BACKGROUND
ABOUT ENVISION EAST CENTRAL IOWA
Envision East Central Iowa has worked with a cross section of regional stakeholders to explore the region’s economic development ecosystem, and how it can evolve.
A key focus is a collaborative approach to building an inclusive and resilient future for the region. This project has been an 8-month long visioning and strategic planning process running from July 2021 through March 2022.
STATED INTENTIONS FOR ENVISION EAST CENTRAL IOWA:
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Create a common vision that will energize and unite the region around an economic development strategy and its implementation while acknowledging that implementation of the vision may look different in the various areas of the region.
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Build economic pathways for success for both businesses and individuals, especially for those who are underrepresented, have significant barriers, or experienced greater harm due to COVID-19.
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Embrace, celebrate and leverage our varied and diverse strengths, at both community and regional levels
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Be inclusive of different voices and perspectives.
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Identify areas for collaboration on economic development projects, including ways existing assets and institutions can be leveraged for greater success across the region.
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Identify success markers to promote collective accountability after plan adoption.
OVERVIEW OF THE PLANNING PROCESS
Envision East Central Iowa worked with a cross section of regional stakeholders to explore the region’s economic development ecosystem and how it could evolve in the future. A key focus of the plan is a collaborative approach to build an inclusive and resilient environment for the region. The 8-month long visioning and strategic planning process began in July 2021 and ended in March 2022. This report represents Future iQ’s analysis of the research and engagement outcomes. It outlines how the extensive accumulated data has informed the identification of a preferred future and key strategic action areas for future economic development in the East Central Iowa Region.
Over 500 people have contributed to the plan’s development.
"We are strong-willed, resilient, and will have weathered a pandemic together! We have incredible assets at our disposal and will be poised to make some great decisions together."
- ENVISION EAST CENTRAL IOWA STAKEHOLDER SURVEY RESPONDENT
PRIORITIES FOR ACTION
During the regional Future Summit held on March 1, 2022, participants were given the opportunity to allocate priority to each of the strategic actions. Participants were asked to nominate:
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Which actions will best address the immediate needs for the region? (red)
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Which actions will best deliver long-term payoffs for the region? (green)
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