strategic plan

strategic plan

2010 - 2015

The mission of the District

is a healthy, safe,

and enhanced quality

of living in Santa

Clara County through

watershed stewardship

and comprehensive

management of

water resources

in a practical,

cost-effective, and

environmentally sensitive

manner for current and

future generations.

ISSUE BP: BUSINESS PRACTICES

Description and Goal ... Strategies ... Strategy BP-1 and Tactics ... Strategy BP-2 and Tactics ... Strategy BP-3 and Tactics ...

ISSUE WF: WORKFORCE

Description and Goal ... Strategies ... Strategy WF-1 and Tactics ... Strategy WF-2 and Tactics ...

ISSUE AM: ASSETS

Description and Goal ... Strategies ... Strategy AM-1 and Tactics ... Strategy AM-3 and Tactics ... Strategy AM-4 and Tactics ...

APPENDIX

...

Appendix 1: Definitions of strategic planning elements ... Appendix 2: Related definitions ... Appendix 3: Acknowledgements ...

LETTER FROM THE CHIEF OFFICERS

...

Introduction ... Strategic Plan Overview ...

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1

7

9

11

13

i 2 3 7 7 7 8 8 9 9 10 10 11 11 12 12 12 13 14 15

1

Letter from the Chief Officers

The Santa Clara Valley Water District (District) is the primary water resources agency for Santa Clara County, with key water supply, water quality, flood protection and environmental stewardship responsibilities.

Like many other water resources agencies in California, the District is facing a fast-changing operating environment with unprecedented challenges on many fronts, led by an uncertain local, state and national economic climate.

To address these challenges, the District updated an agency-wide strategic plan that included business analyses and review of the vision, issues, goals, strategies and tactics for the next three to five years, 2010 – 2015. This process was led by the CEO and Chief Officers. In developing a strategic vision, the Chief Officers concluded that the District must continue to emphasize financial management and accountability, and demonstrate it effectively to our stakeholders. Especially in tough economic times, public agencies like the District have a greater need to improve transparency and accountability to stakeholders and the community. The District must focus on more efficient services, with maximum value for taxes paid to assure future sustainability. These realities are reflected in the District’s strategic vision for 2010 – 2015:

“We are a fiscally responsible water resources agency valued by the community”

Our intent is to demonstrate this vision of fiscal responsibility and accountability to everything we do in carrying out the District’s mission, to strengthen the value of our products and services, and to renew our connections with the community we serve.

Thank you for your continued support of the Santa Clara Valley Water District.

Sincerely,

Beau Goldie, Chief Executive Officer

Sharon Judkins, Chief Administrative Officer

Jim Fiedler, Chief Operating Officer, Water Utility Enterprise Marc Klemencic, Chief Operating Officer, Watershed Operations

2 Strategic Plan 2010 - 2015 Introduction

Introduction

The Santa Clara Valley Water District (District) is the primary water resources agency for Santa Clara County. An independent special district serving more than 1.8 million people, the District provides a reliable supply of clean, safe water; works to protect residents and businesses from flooding; and serves as environmental steward for many of the county’s 800-plus miles of streams and creeks, groundwater basins and District-owned reservoirs. In addition to its water resources, flood protection and stewardship role, the District has worked hard to become a recognized leader in green business and environmental stewardship, winning many awards and maintaining its county “Green Business” designation. The District has also focused on performance excellence and continual improvement,

achieving ISO 9001 and 14001 certification in 2008. These areas of emphasis enhance our ongoing commitment to the District mission:

The mission of the District is a healthy, safe, and enhanced quality of living in Santa Clara County through watershed stewardship and comprehensive management of water resources in a practical, cost-effective and environmentally sensitive manner for current and future generations.

Like many other water resources agencies in California, the District is facing a fast-changing operating environment with unprecedented challenges on many fronts. These challenges include an uncertain economic climate that will likely result in potential decreases in District revenue; water supply and quality problems in the San Joaquin Delta, threatening or reducing our imported water supplies; a persistent, ongoing drought; climate change and its future impacts on both water supply and flood protection; urgently needed infrastructure maintenance and upgrades; increasing public requests for leaner services; increasing media scrutiny; rising employee healthcare costs; and the impending retirement of many highly-trained staff.

To address these challenges the District adopted a five-year (2009-2014) Strategic Plan in March 2009. This document is an update to that Plan for 2010-2015, and provides

strategic direction for budget planning. The plan will be updated each year to respond to the challenges that will affect the District’s ability to deliver a reliable supply of clean, safe water; protect residents and businesses from flooding; and provide environmental stewardship for the communities in Santa Clara County.

3 Strategic Plan 2010 - 2015 Strategic planning overview

Strategic planning overview

In the fall of 2008 the District launched a series of strategic planning sessions, designed to precede and inform our FY 2009-10 budget planning. Participants included the District’s Chief Officers, and a selected core planning team comprised of staff with subject matter expertise.

The initial strategic planning sessions included gap and SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analyses and development of issues, goals, strategies and tactics to achieve our strategic vision. The result of this effort was the development of the District’s five-year (2009-2014) strategic plan. As issues and strategies were developed, input from managers throughout the District was obtained and incorporated in the plan. The strategic plan, including tactics and a schedule of related tasks, have been incorporated into the District’s budget development process beginning with FY 2009-10, to ensure that necessary resources are provided to implement strategic priorities. The update to the strategic plan occurred in the summer of 2009 at accelerated and focused workshop sessions, with the aim of completing the plan update to coincide with the development of the fiscal year budget. The new CEO and Leadership Team identified major strategic issues and challenges confronting the District in the next five years, and potential strategies to address these challenges. As a result of the workshops, strategic goals and tactics were updated and revised, and a multi-year (2010-2015) Implementation Plan was developed. The Management Leadership Team also provided input and comments to the updated strategic plan.

The strategic plan affirms the vision and prioritized strategic goals. The implementation plan contains the “road map” of tasks and milestones and measurable outcomes, to achieve our vision and goals.

4 Stategic Plan 2010 - 2015 Vision

Vision

The District’s strategic planning process defines a vision as a statement that provides a broad, “aspirational” image of the future that the organization is aiming to achieve. In developing a District vision for the next three to five years, the Chief Officers and core planning team concluded that the District must adopt a new emphasis on financial management and accountability that will be effectively demonstrated to our stakeholders, such as our customers, agency partners, retailers and employees. The District has received much public and media scrutiny over the last few years, pointing to a need to improve existing efforts to operate with transparency and accountability. Additionally, in the midst of the current economic recession, the District must be leaner and provide more efficient services with maximum value for taxes and water charges paid. These realities are reflected in the District’s strategic vision for 2010 – 2015:

“We are a fiscally responsible water resources agency valued by the community.”

In endorsing this vision for the District, executive leadership is emphasizing an agency-wide focus on fiscal responsibility and accountability. This vision applies to all District activities.

Adopting this strategic vision does not mean that the District will de-emphasize its water resources or environmental enhancement work. Rather, the intent is to bring the vision of fiscal responsibility and accountability to everything we do in carrying out the District’s mission, to strengthen the value of our products and services as well as improve public understanding and support of our agency. The issues, strategies and tactics developed as part of this plan all support the vision and mission.

Issues, goals and strategies

In the District’s strategic planning, issues are defined as identified problems, concerns or challenges an organization must address. Goals are defined as the condition that exists once an issue has been addressed. Strategies are defined as high-level concepts or plans for resolving issues and reaching goals (See Appendix 1 for complete glossary).

The following three issues were identified as the most critical challenges for the District to address in the next three to five years, expressed below as “must” statements. Related goals were also developed and are shown with each issue.

1

BUSINESS PRA

CTICES

Strategic Plan 2010 - 2015 Issues, goals and strategies 5

Issue BP:

Effective business practices and fiscal accountability must be demonstrated.

Issue WF:

Workforce capability, adaptability, efficiency and accountability must be achieved.

Issue AM:

The value of our assets must be maintained.

The three issues and related goals, strategies and tactics of the District’s strategic plan are discussed in detail in the following pages. Tactics are defined as specific actions designed to carry out elements of a strategy. Milestones for tactics will be published as an addendum to the strategic plan so that it can be pulled out as a separate reference document that will be updated regularly, at least annually.

ISSUES

, GO

ALS AND STRA

6 Strategic Plan 2010 - 2015 Plan Implementation

Plan implementation

Implementation starts with the Chief Officers taking collective ownership as Sponsors to ensure that the issues are addressed and/or resolved and that the associated key performance indicators are met. A single Chief Officer is assigned the responsibility for a specific issue and has the authority to represent the other Chief Officers when making changes to that issue’s strategies, tactics and tasks. Champions are charged with ensuring that assigned strategies are implemented through completion of tactics by the Project Leads.

Ongoing implementation requires regular review of the status of task accomplishment, at least quarterly, not only by the Champions and Project Leads, but also by the Chief Officers for review and revision of the Plan in response to changes in our operating environment. A change management process is in place to ensure that a consistent method for review and revision is followed.

In keeping with the strategic plan’s emphasis on accountability, the District will utilize a variety of methods to effectively communicate the plan and its implementation progress to key audiences. Plans for internal communications include on-line messages from the CEO; feature stories on specific strategic issues and goals on the employee news page; PowerPoint presentations by unit managers to staff; a web page for internal and external audiences; and video interviews with strategic plan Sponsoring Chiefs, Champions, and Leads. External communications will include targeted electronic communications from the CEO to key stakeholders, with links to the strategic plan web page.

BP-1:

IMPROVE PRODUCT AND SERVICE DELIVERY

BP-2:

IMPLEMENT PRUDENT FINANCIAL PLANS

BP-3:

DEMONSTRATE VALUE TO KEY STAKEHOLDERS AND IMPROVE CONNECTION WITH THE COMMUNITY

Strategic Plan 2010 - 2015 Business Practices 7

BUSINESS PRA

CTICES

ISSUE BP

_{Effective business practices and fiscal}

accountability must be demonstrated.

Sponsoring Chief – Sharon Judkins

As a public agency, the District should be expected to demonstrate the prudent use of public funds, efforts are consistent with its intended purposes, and that its products provide tangible benefits that are of value to the community. The District incorporates transparency into its major planning and policy actions. However, with the state and national economic crisis, the District has an even greater responsibility to demonstrate effective and responsible use of public funds without waste. This applies not only to financial and budget planning, but to every aspect of its work and product and service delivery. Improving the business practices and fiscal accountability does not change the ongoing mission and its stated commitment to watershed stewardship, comprehensive water resources management and environmental responsibility.

oal:

Stakeholders acknowledge significant

improvements in our business practices

and fiscal accountability.

G

The District invites public scrutiny of its activities and business practices. As it improves its ability to demonstrate operational achievements, financial accountability and tangible benefits to stakeholders, it must also continue to develop and implement systems to gather stakeholder feedback, assess our effectiveness and continually improve our processes.

Strategies BP-1: Improve product and service delivery.

Champions: Deborah McClain and Liang Lee

Reducing spending, increasing efficiency, and improving processes across the District are top priorities the District will continue to develop a system to identify, evaluate and implement process improvements to increase effectiveness and efficiency, and reduce spending. The District’s Quality and Environmental Management System (QEMS) will be utilized as a tool to deploy a process improvement system.

Tactic BP-1A Establish criteria and take action to reduce spending and increase efficiency.

Lead: Deborah McClain

Strategy BP3: Demonstrate value to key stakeholders.

Champion: Gustavo De La Torre

The District works hard for the benefit of the public. However, our stakeholders do not always get a clear picture of what we do and why, partly because as a wholesaler the District does not have regular direct contact with customers through billing. It is critical for us to help stakeholders understand our mission and services, and demonstrate to them that our work is worthy of their tax dollars. The District will strengthen existing efforts to engage key stakeholders—including customers, agency partners, retailers and employees—in our work. We will also increase efforts to benchmark our service delivery practices against industry comparators, so that we may better measure District effectiveness and make improvements.

Tactic BP-3A Benchmark service delivery against industry standards.

Lead: Ray Yep and Melanie Richardson

Tactic BP-3B Implement a stakeholder engagement system.

Lead: Susan Siravo

8 Strategic Plan 2010 - 2015 Business Practices

Strategy BP-2: Implement prudent financial plans.

Champion: Deborah McClain

The District is ranked highly by financial ratings organizations, and consistently achieves awards for clear, well-documented budget documents. Our investment portfolio is strong, and we have proven ourselves to be a good steward of public funds. The District can further improve our financial practices by developing and implementing a comprehensive, multi-year financial plan, which will lay out

strategies to respond to forecasted financial challenges; by working to secure additional funding for key programs; and by making strategic decisions whether savings may be realized by outsourcing some activities or by utilizing in-house talent.

Tactic BP-2A Implement a 5-year financial plan.

Lead: Deborah McClain and Katherine Oven

Tactic BP-2B Secure continuity of funding for Clean, Safe Creeks.

Lead: Ann Draper

Strategies BP-1: Improve product and service delivery.

Champion: Deborah McClain and Liang Lee

Reducing spending and increasing efficiency across the District are top priorities as we engage

in FY 2009-10 budget planning and beyond. The District will also continue to develop and implement our quality and environmental management system (QEMS), expanding it to include all functions and work areas.

Tactic BP-1A Establish criteria and take action to reduce spending and increase efficiency.

Lead: Deborah McClain and Ray Yep

Tactic BP-1B Reinforce continued implementation of an effective quality and environmental management system Districtwide.

Lead: Mary Ann Ruiz

Tactic BP-1C Insource or outsource functions when cost effective.

Strategy BP3: Demonstrate value to key stakeholders and improve connection

with the community.

Champion: Gustavo De La Torre

The District works hard for the benefit of the public. However, its stakeholders do not always get a clear picture of what it does and why. It is critical for it to help stakeholders understand its products and services, and demonstrate the effective use of their tax dollars. The District will strengthen existing efforts to engage key stakeholders — including customers, agency partners, retailers and employees. It will also increase efforts to benchmark service delivery practices against industry comparators, so that it may better measure effectiveness and make improvements. In addition, the development of a systematic measurement and reporting system to monitor the District’s fiscal and business results will help provide transparency and understandable information to the community.

Tactic BP-3A Benchmark service delivery against industry standards.

Leads: Ray Yep and Mary Ann Ruiz

Tactic BP-3B Implement a stakeholder engagement system.

Lead: Susan Siravo

Tactic BP-3C Develop and implement a systematic measurement and reporting system.

Lead: Mary Ann Ruiz

Strategy BP-2: Implement prudent financial plans.

Champion: Deborah McClain

The District is ranked highly by financial ratings organizations, and consistently achieves awards for clear, well-documented budget documents. Its investment portfolio is strong, and it has proven to be a good steward of public funds. The District can further improve financial practices by developing and implementing a comprehensive, multi-year financial plan, which will lay out strategies to respond to forecasted financial challenges; by working to secure additional funding for key programs; and by making strategic decisions whether savings may be realized by outsourcing some activities or by utilizing in-house talent.

Tactic BP-2A Implement a 5-year financial plan.

Leads: Deborah McClain and Katherine Oven

Tactic BP-2B Plan for the sunset of the Clean, Safe Creeks & Natural Flood Protection Program special parcel tax.

Lead: Ann Draper

Tactic BP-2C Secure fiscal stability in support of Water Utility Enterprise.

Lead: Deborah McClain

8 Strategic Plan 2010 - 2015 Business Practices

Tactic BP-1B Reinforce continued improvements through implementation of an effective QEMS throughout the organization.

Lead: Mary Ann Ruiz

Tactic BP-1C Insource or outsource functions when cost effective as appropriate.

Lead: Melanie Richardson

Strategy BP3: Demonstrate value to key stakeholders.

Champion: Gustavo De La Torre

The District works hard for the benefit of the public. However, our stakeholders do not always get a clear picture of what we do and why, partly because as a wholesaler the District does not have regular direct contact with customers through billing. It is critical for us to help stakeholders understand our mission and services, and demonstrate to them that our work is worthy of their tax dollars. The District will strengthen existing efforts to engage key stakeholders—including customers, agency partners, retailers and employees—in our work. We will also increase efforts to benchmark our service delivery practices against industry comparators, so that we may better measure District effectiveness and make improvements.

Tactic BP-3A Benchmark service delivery against industry standards.

Lead: Ray Yep and Melanie Richardson

Tactic BP-3B Implement a stakeholder engagement system.

Lead: Susan Siravo

8 Strategic Plan 2010 - 2015 Business Practices

Strategy BP-2: Implement prudent financial plans.

Champion: Deborah McClain

The District is ranked highly by financial ratings organizations, and consistently achieves awards for clear, well-documented budget documents. Our investment portfolio is strong, and we have proven ourselves to be a good steward of public funds. The District can further improve our financial practices by developing and implementing a comprehensive, multi-year financial plan, which will lay out

strategies to respond to forecasted financial challenges; by working to secure additional funding for key programs; and by making strategic decisions whether savings may be realized by outsourcing some activities or by utilizing in-house talent.

Tactic BP-2A Implement a 5-year financial plan.

Lead: Deborah McClain and Katherine Oven

Tactic BP-2B Secure continuity of funding for Clean, Safe Creeks.

Lead: Ann Draper

Strategies BP-1: Improve product and service delivery.

Champion: Deborah McClain and Liang Lee

Reducing spending and increasing efficiency across the District are top priorities as we engage

in FY 2009-10 budget planning and beyond. The District will also continue to develop and implement our quality and environmental management system (QEMS), expanding it to include all functions and work areas.

Tactic BP-1A Establish criteria and take action to reduce spending and increase efficiency.

Lead: Deborah McClain and Ray Yep

Tactic BP-1B Reinforce continued implementation of an effective quality and environmental management system Districtwide.

Lead: Mary Ann Ruiz

Tactic BP-1C Insource or outsource functions when cost effective.

9 Strategic Plan 2010 - 2015 Workforce

WF-1:

IMPROVE WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND ORGANIZATIONAL

ADAPTABILITY

WF-2:

CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT OF ACCOUNTABILITY

WORKFORCE

To ensure a minimum of disruption from changes in the District work environment, and to help employees adapt while staying productive, maintaining and building on employee engagement in the District will be critical to our future. District managers will need to improve their leadership and mentoring skills.

oal:

High workforce engagement is achieved

to meet business needs in a changing

and diverse environment.

G

The District is known for its highly-skilled staff and quality work. The workforce is agency strength — in its expertise, its pride of service and its diversity. District employees reflect the community they serve, and the District has emphasized that recognizing and strengthening diversity of all kinds—cultural, generational, professional and others — is a way to achieve high productivity and workforce inclusion.

With uncertain economic times ahead for the near term, greater calls for efficiency and responsiveness will require staff to be flexible and prepared to demonstrate effectiveness and accountability. Additionally, a significant number of “Baby Boomer” employees are already eligible for retirement. Succession planning has therefore become a more urgent priority, and existing staff must be trained now to take on new areas of responsibility for optimal business continuity.

ISSUE WF

_{Workforce capability, adaptability, efficiency}

and accountability must be achieved.

Strategy WF-2: Create an environment of accountability.

Champion: Rudy Medina

Strong, positive employee/manager relationships will play a central role in creating an environment of trust, commitment and accountability. Improving these relationships will facilitate effective

communication between labor and management to address workforce issues including employee performance.

Tactic WF-2A Implement an effective work plan and employee performance evaluation program.

Lead: Rudy Medina

Strategy WF-1: Improve workforce development and organizational

adaptability.

Champion: Gustavo De La Torre

A comprehensive District-wide Workforce Plan will be developed and implemented that will include succession planning, skill assessment, staff development, leadership management program, and diversity/inclusion planning to ensure business continuity. The approach is to be prepared for key staff retirements, and retain and manage knowledge and expertise in areas critical to the District’s core services.

Tactic WF-1A Develop and implement a comprehensive Workforce Plan.

Lead: Gustavo De La Torre

Tactic WF-1D Implement the Diversity Master Plan.

Lead: Gustavo De La Torre

10 Strategic Plan 2010 - 2015 Workforce

11 Strategic Plan 2010 - 2015 Assets

AM-1:

MAKE COORDINATED, ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE

AND PRIORITIZED ASSET INVESTMENT

AM-3:

PREPARE FOR CONTINUITY OF SERVICE DURING DISRUPTIONS

AM-4:

IMPLEMENT A DISTRICT-WIDE ASSET MANAGEMENT PROGRAM

ASSETS

The ultimate purpose of District assets and infrastructure is to safely and reliably provide necessary services to the public. Our goal is to maintain all assets for optimal business continuity. Effective management of assets involves planning for protection and maintenance, as corrective maintenance is generally more costly than planned maintenance. Ensuring public safety is also a key part of asset management, with safety of our 10 dams a top priority.

oal:

Assets are effectively and efficiently

managed and protected.

G

To reliably provide consumers with drinking water that meets or surpasses all state and federal standards, many assets are required, including groundwater, imported water contracts, pumping plants, reservoirs, pipelines, a laboratory and water treatment plants. To protect residents and businesses from flooding, many other kinds of assets are involved, including creeks, maintenance equipment, levees, and other flood protection facilities.

These examples represent just some of the District’s many vital assets. Others include dams, water rights, networked computers and other equipment, as well as buildings and environmental assets. With so many different assets needed to fulfill the District’s mission, effective asset management is both challenging and critically important. Developing and applying asset management processes comprehensively, consistently and effectively across all work areas is necessary to maintain the value of all District assets. Such processes include establishing or understanding levels of service, monitoring asset conditions against the level of service to manage risk of failure; making asset management decisions in a coordinated strategic fashion; understanding and planning for future funding needs to maintain business continuity, and to anticipate and plan for uncertainties or changing levels of service.

ISSUE AM

_{The value of our assets must be maintained.}

Strategy AM-3: Prepare for continuity of service during disruptions

Champion: Michael Hamer

As an agency with multiple, integrated functions, the District must be prepared at all times to deal with potential catastrophes or emergencies and avoid service disruptions. The District will strengthen its existing emergency operations efforts to develop and implement a comprehensive emergency response and business continuity program. Key strategies will be the development of key performance indicators (KPI’s) for Emergency Response Preparedness, Continuity of Operation, Operations Security, and QEMS Procedures for the District’s three Department Emergency Operations Centers (Watersheds, Water Utility, and Facilities).

Tactic AM-3A Develop and implement a comprehensive emergency response and business continuity program.

Lead: Michael Hamer

Strategy AM-4: Implement a District-wide asset management program

Champion: Sandy Oblonsky

The District will consolidate and integrate IT infrastructure, as well as implement a uniform asset

management framework. This framework will include full development of an asset management model District-wide.

Tactic AM-4A Develop and implement a uniform asset management framework.

Leads: Sandy Oblonsky and Ann Draper

Tactic AM-4B Consolidate and integrate IT infrastructure for asset management.

Leads: Information Management Officer (Bill Knoff Acting)

Strategic Plan 2010 - 2015 Assets 12

Strategy AM-1: Make coordinated, environmentally responsible and prioritized

asset investment decisions

Champion: Sandy Oblonsky

To carry out District services on a 24/7 basis, critical assets must be considered in asset management decisions. Prioritizing asset management and investment helps ensure that appropriate investments are made and that no assets are overlooked. Such decisions also must consider and incorporate environmental responsibility, pursuant to regulations and the District’s mission. The District will also continue to develop and implement our Dam Safety Program Plan.

Tactic AM-1C Develop and implement the Dam Safety Program Plan.

Lead: Frank Maitski

Tactic AM-1D Develop and implement a long term Water Supply and Infrastructure Master Plan.

Lead: Sandy Oblonsky

Tactic AM-1E Help protect District water rights through implementation of the Fisheries and Aquatic Habitat Collaborative Effort (FAHCE) Three Creeks Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) Plan.

Stategic Plan 2010 - 2015 Appendix - Definitions of strategic planning elements

1

_{Definitions of strategic planning elements}

Vision

A vision is a statement that provides a broad, “aspirational” image of the future that an organization is aiming to achieve. Example: We are a fiscally responsible water resources agency valued by the community.

Issues

Issues are statements of identified problems, concerns or challenges an organization must address. Example: Effective business practices and fiscal accountability must be demonstrated.

Goals

A goal is a statement of the condition that exists once the issue has been addressed.

Example: Stakeholders acknowledge significant improvements in our business practices and fiscal accountability.

Key Performance Indicator (KPI)

KPIs are outcome measures to monitor achievement of goals. Each goal has one (1) KPI. Example: Percent of critical assets assessed for current condition.

Strategies

Strategies are high-level concepts or plans for resolving issues and reaching goals. Example: Implement prudent financial plans.

Tactics

Tactics are specific actions designed to carry out elements of a strategy. Example: Implement a 5-year financial plan.

Task

Tasks are significant events to be achieved by a specific date that lead to the completion of a tactic and, ultimately, the accomplishment of the strategy.

Chief Officers

Composed of the Chief Executive, Chief Administrative and Chief Operating Officers, the Chief Officers have the collective responsibility for ensuring that the issues within the Plan are addressed by achieving the stated goals and the authority to change the Strategic Vision, issues, goals, KPIs and targets which they will review annually.

Sponsoring Chief

A single Chief Officer is assigned the responsibility for a specific issue and has the authority to represent the Chief Officers when making changes to that issue’s strategies, tactics and milestones.

Champion

The Champion is responsible for the implementation of the assigned strategy and ensures that adequate staff and resources are provided. At the Quarterly Management Review, the Champion reports implementation progress through the level of achievement of the milestones for each tactic for the assigned strategy.

2

_{Related definitions}

Asset

Assets include infrastructure such as dams, pipelines, treatments plants, percolation ponds and flood protection facilities; groundwater; water rights; imported water contracts; computer networks; data; and the natural environment.

Asset management

A systematic process of maintaining, upgrading, and operating assets cost-effectively. It combines engineering principles with sound business practices and economic theory, and it provides tools to facilitate a more organized, logical approach to decision-making. Thus, asset management provides a frame work for handling both short and long-range planning.

Diversity

Diversity is comprised of all the ways people differ from one another, such as race, gender, religion, national origin, age, ancestry, physical ability, veteran status, gender identity and sexual orientation. Additionally, diversity includes components such as

personal background, education, thinking process, approaches to problem solving and life experiences. Diversity is all-inclusive and, by its very nature, includes all individuals. Internal relationships are strengthened though an increased understanding of diversity. Better understanding also clarifies how diversity impacts district business and enables more effective outreach to and engagement with the community.

Insource

Work done internally rather than obtaining the same service from an external source.

Outsource

To obtain goods or services from an outside source.

Prudent

Careful and sensible; marked by sound judgment.

Project Lead

The Project Lead is responsible for the completion of the assigned Tactic, including ensuring that all associated activities are budgeted through the appropriate project number. The Project Lead is also responsible for the development and tracking of milestones, and reporting on a quarterly basis.

2

_{Related definitions}

Stakeholders

The term “stakeholders” refers to all groups that are or might be affected by an organization’s actions and success. Examples of key stakeholders might include customers, the workforce, partners, collaborators, governing boards, stockholders, donors, suppliers, taxpayers, regulatory bodies, policy makers, funders, and local and professional communities.

• Customer: The term “customer” refers to actual and potential users or of your

organization’s products, programs, or services. Customers include the end users of your products, programs, or services, as well as others who might be their immediate purchasers or users. These others might include distributors, agents, or organizations that further process your product as a component of their product.

• Collaborators: The term “collaborators” refers to those organizations or individuals who cooperate with your organization to support a particular activity or event or who cooperate on an intermittent basis when short-term goals are aligned or are the same. Typically, collaborations do not involve formal agreements or arrangements.

• Partners: The term “partners” refers to those key organizations or individuals who are working in concert with your organization to achieve a common goal or to improve performance. Typically, partnerships are formal arrangements for a specific aim or purpose, such as to achieve a strategic objective or to deliver a specific product or service. Formal partnerships are usually for an extended period of time and involve a clear understanding of the individual and mutual roles and benefits for the partners.

Workforce

Persons employed by or working for or on behalf of the District.

Workforce engagement

“Engagement” refers to the extent of the workforce’s commitment, both emotional and intellectual, to accomplishing the work, mission, and vision of the organization. Organizations with high levels of workforce engagement are often characterized by high-performing

work environments in which people are motivated to do their utmost for the benefit of their customers and for the success of the organization.

In general, members of the workforce feel engaged when they find personal meaning and motivation in their work and when they receive positive interpersonal and workplace support. An engaged workforce benefits from trusting relationships, a safe and cooperative environment, good communication and information flow, empowerment, and performance accountability. Key factors contributing to engagement include training and career

development, effective recognition and reward systems, equal opportunity and fair treatment, and family friendliness.

16 Strategic Plan 2010 - 2015 Acknowledgements

3

Acknowledgements

(in alpha order)

The following staff contributed to the

update of this Strategic Plan

Rick Callender Debbie Cauble David Chesterman Emily Cote Gustavo De La Torre Ann Draper Chris Elias Jim Fiedler Beau Goldie Michael Hamer Sharon Judkins Bill Knoff Lauren Knoff Marc Klemencic Liang Lee Frank Maitski Deborah McClain Rudy Medina Sandy Oblonsky Katherine Oven Melanie Richardson Mary Ann Ruiz Alison Russell Susan Siravo Keith Whitman

Special thanks to Ingrid Bella, Jeff Ham, and the Graphic Services Unit. For more information, please contact the Office of CEO

Mary Ann Ruiz: 408-265-2600, ext 2633 Jeff Ham: 408-265-2600, ext 2898

Santa Clara Valley Water District

5750 Almaden Expressway

San Jose, CA 95118

www.valleywater.org

GS1621_StrategicPln2009_2014_082609_BA