Opportunity:
Lincoln Children’s Zoo has big dreams. Since 1965, the Zoo has been serving the community of Lincoln, Nebraska as an indispensable asset, and has grown to be one of the most interactive and engaging zoological experiences in the U.S. Building on recent success and evolution, the Zoo team underwent an integrated planning process — unifying strategic, master, and business planning — to articulate an ambitious future.
Project Highlights:
Aligning Principles
There are three long-range planning documents that most cultural attractions look to as roadmaps for their futures: a strategic plan, a master plan, and a business plan. Each plan articulates a unique aspect of the organization’s operations. By developing the plans in a single, unified process, the Lincoln Children’s Zoo was able to ensure that the principles identified in their new strategic plan were expressed in their site (via the master plan) and their economic architecture (via the business plan).
Rendering by Roto
Mixing up the ‘Secret Sauce’
Lincoln Children’s Zoo is not like most other zoos: While it features a broad living collection that educates and delights guests, the campus also includes a huge variety of interactive, climbable and explorable experiences. This engaging layout has led to some of the highest regional market capture of any AZA-accredited institution. In making plans to redevelop the historic half of the Zoo, our planning team dreamed up a suite of new experiences that align with the Zoo’s “secret sauce,” which future generations of Lincoln residents and visitors will enjoy in years to come.
Defining a ‘Quality Over Quantity’ Approach
It takes great people to run a great zoo — and like many accredited zoos, Lincoln Children’s Zoo’s largest expense category is personnel. In an effort to maintain its successful economic trajectory, the Zoo took a ‘quality over quantity’ approach to its collection plan for the future. The staff purposefully defined a collection that focuses on the most impactful and engaging species, as opposed to having the most specimens. The result of this effort will be a staff that is efficient, while simultaneously controlling for cost growth in the future.
Result:
The comprehensive process resulted in one of the boldest integrated plans that we’ve had the opportunity to facilitate. The Zoo’s team was focused and invigorated, and the organization is now ready to build upon its storied history and soar into the next chapter.
“I cannot speak highly enough about Canopy and their assistance with our strategic master plan. From start to finish, the Canopy team was engaged, professional, and exceptional. The integrated planning process they guided us through allowed us to think holistically and create a roadmap that seamlessly aligns our strategic vision and ensures our financial sustainability while bringing our mission to life through the masterplan. Thanks to Zach and Anna’s efforts, we have an incredible plan to take our Zoo into its next phase, a deeper understanding of our financial opportunities, and a clear vision for our company culture, key objectives, and mission. Over the course of a year, working with this team, we are pleased to say that not only are they the most proficient leaders in their industry, but they are also now our friends.”
— Evan Killeen, President/CEO
We partnered with the following firms on this project:
Interested in learning more about the different types of plans and what they entail? Check out our Planning 101 breakdown.
