About SCOPE
SCOPE's mission is to connect and inspire citizens to create a better community. SCOPE provides opportunities where all citizens' voices are welcomed and heard. SCOPE brings together residents, business owners, government officials and organizations to listen, learn, and discuss issues that impact the quality of life in Sarasota County. SCOPE focuses on possibilities and the power of active citizens to create a better community. SCOPE stands for Sarasota County Openly Plans for Excellence.
Current Initiatives:
- 2015 Boundary Crosser Award- Every year, SCOPE recognizes a community member that has dedicated their life to making the community better. This year, we are honoring Carolyn Johnson, a civic leader, educator, businesswoman, fundraiser, philanthropist, and a 65 year resident of Sarasota. Our celebration is on September, 8th. Click here to register for the event, and click here if you would like to be one of our sponsors.
- 2015 Road Show- We recently published a compendium of community data in the form of our Community Report Card. Now, we are going around to present the data and get people talking about it. We are partnering with Sam Shimeck from the Face to Face Foundation. He created the Face to Face method, which allows for structured conversation around community issues. We do events where we present a variety of data, and we also do events where we focus on one of the nine domains of well-being (demographics, learning, economics, health, social, civic participation, built environment, natural environment, and culture and recreation). The events are rewarding, informative, and free. Click here to read testimonials from our previous shows. Click here to book a free road show for you organization.
- Results Scorecard Dashboard: We are currently working with a dashboard software created by the Results Leadership Group called Results Scorecard. It is meant to facilitate to use of Results Based Accountability, an approach that focuses on end goals and measurable outcomes to determine strategies, action steps, and budgeting. We are using the dashboard for the update of our Community Report Card and The Human Services Indicators Project. We also introduced the dashboard to Talent for Tomorrow, a cradle to career initiative formed by the Chamber of Commerce, and we are working with them on their data action team.
- Human Service Results and Indicators Project- Do you know what the goals of Sarasota County’s Human Services department are? Do you know what the measures are that the department keeps track of to gauge if they are doing well? SCOPE is working with the Human Services Department of Sarasota County to identify a list of goals for the Human Services Department, as well as the translation of those goals into measurable terms (because we’re all about data!). For example, one of the goals might be that all children have access to food, and the measurable translation would be the child food insecurity rate. Our approach to collecting this information is called results based accountability
- Data Driven Strategic Planning- Over the course of the year, SCOPE has met with several groups of people and organizations to facilitate their long-term planning processes. Most recently we met with the Sarasota Center for Architecture. We use several guiding questions to facilitate productive discussion. Unlike most strategic planning services, we provide the organization with a written report which they then can share with their donors, put on their website, or post on their giving-partner profile. What makes the planning “data driven” is that we integrate discussion about how the organization fits into the context of current trends in Sarasota County. If you would like us to help you with your strategic planning email [email protected]
- Green Map- Green Map is a software that maps green living. This includes stores that sell environmentally friendly clothing, community gardens, farmers markets, car charging stations, and more. SCOPE is in the process of updating the Green Map for Sarasota County.
- Surveys- Every month, SCOPE publishes a community survey. We post the results of the survey on our website at the end of the month. We want to know what the community is thinking, and we also want you to know what the community is thinking. We are currently promoting the survey for Age-Friendly Sarasota, which is being conducted by Kathy Black Ph.D. Please take the survey if you are 50 and if you care about making Sarasota County an age-friendly community. We have also created our own survey, for August. It asks, what do you think is the highest priority issue facing our community?
