Building Collaborative Communities is a new effort designed to assist regions in creating and sustaining new economic opportunities across Virginia. The program will promote regional economic collaborations in economically-distressed areas to stimulate job creation, economic development and build community capacity and leadership.
The primary objective of the program is to promote the development of regional economic networks and identify strategies to improve the local/regional economy and quality of life by building the area's capacity to adapt to economic change.
What are key desired program outcomes?
- Significant regional approaches that will spur regional economic growth.
- Improved capacity to respond to regional economic development priorities.
- Increased collaboration and investment from a broad and diverse contingent of stakeholder groups.
- Collaboration around asset development
- Placemaking activities that capitalize on regional assets to create appealing and unique places where people want to live and work.
Eligible Projects include, but are not limited to:
- Capacity building: Support strategies that will build capacity in a region to develop a competitive and sustainable regional economic development network to plan for and take advantage of economic development opportunities and undertake economic development initiatives. This process should include a broad and diverse base of stakeholders such as local governments, planning district commissions, private business, nonprofits, civic, and philanthropic organizations, etc.
- Regional planning: Support strategies for an assessment of the region's economic competitiveness (i.e. workforce development, asset-based development, small business and entrepreneurship, business retention, etc.) resulting in the development of a comprehensive economic development plan that will guide regional economic development activities. This process should include a broad and diverse base of stakeholders such as private businesses, educational and civic leadership in addition to local government leaders.
- Regional Project: Implementation of regional economic development initiative from a comprehensive economic development strategy/strategic plan.
In FY 2018, priority will be given to proposals that incorporate at least one of Virginia's Pillars in identifying methods to stimulate economic development in their region.
- Workforce Development
- Entrepreneurship
- Pro-Business Climate
- Growth Sectors
Priority will also be given to proposals that address the following areas:
- Development of asset-based projects that will foster regional economic growth.
- Developing a regional ecosystem to encourage small business and entrepreneurship development, as well as business retention.
- Developing the region's workforce with in-demand skill sets to meet current and future business needs.
- Development of new networks and partnerships for economic competitiveness