OUR STORY
How we got here.
2006 – The Start of Something Big
In 2006, the Board of Supervisors launched an ambitious initiative to look 10 years into the future and develop strategies that anticipate major trends and changes that could potentially affect county operations and services. The Board formally adopted the County’s first strategic vision, Vision 2016, on November 3, 2008.
Vision 2016 provided a framework that helped the County address many challenges and continue to thrive.
2008 – our innovation journey begins
From Vision 2016, the County created the 2008 Strategic Vision. The Board adopted it on November 18, 2008, and it became a roadmap for the County and a starting point for our innovation journey. It was followed by efficiency and green initiatives. Team development and recruitment focused on executives and millennials. We sponsored employee hackathons where we encourage our teams to “rethink” the way they work. We learned about 10X goals and moonshot thinking from Google. We launched a new innovation website where employees could give us their ideas and track our progress. All of these lead us to 2016 and an opportunity to “face forward” once again.
2016 – Facing Forward Again
In 2016, the Board of Supervisors, County Administrator and agency/department heads initiated an assessment and refresh of Vision 2016 for the next 10 years. The findings of the self-assessment clearly showed that the County was better prepared in responding to changes more effectively and had accomplished many successes as a result of Vision 2016 and other related countywide initiatives. To inform the Vision 2016 refresh, the County invited a local world-renowned futurist to present an updated forecast that identified key mega trends that may shape the future of County operations over the next decade. Throughout 2017, cross agency teams of department heads were fully engaged and committed to the process of further developing the draft Vision 2026 framework along with shared vision statements and associated goals and objectives. On October 31, 2017, the Board of Supervisors endorsed the Vision 2026 framework with associated 10X goals and provided additional feedback. On February 6, 2018, the Board adopted Vision 2026 as the Alameda County Strategic Vision framework.
2019 – Our Innovation Journey continues
Vision 2026 marked another stop our continuing innovation journey. Three townhalls were organized in 2019 to present Vision 2026 to County staff. In 2020, the pandemic started and it forced the County to accelerate its plans for enabling a mobile and remote workforce. In response, the Board of Supervisors quickly approved a Virtual First Initiative. In 2023, the world saw the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI). The County responded with guidelines for its use and a strategy for its implementation.
2024 – Signals of Change
Current drivers of change – including dramatic and significant impacts of climate change, rapid technological advances, heightened geopolitical conditions, changing economic conditions, evolution in workforce and workplace expectations, and demographic shifts in the population – impelled our Board of Supervisors to conduct an early assessment of our progress on Vision 2026 and refresh our strategic plan for the next 10 years.
In July 2024, the Board convened for an all-day retreat with the County Administrator, elected/appointed department heads and their key staff to consider these drivers of change. The County engaged a local futurist research institute with global reach and impact to lead a discussion to explore the signals of change, which illustrate the specific shape and local context of these broader drivers and suggest the shape of emerging responses and possibilities as we plan for the future. In the context of these local signals of change, the group reviewed Vision 2026 goals and objectives and received direction from the Board to update and adopt a new 10-year Vision 2036 by December 2024.
Over the following two and a half months, department heads actively engaged in updating the Vision 2026 strategic framework. The shared vision, operating principles, and strategic focus areas were reaffirmed as core to the County’s responsibilities, functions and values. The 2026 10X goals and the strategies and objectives underneath them were reviewed and updated by incorporating feedback from
the July retreat and additional input from department heads and their key staff.
In October 2024, the County Administrator and department heads provided a comprehensive report to the Board of Supervisors, outlining key achievements of Vision 2026, the process that was undertaken to update Vision 2026 to the proposed Vision 2036, and the key signals of change addressed in the proposed Vision 2036 framework. The proposed Vision 2036 affirms the continuation of our County’s 10X Goals, with slight wording changes to two of the 10X Goals:
- Eliminate Homelessness
- Health for All (formerly Healthcare for All)
- Employment for All
- Eliminate Poverty & Hunger
- Crime-free County
- Accessible & Integrated Infrastructure (formerly Accessible Infrastructure)
The proposed Vision 2036 framework also includes updated and forward-facing strategies and objectives that support the 10X Goals based upon changes in the landscape since Vision 2026 was adopted and the drivers and signals of change on the horizon.
