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STRATEGIC PLAN

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CONTENTSIntroduction .........................................5

Mission & Vision ..................................6

Vision Themes .................................... 8

Core Values ......................................... 13

Platforms of Execution ............... 16

Areas of Strategic Focus ..............17

Execution Matrix ............................ 19

Key Goals ........................................... 20

Credits ................................................. 30

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When The Holden Arboretum & Cleveland Botanical Garden

began to consider joining forces, what excited us most was the prospect of impacting our world in ever more meaningful ways.We already shared strong strategic alignment, more than even we realized at first. So our challenge was to focus ourselves, to select from an infinite number of possible aspirations and roles we might play to realize those aspirations. The result is what you are about to read, our first unified strategic plan. We present our vision for the future: the future of our new organization, and the future of the world – Northeast Ohio, the Great Lakes region, and beyond – that we seek to engage.

The process itself was especially gratifying, not only for the fresh and creative ideas we heard and generated, but also for confirming that we have a wealth of present and potential partners and stakeholders who share our ambitions, and with whom collaboration will yield our greatest successes. Around two hundred workshops and interviews laid a foundation of what I called

“high-grade ore”, the ideas and observations we would mine in succeeding months to create our plan.

As the ideas gelled, our plan benefited from thoughtful participation by our organizations’ staff, directors, and stakeholders, especially as we made the tough choices that are the hallmark of any successful plan: strategic focus. Special recognition is due our friends at Smithink, Linda and David Smith, for facilitating such a rational and well-ordered process.

We are the only public garden organization with such significant footprints and opportunities in both urban and exurban settings: the botanical garden, set in a remarkably vibrant cultural center, Cleveland’s University Circle; and the arboretum, 3,600 acres of ecologically diverse natural areas, large-scale gardens, research plots, and scientifically curated collections of woody plants.

Our outward perspective shines through our vision statement, which is not a vision for our organization per se, but rather our vision for the world we will help create, and that we will celebrate as it evolves through our work and leadership. As the years unfold, we look forward to our communities becoming ever greener and more vibrant, and our native forests regaining and retaining their unique, diverse character. Our human and natural worlds are becoming increasingly dynamic, from societal evolution to changing climate to globalization of cultures and biota. It is that context that makes our work, and that of everyone who shares our aspirations, so important and urgent.

Thank you for sharing our vision, and for being part of our great enterprise.

Gratefully yours,

Clement W. Hamilton, Ph.D.President and CEO

When one tugs at asingle thing in nature,he finds it attached to the rest of the world.

— John Muir

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Advance and inspire a deeper understanding of plants to enhance life.

Vibrant green communities and diverse native forests of the Great Lakes region

will flourish and sustain life.

Vibrant green communities…environmentally balanced and sustainable ecosystems from urban to rural and from grassland to forest based on sound, scientifically-based practices

…diverse native forests…biodiversity and genetic diversity with native integrity of all plant life

…Great Lakes region…

the stage on which we will provide influence and have our most direct impact

…flourish and sustain life...that can be sustainable in a regionally relevant and responsible manner; enrich the life of all living beings

Advance…to create knowledge; to take a leadership role

…inspire…to engage and foster an appreciation in others

…deeper understanding…research, education, understanding of sustainability issues

…inspire a deeper understanding…opportunity for creativity in how we share our knowledge;sharing the vital importance that plants have to all life

…to enhance life…rich destination and outreach experiences that engage and en-lighten; to have a lasting and pos-itive impact on the life of all living beings

Our Mission Our Vision

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DEFINITION:

The variety of life on Earth at all levels.

Includes variability within species, between species and between ecosystems. Also includes genetic variation, morphological and functional variation within and between species, and ecosystem variation.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT:

It underlies the stability of ecosystems and ecological services.

Providing clean air, clean water, maintenance of soil fertility, and habitat for plant and animal life.

WE WILL:

• Conduct impactful ecological research.

• Improve and utilize our collections, gardens, and natural areas.

• Conduct plant and environmental science education for K-12 students.

Biodiversity

DEFINITION:

The interconnected network of open spaces and natural areas.

Includes greenways, wetlands, parks, forest preserves and native vegetation — to naturally manage storm water, reduce the risk of floods, capture pollution, improve water quality and mitigate climate change.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT:

It builds resilient communities through plant-based solutions.

These are often more cost-effective and capable of meeting social, environmental and economic objectives than ‘grey’ infrastructure.

WE WILL:

• Document and advocate for the functional importance of trees and other plants.

• Demonstrate effective green infrastructure, both on- and off-campus.

• Offer technical expertise and partnership to decision-makers and engineering professionals.

Green Infrastructure

Our Vision Themes Our Vision ThemesThese guide our priorities and represent the content we will focus on and the impact we intend to achieve.

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Our Vision Themes

DEFINITION:

A population that has awareness, understanding, knowledge and desire.

They incorporate appropriate environmental considerations into their daily decisions about individual and community lifestyle, thereby positively impacting the world around them.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT:

It’s critical to long term success in the achievement of an ecologically healthy and sustainable environment.

This requires helping citizens of all ages, economic and social groups, from urban to rural, to achieve higher levels of plant and environmental literacy.

WE WILL:

• Conduct school and community youth education programs.

• Interpret our gardens, forests, plant collections, exhibits and special events to advance community knowledge.

• Be an active and credible source of information on plant-related topics most relevant to our mission.

Plant & Environmental Literacy

DEFINITION:

The integration of the management of land and water resources.

While protecting ecosystem services with increasing demands for food, fiber and housing resulting from rapidly growing populations.

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT:

Improper land management leads to ecological degradation.

And a significant reduction in the productive ecosystem service functions of our watersheds and landscapes.

WE WILL:

• Foster sound forest management practices and sustainable utilization — from logging to forest farming to recreation — by forest landowners, both private and public, and restore, improve, and interpret Holden’s forests as demonstration landscapes.

• Promote food production in both urban and natural environments.

Sustainable Land Use

Our Vision Themes

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Maintain our organization’s long-term integrity

Define our work culture and how we

go about our work

A basis for consistency and accountability

A guide for our actions when choices are unclear

A source of inspiration, motivation & pride

Serve to galvanize us into action

Influence our strategic planning

Our Core Values

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Leadership We demonstrate strong, effective leadership within our industry and among our peers. We lead collaborative efforts with partners, including those outside of our industry.

Excellence We hold ourselves to high standards in everything we do. Our delivery upon excellence contributes to a positive and continually enhanced image of our organization.

Innovation We embrace innovation and creativity in the experiences we offer our visitors, our programming content, our science-based inquiries, and the manner in which we inspire an appreciation and understanding of plants.

Fiscal Responsibility We are strongly committed to fiscal responsibility to maintain a sustainable operation in pursuit of our Mission. We are responsible stewards of our resources. We operate in compliance with all commonly accepted business standards and practices.

Accountability We hold ourselves accountable to the organization and to each other. We empower one another to use good judgment in allocating resources appropriately and in the best interest of the organization. We are committed to a policy of transparency through all communication and our actions.

Beauty We inspire and engage our guests through the creation of beautiful displays to advance a deeper understanding and appreciation of plants that enhance and sustain life. We promote beauty through our outreach efforts with off-campus plantings and demonstration gardens.

Trust We are committed to an environment of trust, transparency and honesty. We trust one another to be reliable and dependable and demonstrate good judgment. We believe trust is earned through honesty, selflessness, open communication, credibility and reliability.

Integrity We demonstrate high standards, objectivity, ethical conduct and the exercise of good judgment in all our actions and communication. We respect intellectual freedom. We conduct ourselves in a professional manner and we are courteous and respectful of one another and of everyone in our extended community.

Respect We respect and cherish the diversity of all people and biodiversity within the natural world. We treat each other with respect. We seek to increase our key constituencies’ respect for our history, our contributions to the community and commitment to our Mission.

Collaboration We proactively communicate and collaborate with one another to become a single organization that strives for positive outcomes in all our endeavors. We collaborate through engagement with our community, partners and key constituencies to achieve our Mission.

Our Core Values Our Core Values

Cultural Values Business Values

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5 areas of Strategic Focus

We will attract targeted audiences in a manner that is both relevant to them and that engages them, whether it be the experiences we create (and provide) on our campuses, our outreach efforts, our various forms of communication, our research or even our approach to long term planning.

Attract & Engage Audiences

A core, unique and powerful strength of our organization is our base of knowledge and our ability to share it. Building upon this base with further research, and sharing our knowledge with the audiences we attract and engage, is foundational in advancing our Mission.

Advance & Share Knowledge

A critically important dimension of our Mission is to create an impact. While in some cases the impact may result from our research and/or work that we directly undertake, the power of demonstrating and inspiring others to take action will exponentially increase the impact we desire to achieve.

Demonstrate & Inspire Action

Basis Of Identifying Key Strategic GoalsPlatforms of ExecutionAdvancing Our Mission And Ultimately Creating Impact

Compelling & Relevant

Destinations

Outreach with Impact

Nationally Recognized

Research

Distinctive Image

Long Term Planning &

Perspective

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Execution Matrix

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Connect target audiences with experiences that immerse, engage and inspire a passion for plants and a desire to contribute to a more sustainable environment.

Lead and contribute, in the Great Lakes region, toward creating and stewarding green communities and healthy diverse forest ecosystems.

Conduct research in plant and environmental sciences of direct and indirect application; be active in the scientific community and foster the next generation of scientists.

To be recognized as a significant cultural institution that advances knowledge in plants and environmental sciences, inspires through experiences and positively impacts life.

To guide effective, focused decision-making and allocation of resources toward a sustainable operation.

Attract & Engage Audiences

Advance & ShareKnowledge

Demonstrate &Inspire Action

Combining our

Platforms of Execution

and Areas of Strategic

Focus helps define

our rationale and

guide us toward

our Strategic Goals.

Are

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f Str

ateg

ic F

ocus

Platforms of Execution

Compelling & Relevant

Destinations

Outreach with Impact

Nationally Recognized

Research

Distinctive Image

Long Term Planning &

Perspective

INSPIREInspire visitation and guest engagement through the beauty and quality of our displays at both campuses.

CONNECTDevelop a portfolio of expe-riences to make visits com-pelling 12 months of the year to one or both of our campuses.

ENRICHElevate the on-campusguest experience with a higher level of immersion and more personalized interactions.

EDUCATEStrengthen educational content in all dimensions at both campuses.

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Identification of Key Goals

Compelling & Relevant Destinations

Rationale: Connect target audiences with experiences that immerse, engage and inspire a passion for plants and a desire to contribute to a more sustainable environment.

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EDUCATEEnhance and create off-campus educational programs that have the ability to increase impact.

PACKAGE & TARGETPackage the unique skills and knowledge of the organization and strategically disseminate to targeted audiences.

ADVOCATEAdvocate for the importance of plants, gardens and forests to the general public and to decision-makers.

PARTNERExtend impact on the Great Lakes region by creating and leveraging strategic partnerships.

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Identification of Key Goals

Outreach with Impact

Rationale: Lead and contribute, in the Great Lakes region, toward creating and stewarding green communities and healthy diverse forest ecosystems.

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CONDUCT Conduct research that contributes to our understanding of how forest ecosystems are affected by biotic and abiotic alteration of the environment.

IDENTIFY Conduct research that contributes to our understanding of biotic and abiotic stress tolerance in plants and identifies new plants with useful adaptations to changing environments.

CONTRIBUTE Conduct research that contributes to our understanding of plant-soil ecological processes and how biotic and abiotic factors affect these relationships.

ADVANCEUse our collections, natural areas, field sites and archived data to advance our understanding of plant and environmental science.

MENTORContribute to the education and training of the next generation of scientists by providing mentoring experiences and training opportunities.

COLLABORATECollaborate with other partner institutions to complement and strengthen our research activities.

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Identification of Key Goals

Nationally Recognized Research

Rationale: Conduct research in plant and environmental sciences of direct and indirect application; be active in the scientific community and foster the next generation of scientists.

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LEADCreate a nationally recognized “Center” for plant and environmental science research.

DEFINEDefine the brand identity of the organization, demonstrate its relevance and importance to the community and region.

DIFFERENTIATEDistinguish how experiences at our campuses are different from experiences in other woodland or garden environments.

ENRICHBe recognized as a cultural institution that plays an important social role and enriches the communities in our region.

ENDORSEWork with Green Industry to create “Holden Endorsement” of certain plants.

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Identification of Key Goals

DistinctiveImage

Rationale: To be recognized as a significant cultural institution that advances knowledge in plants and environmental sciences, inspires through experiences and positively impacts life.

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PLAN & PRIORITIZEDevelop a multi-year business plan that leads to a balanced revenue portfolio, long term sustainability and offers the opportunity for growth.

ALIGNGenerate a meaningful capital plan and master plans for each campus that align with the Strategic Plan and its goals.

INTEGRATEAchieve “full integration” of the organization.

ATTRACT & RETAINEstablish a long term Staffing Plan that attracts and retains quality staff.

FOSTER & ENGAGEFoster enhanced engagement with the Board toward advancement of the Strategic Plan and its goals.

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Identification of Key Goals

Long Term Planning& Perspective

Rationale: To guide effective, focused decision-making and allocation of resources toward a sustainable operation.

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Thank YouOver 9 months in developing this Strategic Plan we engaged a diverse group of stakeholders.

We consulted with over 200 people in our community and beyond and would like to thank them for their insights and continued interest in collaborating with us to move our strategic action plans forward.

• Board of Directors• Donors• Staff• Volunteers• Foundations• Elected Officials• Community Partners• Horticulture Industry and Agencies• Arborists• Ecological Industry and Agencies • Educators• Research Collaborators• Museums and Peers• Garden Clubs and Affiliates

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Our Mission: Advance and inspire a deeper understanding of plants to enhance life.

Our Vision: Vibrant green communities and diverse native forests of the Great Lakes region will flourish and sustain life.

THE HOLDEN ARBORETUM9550 SPERRY RD, KIRTLAND, OHIO 44094440.946.4400 EXT. 224 HOLDENARB.ORG

CLEVELAND BOTANICAL GARDEN11030 EAST BLVD, CLEVELAND, OHIO 44106216.721.1600 CBGARDEN.ORG

© 2017 “Holden Forests & Gardens” and the related logo is a trademark owned by The Holden Arboretum. “Holden Forests & Gardens” is a collaboration between affiliates, The Holden Arboretum and the Cleveland Botanical Garden, Ohio nonprofit corporations.