CapMetro in Austin, TX engaged Foursquare ITP to help develop the agency’s first strategic plan since the agency successfully passed a ballot measure to undertake a $7 billion expansion of its system. CapMetro is one of the fastest growing transit providers in the Country, and in 2020 voters approved Project Connect, an initiative to build a regional transit system over the next decade. Rapid growth poses both opportunities and challenges for the agency. CapMetro needed to develop an updated strategic plan to ensure the organization continues to improve its core operations while undertaking unprecedented expansion.
Foursquare ITP led the development of the five-year Strategic Plan, from helping the agency update its vision to working with agency staff to identify specific initiatives and metrics to monitoring performance. A key focus of the project was facilitation and engagement, with Foursquare ITP developing and holding interactive workshops with agency leadership and the board.
The strategic plan allows Capital Metro to make smarter decisions, from prioritizing investments that meet strategic objectives or address critical risks, to helping staff and stakeholders measure their performance and evaluate the impact of investments. It was developed to be implementable, with each recommendation tied to specific departments and evaluated by new performance metrics. Six months after adoption of the Strategic Plan, Foursquare ITP was again engaged by CapMetro to implement a tracking system to allow the agency to track the metrics identified in the plan.
Solutions and Outcomes
- Developed new strategic vision, goals, and objectives for agency.
- Created a program of prioritized initiatives.
- Identified an approach to track and measure plan progress.