacity. The number of Tibetans in Canada has increased ten-fold since the CTC was created. The activities of Tibet Associations are guided by the Tibetan administration which itself has evolved into a fully democratic system following the Dalai Lama s devolution of power in 2011 and transfer of power to an elected political leader. The Tibetan administration is adept in interacting with the international community, less reliant on support groups for public advocacy, and less tolerant of the independent nature of support group activities. The CTC has confronted a number of challenges resulting from the changed context in which it operates. The competition for funding among Tibet groups has reduced the number and size of contributions to each group. The competition for political space has generated new debates about the role non-tibetans should play within the world of Tibet advocacy. Meanwhile, the Tibet movement itself is struggling for attention amidst the myriad of competing human rights issues that have captured headlines and the attention of the international community. Despite such challenges, for almost thirty years the CTC has pursued its human rights mandate with dedication, professionalism, and creativity. It has adapted to new challenges and maintained its focus. The CTC s many notable achievements since 1987 attest to its dynamism, dedicated leadership, and spirit of volunteerism. Today, the CTC is recognized both in Ottawa and across the country as the primary national Tibet advocacy group in Canada. Its importance lies in keeping Tibet on the agenda of the Government of Canada. During the federal election of October 2015, each one of the five leadership candidates had met personally with the Dalai Lama - a true measure of the CTC s consistent efforts over the years. This strategic plan builds on the CTC s achievements, recognizes the evolving environment in which it operates, and puts forward a concrete plan for success as Tibet s Voice in Ottawa. China has also changed. Just fifteen years ago, when China joined the World Trade Organization, it still responded to pressure from Western governments (at least publicly) to improve its human rights record in exchange for economic cooperation. Now, western countries have little remaining leverage and they are less willing to apply it. In a reversal of fortune, China s rise in economic and political stature is such that countries like Canada must comply with China s demands - particularly around the issue of Tibet - to protect access to Chinese markets.

6 6 MISSION, VISION AND INSTITUTIONAL VALUES In 2013, as part of its restructuring exercise, the CTC revised its mission, vision and values to better reflect the current context in which it operated. Policies and activities carried out by the Canada Tibet Committee are guided by these statements of principle. In addition, the CTC is committed to the principle of non-partisanship. The CTC is not aligned with any particular political party in Canada or within the Tibetan diaspora polity. The CTC endeavours to work across party lines to achieve its goals of defending and advancing the human rights of the Tibetan people. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE The Board of Directors MISSION STATEMENT The Canada Tibet Committee defends and promotes human rights and democratic freedoms of the Tibetan people. The CTC monitors developments inside Tibet and builds public awareness in Canada through its outreach activities. The CTC encourages support for Tibet from the Government and Parliament of Canada. METHOD Engaging current foreign policy debates in Canada; Meeting with parliamentarians and government officials; Organizing policy seminars and cultural events; Conducting research and publishing reports; Collaborating with like-minded organizations across Canada. OUR VISION The Canada Tibet Committee aspires to a world in which Tibet is a Zone of Peace - a neutral, demilitarized sanctuary where all people fully enjoy their human rights and live in harmony with nature. OUR VALUES Advisory Committee Executive Director Non-violence, tolerance, and compassion as our strategy; Volunteerism; openness; and integrity as our method; Respect for the Tibetan people s democratic process as our guiding principle. Staff Regional Representatives

7 7 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES The CTC Strategic Plan features three strategic objectives: STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1 Government of Canada endorses the Middle Way as a viable approach for resolution of the conflict in Tibet, in accordance with the policy of the elected Tibetan administration in exile. Rationale: While many western governments, including Canada, have endorsed and encouraged dialogue and negotiations between envoys of the Dalai Lama and the Government of China, and while they have concurrently supported specific elements of autonomy such as linguistic and religious rights, Western governments have nevertheless been reluctant to endorse the broader concept of genuine autonomy for the Tibetan people as proposed by His Holiness the Dalai Lama in his Middle Way Approach. Canadian federalism offers interesting examples of regional autonomy including aboriginal self-government and recognition that the Québecois form a nation within a united Canada. These experiences can serve as the foundation for discussion when asking Canada for formal recognition of the Middle Way Approach. Target stakeholders: Canadian Parliamentary Friends of Tibet; Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Canadian academic community. Program benchmarks: Group of prominent Canadians writes an open letter to the Prime Minister extolling merits of the Middle Way Approach as an appropriate policy position for the Government of Canada; Parliament of Canada adopts all-party resolution endorsing the Middle Way Approach; Government of Canada issues ministeriallevel statement endorsing the Middle Way Approach. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 2 The CTC is a self-sustaining organization with annual recurring income sufficient for core operating costs, and a development fund for organizational growth. Rationale: In order to fulfil its mandate, the CTC requires full time staff including, at a minimum, a professional-level Executive Director and Administrative Manager. Funding for core operating costs must be predictable, reliable, and recurring in order to attract qualified staff to these positions. Without qualified staff and reliable recurring core funding, the CTC cannot develop innovative strategies or implement campaign plans. The cycle of insufficient funding and capacity deficit will handicap the organization s effectiveness and discourage larger grant funds needed for institutional development. Target stakeholders: Existing CTC donors; Canadian philanthropists; institutional donors. Program benchmarks: Monthly donor commitments and two flagship events provide annual recurring income that is predictable and that is sufficient to cover core operating costs; Institutional development is endowed by Canadian philanthropists and/or institutional donors who together commit substantial funds over a period of three years; A significant foundation/government grant enables the CTC to build a niche expertise while also contributing to organizational sustainability. STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3 Identification of the CTC as a national, Tibetan-driven political advocacy organization. Rationale: While the number of Tibetans in Canada has grown significantly over the past fifteen years, there has not been a concurrent increase of Tibetan participation in the CTC or in coordinated political advocacy at the national level. At the same time, the Central Tibetan Administration emphasizes the importance of Tibetan leadership in political advocacy for Tibet. Similarly, the Government of Canada responds more favourably to advocacy that is led and supported by the community. The CTC s future relevance, viability and success, therefore depends upon its ability to generate both interest and opportunity for Tibetans in Canada. Target stakeholders: Tibet Associations; Tibetan youth, Central Tibetan Administration, Tibetan parliamentarians (Chitue). Program benchmarks: A Tibetan-Canadian is hired as Executive Director of the CTC; An advisory committee of prominent Canadians and Tibetans serves the CTC; At least one half of the CTC regional representatives are of Tibetan origin; The CTC Board of Directors is at least one half of Tibetan origin; Tibet Associations in Canada participate in one annual event together with the CTC.

8 8 TACTICS (METHOD) Implementation of the CTC strategic plan is dependent upon the strength of 4 mutually-supportive pillars: public outreach; government relations; community cooperation; and good governance. Each pillar has both distinct and overlapping elements that together enable achievement of the strategic objectives. Weakness of any one pillar will weaken the structure as a whole and have a negative impact on achievement of the strategic objectives. Elements that construct each of the pillars are described as tactics. Tactics are the means used to achieve objectives. Tactics may be simple, contained activities such as demonstrations or petitions, and they may also be more complex projects such as research, multifaceted campaigns, or strategic litigation. The CTC will use a combination of tactics to achieve its objectives. GOOD GOVERNANCE PUBLIC ENGAGEMNT Fundraising Accounting Database Communications Campaigns Partnerships GOVERNMENT RELATIONS COMMUNITY COOPERATION Policy / research Parliament, Bureaucracy Central Tibetan Administration, United Nations Tibet Associations / Youth Tibet Support Groups / International Tibet Network

9 9 TACTICS FOR INCREASING PUBLIC ENGAGEMENT The CTC will re-engage with the Canadian public through regional representation, innovative use of electronic communications, timely campaigns, and partnerships with civil society networks. In particular, the CTC will dedicate significant funding for construction of a new website that reflects new technology and offers a suite of campaigning tools. The CTC will build a network of qualified representatives in key locations across Canada. The representatives will endeavour to increase the number of local supporters thereby strengthening the CTC network. Representatives will promote CTC objectives through their grassroots activities and contribute to an active online presence. The CTC will seek out tech-savvy young people to present its information in a style that is attractive to Canadians. The CTC will enhance its reputation as the only Tibet organization in Canada that publishes in both official languages. TACTICS FOR GOVERNMENT RELATIONS The CTC will prioritize its relationship with the Government of Canada and the Parliament of Canada, including the Parliamentary Friends of Tibet, by increasing its active presence in Ottawa. The CTC will focus its government advocacy agenda on the achievement of strategic objective one. This will be done through a series of planned interventions within target ministries, political parties, and with members of parliament. The CTC will improve its effectiveness in Parliament by providing diplomacy training for its representatives and by engaging various parliamentary procedures that will maintain visibility of the Tibetan issue. The CTC will collaborate more closely with the PFT in particular to consolidate its membership, to provide policy guidance, and to support the annual internship program. The CTC will encourage Tibet advocacy in provincial legislatures particularly through the efforts of its regional representatives and in support of its national strategies. The CTC will include Tibet Associations in Canada as key stakeholders in its government relations activities. The CTC will communicate news updates to the heads of Associations on a regular basis and facilitate local-level relationships between communities and their parliamentary representatives. TACTICS FOR COMMUNITY COOPERATION Tibet Associations represent important stakeholders in the national advocacy for Tibet and the CTC is committed to closer collaboration with Associations based on our common objective of defending and promoting human rights in Tibet. To this end, the CTC will communicate regularly with Associations and seek their input in its decision-making processes. The CTC will pro-actively invite Tibetans to assume leadership positions within the organization including on its Board of Directors and in staff positions such as regional representatives. The CTC will participate in Tibet Association events, invite Tibetan community members to its activities, and organize joint activities to build relations between Tibetans and non-tibet supporters. The CTC will collaborate with the North American Office of Tibet and with Tibetan parliamentary representatives (Chitue). The CTC will consider feasibility of developing Tibetan language capacity. The CTC will develop a youth engagement program that includes both mentorship and opportunity. TACTICS FOR GOOD GOVERNANCE In an effort to become a fiscally responsible organization, the CTC will conform to the basic elements of good governance including transparency, efficiency, and accountability. The CTC will create a fundraising plan with specific targets. The first goal of the fundraising plan is to consolidate annual recurring income for core operating costs. The second goal of the fundraising plan is to build a development fund for growth and innovation of the CTC. All CTC Directors, staff and representatives will engage fundraising responsibilities as it is a requirement for the organization s survival. In parallel to fundraising efforts, the CTC will improve its accountability standards including in the areas of financial reporting. The CTC will hire an Administrative Manager to streamline banking procedures, to improve database security and efficiency, and to ensure that required government reporting is completed in a timely manner. The CTC will study options for moving its national office to Ottawa before the end of 2016.

10 10 MONITORING & EVALUATION A detailed monitoring and evaluation framework (logical framework) for each strategic objective will be developed based on the model below. The framework will be reviewed by the Board of Directors and updated annually. The monitoring and evaluation framework will inform CTC annual action plans and it will guide the drafting of proposals required for grant applications to foundations and other agencies. The monitoring and evaluation framework will facilitate interim and final evaluations of the CTC s Strategic Plan. Evaluations will rely upon both empirical and qualitative indicators related to stated outcomes. Stakeholder evaluations will be sought through online surveys circulated within target constituencies. Stakeholders include the CTC Board of Directors, Staff, Advisory Committee, Regional Representatives and others as deemed relevant. Adjustments to the Strategic Plan will be made as needed, as determined by evaluation results, and via a resolution of the Board of Directors. LOGIC MODEL ULTIMATE OUTCOME (SO.1) GOVERNMENT OF CANADA ENDORSES MIDDLE WAY APPROACH INTERMEDIATE OUTCOMES 1. Parliament of Canada adopts all-party resolution supporting the MWA. 2. Group of prominent Canadians writes open letter to Prime Minister endorsing the MWA OUTPUTS Direct Action MP exchange delegations, Parliamentary hearings Advocacy Ministerial statements; govt visits to Tibet Direct Action Expert seminars; speaker events Advocacy Advisory committee; opinion pieces ULTIMATE OUTCOME (SO.2) CTC IS A SELF-SUSTAINING ORGANIZATION INTERMEDIATE OUTCOMES 1. Recurring donations support annual core operating costs 2. Multi-year funding commitments facilitate growth OUTPUTS Direct Action Innovate & upgrade online capacity Advocacy Newsletters; French, Tibetan language use Direct Action Funder survey; proposals based on thematic priorities Advocacy DThematic research and Publication; blog posts; academic partnerships ULTIMATE OUTCOME (SO.3) THE CTC IS A NATIONAL TIBETAN-DRIVEN POLITICAL ADVOCACY ORGANIZATION INTERMEDIATE OUTCOMES 1. The institutional face of the CTC is Tibetan 2. Tibet advocacy in Canada is unified and coherent OUTPUTS Direct Action Joint action (s) with Tibetan communities in Canada; annual meeting Advocacy Tibetan spokespersons; information sharing Direct Action Collaborative decisionmaking; community empowerment initiative Advocacy Joint media statements; joint letter writing

11 11 RISK MANAGEMENT Risk is determined by external factors which are often complex and beyond the control of the CTC. The management of risk is an iterative process that is undertaken during evaluation of both objectives and tactics. Evaluation of individual programs seeks to identify specific risks and modify activities accordingly. Operational risks are always present and require flexibility in relation to timeframes identified in the Strategic Plan. The Board of Directors will undertake to create an enabling environment for the CTC that will allow the organization to flourish and to successfully achieve its objectives. CONCLUSION The CTC dedicates its efforts to the people of Tibet whose daily struggle for freedom confronts systemic violations of their human rights. Every day Tibetans are denied the right to freely express their opinions, to practice their religion, or to fully participate in the political processes that affect their lives. Yet they continue to speak out and to protest, despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles. We are inspired by their non-violent struggle. As Canadians living in a free and democratic society, we will stand with the Tibetan people and carry their voices to the government and people of Canada.

12 12 ADOPTION The Canada Tibet Committee Strategic Plan is adopted by a resolution of the Board of Directors on September 27, 2015 in Montreal, Quebec. HON. CONSIGLIO DININO (CHAIR) DR. MATILDE BERNABEI (VICE CHAIR) MR. RAYMOND YEE (SECRETARY) MS. LUISA DURANTE (TREASURER) DR. LARA BRAITSTEIN

13 COMITÉ CANADA TIBET COMMITTEE Canada Tibet Committee 1425 René-Lévesque Blvd. W 3rd Floor Montreal, Quebec H3G 1T7 tibet.ca