Strategic Planning

The Souris Basin Planning Council is part of North Dakota's Leadership Initiative for Community Strategic Planning (LICSP). This is a public and private partnership committed to involve citizens in developing a shared vision for long-term viability and enhanced quality of life for their community. This can be accomplished by developing flexible strategic plans.

The Planning Council's staff are trained facilitators through the LICSP partnership and are available for technical assistance in the development or updating of community strategic plans. This self directed initiative will quantify a community's assets and liabilities, identify areas of potential growth and put in place a process for implementation of the initiatives identified in the strategic plan.

The Planning Council will charge fees for this service to recover actual costs associated with these strategic planning efforts. The staff can sometimes secure grants from various sources to cover the costs involved.

Land Use Planning

The Planning Council staff is available to local governmental entities to provide technical assistance in the development of comprehensive land use plans, zoning ordinances and subdivision regulations. In North Dakota, cities, counties and townships have been given zoning powers through the state's Century Code.

At best, land use planning can help a community affect its growth and development. It can be an important tool to prevent degradation of natural resources, preserve prime farmland, protect historic buildings, maintain the commercial and economic base, provide good public facilities, and improve the quality of housing.

Grantsmanship

The Planning Council staff is available to provide technical assistance or complete grant applications for local political subdivisions and public non-profit organizations. The Council's professional staff is experienced in grant writing to state and federal programs and private foundations. The staff can help in targeting the right funds, writing effective proposals and completing the follow-up.

In most cases, the Planning Council can provide this service at no cost.