Durango staff unveil a 25-question 'vision-advancement' tool to tie projects to city goals

Mike French of the Prosperity Office presented the IHED vision-advancement tool, a web-based rubric intended to surface how projects advance the city’s adopted vision. French said the tool uses 25 questions mapped to the vision’s defined terms and produces a narrative summary for presentation slides. “What the tool does...it gives a structured framework to use before council when, we're providing presentations,” French said.

Councilors asked practical questions about packet versions, workload, weighting, and data. French said presenters will typically use a shorter summary slide in presentations and that the longer version could be included in packets if desired; he also said the rubric is not weighted to favor any particular vision element. The team ran a trial period in agenda meetings and plans quarterly visits to performance metrics based on scores they will store internally.

Several councilors raised concerns about additional staff time; French estimated the assessment would take roughly 10 minutes to complete. The council discussed possible follow-up briefings and an executive overview staff will circulate. The tool is intended to make vision alignment explicit and consistent across departments, not to change the adopted vision.