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Strategic Planning

The City Manager's Office is responsible for Strategic Planning for the City of Oshawa. The City's growth, development, and ongoing consultation with Council, residents and the vibrant business community guide and influence strategic planning.

The Oshawa Strategic Plan serves as the City's highest-level policy document and guides the work of the City, its decisions and the development of our community.

2020-2023 Oshawa Strategic Plan - Our Plan for Success

In late 2019, City Council endorsed in principle an updated version of the 2015-2019 Oshawa Strategic Plan. The updates reflect initiatives and goals introduced in Council’s term to date and the removal of items that have been accomplished.

Feedback received from Oshawa residents, business / property owners and other stakeholders on the endorsed in principle version is now being considered in updates made to the document.

Proposed content for the final Oshawa Strategic Plan will be presented to City Council for approval in early 2020.

The updated Oshawa Strategic Plan will guide the work of the City for the remainder of the existing Council term, with a slight overlap into the next term to guide until new priorities are set by the incoming Council.

Call for Photos

Your photos could be featured in the 2020-2023 Oshawa Strategic Plan!

Submit your favourite Oshawa photos online for consideration in the final design of the plan.

Oshawa residents, post-secondary students and community members who are 18 years of age or older can submit photos until Friday, February 14. Selected photos may be used in the print document, online version and/or promotion of the 2020-2023 Oshawa Strategic Plan. Photos can be shared by:

uploading an image (no larger than 5 MB) to our online photo gallery; or,
contacting Corporate Communications (905-436-3311 ext. 5686 or by email) to arrange an offline sharing method.

Terms and Conditions

The City of Oshawa invites you to share your community photos for consideration in the design of the 2020-2023 Oshawa Strategic Plan. Selected photos will appear in the 2020-2023 Oshawa Strategic Plan print document, online version on the City of Oshawa website and may be posted on the City's social media accounts and online photo gallery. Additionally, submitted photographs may also be featured on other City promotional material.

Selection of Photographs Used

The City will determine which photograph(s) submitted will appear in the print document, online version and/or City of Oshawa social media accounts. The City will also determine which photograph(s) (if any) will be featured on other City promotional material (e.g. brochures, posters, advertisements). When possible, the City will make every effort to include the photo credit (photographer's name) on City of Oshawa produced media (e.g. City website, brochures, posters).

Submission Criteria

Photographs must have been taken in Oshawa
Photographs that include identifiable people must be accompanied by a completed photo consent form for each identifiable individual. Otherwise, photographs must not contain any identifiable people.
All components must be created by the photographer submitting the photograph (cannot use anything found on the internet, stock photos, copyrighted material, other people's work, etc.)
File type/size: jpeg format no larger than 5 MB
File identification format: Photographer'sName _Title.jpg = JohnDoe_PeonyGarden.jpg

Submission Agreement

Thank you in advance for sharing your photograph(s) with the City of Oshawa. By submitting your photograph(s) you agree to abide by the following terms and conditions, and will be deemed to have received, understood and accepted these terms and conditions:

Copyright will remain with the photographer, but the City of Oshawa will be permitted to use all submitted photographs in perpetuity and without payment of any fees to the photographer.
By uploading photographs to the City of Oshawa’s website, the photographer grants the City of Oshawa the irrevocable, royalty-free, non-exclusive right to use, edit, alter, publish and transmit the submitted photographs and photographer's name and image caption in any type of media, including but not limited to websites, publications, advertisements, marketing and promotional materials as well as print and electronic media. The City will not be required to pay any royalty, licence fee, cost or any other fee for the use of any submitted photograph and/or information provided by the photographer.
The City of Oshawa shall not be responsible for any subsequent unauthorized use of the photographs and/or any image(s) contained in the photographs submitted by the photographer by parties not associated with the City of Oshawa.
The City of Oshawa is not responsible for including photo credits with the use of the photograph(s). However, when possible, the City will make every effort to include photo credits on City of Oshawa produced media (e.g. City website, brochures, posters).
Photographs must be taken by the individual submitting the photographs. In submitting a photo, the photographer guarantees that the photograph(s) submitted is an original work, is taken by themself and does not infringe on any copyrights or privacy of any individuals or third parties.
The photographer is solely responsible for ensuring that they have the consent of any identifiable individuals appearing in their submitted photograph(s).

2015-2019 Oshawa Strategic Plan - Our Focus, Our Future

The current Oshawa Strategic Plan, endorsed by Council in October 2015, serves as the City's highest-level policy document and guides the work of the City, our decisions and the development of our community.

The plan contains a community vision, corporate mission and five strategic goals.

Read the Our Focus, Our Future Oshawa Strategic Plan 2015-2019 now.

Community Vision

Oshawa - a prosperous, collaborative, vibrant, inclusive and green city where people and businesses are proud to live, work, learn and play.

Corporate Mission

Dedicated to serving our community

The Strategic Goals

To achieve the community vision and corporate mission, the City is committed to five strategic goals, shown below, each with a number of themes.

1. Economic Prosperity & Financial Stewardship: Ensure economic growth and a sound financial future

Financial Strategy
Build and further Diversify our Economy
Wise Land Use
Responsible Taxation
Safe and Reliable Infrastructure

2. Accountable Leadership: Ensure respect, responsiveness and transparency

Deliberate Community Engagement
Our Corporate Culture Demands Excellence and Respect
Develop and Leverage Relationships

3. Social Equity: Ensure an inclusive, healthy and safe community

Enrich Our Community Through Diversity
An Active, Healthy and Safe Community

4. Cultural Vitality: Support arts, culture and heritage that engage and inspire

Enrich Our Community Through Culture

5. Environmental Responsibility: Protect, conserve and promote the environment

Proactive Environmental Management
Cleaner Air, Land and Water
Resilient Local Food System
Waste Generation

Why does the City of Oshawa have an Oshawa Strategic Plan?

The Oshawa Strategic Plan (OSP) serves as the City's highest-level policy document and guides the work of the City, our decisions and the development of our community.

Having a strategic plan is about visioning our future through words and pictures, and identifying how we are going to get there. The journey is driven by innovation and commitment, requiring the ability to think and act differently, and to change with the times. It requires us to recognize and balance the difference between "wants" and "needs" and to be visionary and long-term thinkers, making fully informed decisions with all facets of society and future generations in mind. It's about having regard for the past, but with a focus on the future.

The implementation of the refreshed Plan will involve the City, stakeholders and the public. City Departments will specifically develop actions for inclusion in their annual Department business plans.

Business Plans

Business Plans for each department are developed annually as part of the City's budgeting process and their most important function is to outline and guide the key objectives for the budget year.

Other Strategic Plans and Studies

In addition to the annual department business plans, various City departments and branches undertake studies or develop strategic plans related to their areas of programming and service delivery. We invite you to learn more about the City's other strategic plans.

Although the City of Oshawa does its best to provide all documents in an accessible format, we realize that not all posted documents will meet everyone's needs. If this information is required in an alternate accessible format, please contact Service Oshawa.

In late 2019, Oshawa City Council endorsed in principle an update to the City’s strategic plan and reached out to Oshawa residents, business / property owners and other stakeholders for feedback.