The Nova Scotia Commission on Building Our New Economy proposed 19 “stretch” goals to encourage Nova Scotians to push our limits and aim for profound change. Stretch goals are visionary, ambitious, and difficult to achieve.
To signify if improvements are being made, each goal is assigned a progressing or not progressing status:
- A goal is progressing if the indicator is moving substantially closer to the target, overall, or in recent periods.
- A goal is not progressing if the indicator is moving away from the target or not moving substantially, overall, or in recent periods.
To signify if achievement of the stretch target is likely, the Current Situation section also explores whether each goal is on track or not on track:
- A goal is on track if the trend from the baseline to the current value of the indicator would achieve the target if sustained.
- A goal is not on track if the current trend is not enough to achieve the target.
What Gets Measured Gets Done
A fundamental message of ONE NS is that we all need to work together to reverse population trends and generate higher levels of economic growth. It’s important for Nova Scotians to know what progress we’ve made toward the 19 One NS Goals because of the many actions we’ve already taken together. That information can help us increase our chances of success.
This site aims to provide clear, credible information anyone can use to see how we are collectively doing, and to guide ongoing, multi-sectoral work toward the goals. It provides objective, reliable data to the many people working to make a difference. It is a work in progress and it will continue to evolve over time.
The One NS movement calls on all of us to work together toward common objectives, to think and do things differently, and to take bigger risks. This site reflects our willingness to do that, and to support others as they do the same.
Our Task
The Commission believed to change the future of our province Nova Scotians would “need to do things differently and to change old attitudes that limit our capacities to come together in common cause.” It encouraged Nova Scotians to “set a limited number of ambitious but concrete targets that everyone can understand and orient their decision-making and behavior towards.” It proposed a series of ‘stretch goals’…that leadership can focus on and use to construct their own roadmaps.”
The One NS goals are visionary in nature. They are intended to be ambitious and difficult to achieve, as well as encourage greater risk-taking -- something the Commission felt necessary for progress. They “convey the need for a quantum leap” toward profound change because of participation from all sectors.
The We Choose Now Playbook (One NS Coalition), Nov. 2015, also included recommendations on measurement and accountability. It suggested:
- An independent organization be tasked with measuring progress toward the goals on a periodic basis
- A public website with a dashboard summary of progress be created
- An annual report of the data be presented to all Nova Scotians