V. Means to Achieving the LCO’s Objectives

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To achieve its short, medium and long term objectives in a manner consistent with its mission and values, the LCO recognizes that

• It must continue to be open to receiving project proposals from a wide variety of sources including the legal community, community groups, government and the public at large, and where appropriate be prepared to initiate projects itself;
• It must continue to select a mix of projects that will satisfy a number of objectives: short projects that (likely) address specific legislative deficiencies and that can be completed within a year to 15 months; and longer projects that have law as their core, but explore the relationship of law to other disciplines and the role of law in diverse peoples’ lives more generally.
• It must plan projects carefully, including the use of expert groups to develop proposals for Board approval; the creation of project advisory groups early in a project’s life; consideration about the nature of consultation required and whether commissioned research papers are required (and if so, in what areas) during an initial planning phase; the development of timelines; and regular review of progress. At the same time, project heads must be able to adapt to changing circumstances and able to take advantage of unexpected opportunities.
• The number of projects must be manageable and to the extent possible, the various stages in a project should complement each other (for example, the initial planning in a project can occur when another project is in the final report stage) in order to provide better pacing for legal and administrative staff members.
• The cost of a project can be calculated at an earlier stage than has been the case in the first mandate, with all anticipated costs, including translation, included.
• The Executive Director must continue to engage in outreach, both to reinforce existing relationships and to develop new ones, but focusing on locations and groups not previously approached. However, planning for outreach should take into account that the LCO is no longer a “new” organization. To the extent possible, Board members and Community Council members can assist in outreach activities.
• The LCO needs to continue to undertake other activities (such as conferences, symposia or presentations), in some cases in partnership with others, or through contributing to the activities initiated by other organizations (including the law schools).
• To the extent possible, the LCO needs to increase the value of its funders’ contributions by seeking contributions from other organizations, including in kind contributions.