NFP - 10-Year Strategic Plan & Operationalisation Plan – Esperance, WA

Client: Cannery Arts Centre

Timeline: February 2024

The Cannery Arts Centre is Esperance’s leading arts and cultural hub, providing creative opportunities for the local community and attracting visitors to the region. While its role as a smaller regional tourism destination was clear, the Committee recognised the need for a long-term strategy to strengthen operations, build workforce capacity, and secure sustainability.

Wander partnered with the Cannery to develop a 10-Year Strategic Plan and an Operationalisation Plan, ensuring that the Centre’s aspirations could be translated into practical steps. The project was grounded in extensive desktop research and cross-jurisdictional benchmarking, reviewing best practices from arts and cultural organisations across Australia and tailoring innovative ideas to Esperance’s context.

A two-day facilitation process with the Committee, members, council representatives, and the public helped refine strategic priorities across workforce planning, marketing, organisational development, stakeholder engagement, and Work Health and Safety. The final documents included a long-term strategy graphically designed to maximise leverage with funders and stakeholders, and an operationalisation plan that provided a clear roadmap for implementation.

Since its endorsement in early 2024, the plan has begun guiding decision-making and operational improvements. The Cannery is now better positioned to enhance its contribution to Esperance’s tourism and arts sectors, reinforcing its role as a valued cultural asset.

This project also built on earlier work delivered by Wander in 2020, when Claire Bateman worked with the Committee to develop an urgent strategic plan during a critical period in which the Centre faced closure with just 28 days of operational funding. That plan helped secure multi-year funding and stabilise operations, creating the foundation for the long-term strategy now in place.