Vision 20/20 completes strategic planning process in preparing for the future of CRR

After over a decade of service, Vision 20/20 has completed an in-depth strategic planning process that will help the organization continue to closely align itself with the needs of the fire service and the communities they serve. This provides Vision 20/20 with a clear direction for the future, guiding the organization in developing tools and resources.

The results are new vision, mission and value statements and a logo that will help frame Vision 20/20’s operations going forward and allow it to continue to be a  leading advocate for community risk reduction throughout the fire service and across the nation.

“This process gave us a deeper understanding of our strengths and opportunities,” said Vision 20/20 Project Manager Stephen Hrustich. “Through our experience over the past decade in helping to grow the concept of CRR [community risk reduction] and integrate it into the U.S. fire service, we have seen how CRR has become a critical part of operations. Through this strategic planning exercise, we are working to align our strategy with the ever-changing needs of the fire service.”

Vision 20/20 has dedicated itself to providing the tools, resources and expertise to any organization at any level, whether it is local, state or national. Examples include, among others:

• The Vision 20/20 Model Performance in Community Risk Reduction Symposium, held every two years since 2010, provides hundreds of CRR professionals with the opportunity to learn what works in other communities. All of the presentations and materials from every symposium is hosted on the Vision 20/20 website, and the seventh Symposium of this groundbreaking event will be held in February 2022.
• The CRR Materials Generator, an online tool where a fire department can create free, customized outreach materials such as social media content, door hangers, flyers and much more to use in their community outreach efforts.
• An online series of guides that help develop community risk assessments and community risk reduction plans.
• The free Vision 20/20 Home Safety Visit App that contains fire safety videos in seven different languages, which fire departments can use on tablets or smartphones when they are making home safety visits.
• CRR Radio, a podcast series devoted to sharing ideas from the CRR community across the globe.

A key part of Vision 20/20’s success since its creation in 2008 has been collaboration and innovation. In continuing this history, Vision 20/20 is developing key partnerships through its latest initiative, the Statewide Collaboration and Engagement Framework (SCEF) that is bringing together individuals and organizations to work towards the common goal of integrating CRR into all of the fire service. As of this time, over two-dozen states are taking part in SCEF.

This same level of collaboration carried over to the Strategic Planning and Rebranding Task Force where members of the Vision 20/20 Steering Committee played a key role.

“For such an effort to be a success,” added Hrustich, “it was important that we had input from all directions and from different perspectives, and that’s exactly what happened. I truly appreciate all of the time that everyone put into helping us make Vision 20/20 stronger and better prepared for the challenges that lay ahead of us. However, this is an ongoing process, one that will never be complete, as we continue to adapt to the changes around us so that we can be a partner in community risk reduction with the fire service and all of those other organizations working to make communities stronger and more resilient.”

“I also have to recognize the role that the Assistance to Firefighters Grant program has played in the success of Vision 20/20,” Hrustich continued. “Grants from the Fire Prevention and Safety program have been instrumental in allowing us to become a strong advocate for CRR and develop tools, resources and networking opportunities that have unquestionably furthered the integration of CRR into the fire service.”