CIS Unveils 2025-29 Strategic Plan

Managing Costs, Mitigating Risks, and Building a Stronger Future

In 2024, we completed our new strategic plan, charting our course for 2025-29. The plan, the result of an 11-month collaborative process involving member organizations, the Board of Trustees, Executive Team, and staff, focused on five key goals: risk mitigation, cost management, communication and engagement, workforce development, and technology enhancement.

The plan builds upon the framework of the 2020-24 strategic plan and reflects the evolving needs of our members. The development process emphasized inclusivity, incorporating feedback from various stakeholders through surveys, focus groups, interviews, workshops, Board retreats, and our annual conference.

“Our plan was created through an inclusive process,” said CIS Executive Director Patrick Priest. “We worked with many stakeholders to ensure that every voice was heard, and every perspective considered.”

Key highlights of the collaborative process include:

Executive Team Workshop and Board of Trustees Retreat: These sessions focused on environmental scanning, identifying trends and factors impacting CIS, and exploring potential strategic goal areas.
Member and Staff Surveys: Online surveys garnered input from 131 members and 48 CIS employees, providing valuable data on needs, priorities, challenges, and opportunities.
Member Engagement: CIS engaged with members at its annual conference, the League of Oregon Cities, and the Association of Oregon Counties Boards.
Functional Business Unit (FBU) Focus Groups: FBU discussions allowed for in-depth exploration of team-specific needs and priorities, with 62 staff members participating.
Executive Team Workshops: Two workshops were held to review engagement themes, discuss goal focus areas, identify desired outcomes, and begin developing action items.
Mission, Vision, and Values Review: While the mission and vision were reaffirmed, new organizational values were developed by an employee workgroup and endorsed by the Executive Team, staff, and Board of Trustees.

The five strategic goals are supported by specific outcomes and actionable steps. These include:

Mitigate Risk: Reduce claims, ensure property is insured to value, and implement a strategic approach to member training.
Manage Costs: Increase communication and transparency around costs and rates, level the playing field with competitors in benefits, and manage social inflation.
Communicate & Engage: Increase member awareness of Board of Trustee representation, strengthen communication with members, and clearly define branding and messaging.
Workforce: Clarify CIS organizational identity and policies, create career development opportunities, and enhance organizational collaboration.
Technology: Develop compatible technology systems, train and support employees on IT systems, and streamline the member web experience.

The plan emphasizes ongoing implementation, evaluation and updates. Quarterly reports will be provided to the CIS Board, with annual reports shared with the Board and organization. Project leads have been assigned for each action item, ensuring accountability and progress tracking.

“As we start implementing our new plan, I’m confident that we’ll achieve our strategic goals,” said Patrick. Together, we’ll bring our plan to life, leveraging our collective strengths to overcome challenges and seize opportunities.”

For more than 40 years, CIS has provided comprehensive property, casualty, and employee benefit solutions tailored to the needs of Oregon’s cities and counties. Our new strategic plan will serve as a strong foundation for our next 40 years.