Community Leadership is shaping the next CLBC Strategic Plan
As Community Living BC (CLBC) develops its new Strategic Plan to guide our work from 2026-2029, we want to thank the incredible community‑led leadership that made our recent engagement efforts so meaningful.
Across the province, self-advocacy groups, Community Councils, service providers, and community partners hosted conversations and created welcoming spaces for people with lived experience, families, and support staff to share what matters most.
Because of this collective effort, more than 1,100 people across British Columbia had their voices heard.
Strong participation from across B.C.
Aspire Richmond self advocacy group hosting an engagement session in Richmond, B.C.
Engagement reflected diverse participation from all five CLBC regions—Vancouver Island, Vancouver Coastal, Fraser Valley, Southern Interior, and North Thompson Cariboo.
Importantly, the voices of people eligible for CLBC services and family members were equally represented, and were the majority of respondents.
What’s next?
Over the coming months, CLBC will:
- Spend additional time engaging with Indigenous communities
- Host “What Did We Learn?” validation sessions throughout April and early May to check back with communities, confirm what we heard, and gather further input
- Publish a public summary report highlighting key themes across all engagement groups
All of this learning will inform a draft strategic plan, which will be brought to the CLBC Board for direction and approval.
Visit this page for updates, including the upcoming publication of the “What Did We Learn” report. The report will also be shared on CLBC’s social media channels (Facebook, Blue Sky, Instagram) and in the CLBC Update for Individuals and Families.
The final 2026–2029 Strategic Plan will be published late fall of 2026.
We are proud of the collaboration that led to such strong participation and thoughtful contributions. It tells us that people care deeply about CLBC’s work and want to be part of strengthening how we learn, grow, and make a difference for the people we serve.
Do you have further questions? Email: CLBC.StrategicPlan@gov.bc.ca
What happens with your feedback?
Public and CLBC staff engagement will take place from January to March 2026.
Who is involved: In addition to our CLBC strategic planning team, CLBC has partnered with Urban Matters, a consulting group, to help design and support our engagement process.
What they will do: Urban Matters will collect, analyze, and summarize all feedback from staff and the public. They will create a “What We Learned” report, which will be shared in Spring 2026.
After the “What We Learned” report is shared, we will do additional engagement to confirm it accurately reflects input from staff, individuals we serve, and community partners, and make any necessary changes.
This input will shape the goals and activities in CLBC’s next 2026–2029 Strategic Plan, which will be released after Board approval in late fall of 2026.
Learn more about CLBC’s Strategic Planning Engagement Framework
To ensure the new strategic plan reflects the voices and experiences of the people we serve, as well as families and service providers, we are taking a community-led engagement approach grounded in inclusion, transparency, and collaboration. This includes partnering with self advocacy groups and CLBC Community Councils, as well as other community partners to host in-person and on-line feedback sessions led by and for people served by CLBC and their families.
- Listening to People We Support
CLBC is partnering with self-advocacy groups led by people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. In September 2025, CLBC invited groups led by and for people with developmental disabilities to apply for funding to host feedback sessions and create safe, welcoming spaces for individuals to share what matters most to them. We are excited to be working with the following successful applicants:
- Self Advocates of the Rockies Group Society (Cranbrook)
- Speak Up for Self Advocacy Awareness Group Society (Kamloops)
- Self Advocates of Semiahmoo House (Surrey)
- Self Advocates of Nanaimo (Nanaimo)
- Aspire Self Advocates (Richmond)
Sessions will be promoted on this page of the CLBC website and on our social media channels.
We are grateful to our network of 12 Community Councils who will host engagement sessions starting in January 2026 —both online and in person—to hear directly from families of people eligible for CLBC services. Sessions will be promoted on this page of the CLBC website and on our social media channels.
Don’t see a session being hosted in your community? Contact CLBC.StrategicPlan@gov.bc.ca to connect with a feedback session near you.
- Hearing from Service Providers and Sector Partners
CLBC will also hold targeted consultations with:
These conversations will ensure the plan is informed by those who support individuals and families every day.
- Applying IAP2 Principles for Public Participation
CLBC is using the International Association for Public Participation (IAP2) framework to guide the engagement process.
IAP2 outlines five levels of public participation:
- Inform – Share accurate, clear information to support understanding
- Consult – Listen to feedback and acknowledge concerns
- Involve – Ensure people’s views are understood and considered
- Collaborate – Work together on solutions and decision-making
- Empower – Place decision-making in the hands of participants
For this engagement, activities will generally fall between Inform and Collaborate, depending on the audience.
- Our Commitment: IAP2 Core Values in Action
CLBC is committed to embedding the IAP2 Core Values for Public Participation throughout the strategic planning process:
- Everyone affected by a decision has a right to be involved
- Public input will influence decisions
- We will consider the needs and interests of all participants
- We will actively reach out to include diverse voices
- Participants will help shape how they engage
- We will provide clear, accessible information
- We will report back on how input influenced the final plan
