Eight community organizations have joined together to design a new collaborative partnership that will promote one of the most ambitious new visions for economic growth in the City’s history. The new…
Eight community organizations have joined together to design a new collaborative partnership that will promote one of the most ambitious new visions for economic growth in the City’s history. The new organization, which is being called the Columbus Area Economic Growth Council, has three primary objectives: To create and sustain economic growth for the community, to align excellence in learning and education with economic growth, and to foster a welcoming community.
Member organizations of the Council include the Columbus Economic Development Board, the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce, Columbus Enterprise Development Corporation, the Community Education Coalition, the City of Columbus, the Redevelopment Commission, the Columbus Area Visitors Center, and the Bartholomew County Commissioners.
The Council will coordinate the work of its member organizations through a “federation” model. Much like the individual states in America, each member organization will retain independent autonomy and separate governance as they do presently. The formed partnership will become the central organization that handles the common affairs of the work of its members. Its responsibilities will include such tasks as developing a community-wide economic strategic plan, ensuring alignment of the program of work conducted by each member organization, seeking operational efficiencies and improvements among partners, creating key indicators to measure the effectiveness of economic initiatives, and developing the funding to pursue key initiatives.
When discussing the importance of the new council, Mayor Fred Armstrong said, Collaboration, collaboration, collaboration. When organizations collaborate, pool resources and form partnerships with education, workforce training, and economic development agencies, we can better compete globally. The Columbus Area Economic Growth Council is key to the future economic health and vitality of Columbus and Bartholomew County.
John Burnett of Irwin Financial Corporation will become the first elected Chairman of the Council. He expressed, As we have been forming the Columbus-Area Economic Growth Council, it has become increasingly clear that our community is blessed with excellent organizations and people who are dedicated to improving the economic well-being and quality of life for Columbus and Bartholomew County. While organizing, the council has already helped secure nearly $1 million in grants for job training and advancement. Most recently, we have begun an action plan to help Cummins and all other advanced manufacturing companies recruit the qualified workforce of the future.
Jack Hess, President of the Columbus Area Chamber of Commerce, commented, The Council is a necessary strategy and the next logical evolution of economic development in Columbus. The pursuit of excellence and growth has fundamentally changed due to the increasing effects of regionalization and globalization. It’s become much more competitive in just the last decade. Increasingly, successful regions are evolving away from individual programs and initiatives and toward coordinated and systemic approaches to cultivating economic growth.
Lynn Lucas, Director of the Visitors Center is delighted with the new approach adding, This new structure encourages a collaborative approach to position our area as a top Midwest tourism destination as well as an excellent place to reside, to locate and grow a business, or to be employed. Together we can more effectively leverage the unique assets of Columbus and Bartholomew County in order to support and increase the economic vitality of this community and the region.
Through the course of its planning efforts, the Council was quick to recognize that any economic growth strategy it crafted had to rest on the foundation of creating a comprehensive human resource infrastructure which includes education, training, and workforce development. According to Rich Stenner, President of the Community Education Coalition, The workforce in Bartholomew County and across southeast Indiana is the greatest asset we have to promote economic growth. The Growth Council can help align and integrate our education and workforce development strategies with the community’s business retention, growth, and recruitment strategies.
Representation on the Council will consist of eighteen members including three members from each of the four primary economic development organizations, three members representing the City, two representatives from the Visitors Center and one representative from the County Commissioners. The Council has began its work by conducting an affinity process focused around what initiatives were currently being implemented by its various members and what new opportunities existed which required a more collaborative approach.
The desired result of the Council is to realize a greater collaborative spirit among its members and to achieve objectives collectively that each individual organization cannot realize by itself. The Council’s work for the balance of the year is to finalize its economic strategic growth plan which will be ready for implementation in January of 2007.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
