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City of Santa Ana Page 3 Community Development Agency Financial Review however, they are individuals best positioned to know what works and what needs improvement. Through personal interviews with key personnel and a thorough review of both data and written documentation, UFI will develop a clear understanding of current operations, contemplated changes, and the overall work environment of the department. This learning phase will allow us to fully understand the operating constraints and impediments to success faced by the City, in addition to technical aspects related to service levels, use of technology, and other matters that impact the effectiveness and efficiency of the department. Diagnosis. As we listen and learn, we focus on the programs and services of the department. We concentrate on how work is planned, managed and executed. We also examine and analyze the staffing levels of each program, overhead and support levels, the availability and use of technology, organizational plans, management and monitoring systems, and the degree to which best practices are being utilized. Opportunity Identification. When the investigation and data gathering activities are complete we analyze all aspects of operations and identify procedural changes that will improve reporting and fiscal effectiveness Learning without compromising service delivery. We will compare current procedures for the City's Community Development Agency programs with best practices in the industry to help us identify those areas of the department with potential for improvement. Action Diagnosis Action. UFI has a strong bias for implementation. As practitioners, we have an orientation to achieve results and our work moves from sound analysis to concise, actionable recommendations. We will provide the City Opportunity with a draft action plan which will serve as a detailed Identification roadmap outlining how to implement the recommendations that we make to achieve the improvements in efficiency that we describe. WORK PLAN UFI will work collaboratively with the City's Finance & Management Services Agency and Community Development Agency to conduct this high-level review of the department. As we conduct our analysis, we expect to learn about other departmental issues for which we can and will create recommendations for improvement. The overall work plan that we are proposing first calls for the collection of data through a variety of sources, including interviews, focus groups, and a review of various City documents and reports. Our team will then analyze that data, apply our expertise about best practices, and create recommendations for improvement. We will review our preliminary observations and recommendations with management prior to finalizing our work, and will then conclude this assignment with the preparation of a project report and implementation action plan. Throughout this process, we will meet regularly with management to provide updates on our progress. UFI