Elgin St. Thomas Coalition to End Poverty

Steering Committee

The Purpose of the Steering Committee is as follows

1. Establish and monitor the effectiveness of Coalition governance structure and procedures.
2. Establish and, at least annually, review, in January of every calendar year the strategic direction of the Coalition.
3. Annually determine, approve, manage and review quarterly the annual Coalition budget and SC work plan.
4. Anticipate opportunities and challenges, with a specific emphasis on securing resources to address Coalition sustainability.
5. Embrace a coordination role for the Coalition by approving the annual work plans for each Coalition sub-group.
6. Provide leadership to the Coalition meetings by developing the Agenda and Chairing the meetings.
7. Regularly review the proceedings of the Coalition in order to support its coordination and to monitor progress towards work plan goals and objectives.
8. Regularly identify and plan for opportunities to address system transformation by advocating for needed change at all three levels of government in Elgin St. Thomas.
9. Produce and circulate documents on an as-needed basis to support the work of the Coalition.
10. Be the official voice of the Coalition, in conjunction with other Coalition members, as needed.

Roles & Responsibilities of the Steering Committee

Two representatives will become Co-Chairs, each with the support of their organization to provide this as a contribution-in-kind as backbone support to the Coalition. They will determine how to divvy up the leadership tasks.

For the first term of office beginning in 2017, the responsibilities would be assigned as per below, and would include alternating chairing and recording of the Steering Committee meetings.

Co Chair 1 (Fanshawe – Jan Maguire)

• Backbone Support: financial management
• Liaison for System Transformation lens to all Coalition work
• “Point of contact” on behalf of the Coalition (phone number, email, mailing address)
• Develop the SC and Coalition Agendas, in conjunction with the other Co-Chair

Co Chair 2 (FACS Elgin – Brian Flint)

• Backbone Support: Steering Committee information management (i.e., Agendas, Minutes, correspondence,)
• Liaison to the Affordable Transportation area
• Develop the SC and Coalition Agendas, in conjunction with the other Co-Chair
• Lead on the connection to the relevant research and work of other communities through participation, in part, with Vibrant Communities

The Responsibilities of Overall Steering Committee

In addition to the items listed under Section 2.0 regarding the Purpose of the SC:

• Each SC member will be the liaison to one of the Coalition sub-groups. For the initial term of office, there were determined to be:
  • Research and Knowledge – Brian Flint (with quarterly updates from Public Health regarding the Data aspects from the Community Leaders Cabinet)
  • Public Awareness/Communication – Cathy Grondin
    • Speakers Bureau – Catherine Flock
  • Community Engagement – Catherine Flock
  • Food Security – Elizabeth Ailles
  • Financial Empowerment – Doug Butler
  • Safe & Affordable Housing – Lindsay Rice
• Prepare for and attend Steering Committee meetings and provide advance notice to a Co-Chair if unable to attend
• Identify, recruit, appoint, select, elect sub- group representatives as necessary
• Lead or support the process to secure Coalition funds (e.g., grant writing, “Making the Case” to potential sponsors)
• Participate in the development and implementation of an accountability framework for the Coalition’s strategic plan
• Actively support the work of the Coalition in the community
• Identify the training and development needs for the Coalition and support addressing these