KEDCo Leads Project To Learn From Best-In-Class Small Cities
April 29, 2019 at 11:36 p.m.
By Staff Report-
“Our stakeholders believe Warsaw and Kosciusko County should be among the leading small Midwest communities,” said KEDCo CEO Alan Tio. “With that in mind, we convened the Small Cities, Big Futures project to learn from the ‘best of the best’ in our peer group.”
KEDCo engaged with the Community Research Institute at Purdue University Fort Wayne to lead an evaluation of quantitative and qualitative data for Warsaw and eight other Midwest peer cities with corporate headquarters or significant production facilities for well-known American companies. The other peer cities examined are Batesville; Benton Harbor, Mich.; Bloomington, Ill.; Columbus; Findlay, Ohio; Lancaster, Ohio; Midland, Mich.; and Peoria, Ill.
“Warsaw and Kosciusko County are in a position of economic strength thanks to the outsized presence of world-class orthopedic medical device manufacturers for a community of this size,” said CRI Director Rachel Blakeman. “While the community may as a result be vulnerable to circumstances outside the control of local leaders, the report recommendations will improve quality of life and make the community more attractive for businesses and residents alike.”
CRI offered 19 recommendations for local leaders under the headings of collaboration, community development, economic development and talent, to build on key industries and community assets. Examples include strengthening collaboration across sectors in order to solve community problems and encouraging private sector investment in community and economic development.
“We saw firsthand how local leaders in Findlay, Ohio, were all trained on how to use the ‘Findlay Formula’ for stakeholder engagement to solve local problems,” said Kosciusko County Community Foundation CEO Suzie Light. “We are confident that our leaders can build similar capabilities to respond to challenges and get in front of opportunities in our community.”
The project was funded by KEDCo, the Kosciusko County Community Foundation, Lake City Bank and Parkview Health.
Next steps include development of a Small Cities, Big Futures network of in order to learn from and communicate success among the peer cities.
KEDCo was formed in 1984 to promote economic and community development in Kosciusko County. KEDCo is the economic development corporation serving Kosciusko County and all the municipalities therein. Its mission is to promote economic development in Kosciusko County through the retention and expansion of existing business and industry, while attracting new business investments that complement the improvement of the quality of life. For more information, visit www.kosciuskoedc.com.
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“Our stakeholders believe Warsaw and Kosciusko County should be among the leading small Midwest communities,” said KEDCo CEO Alan Tio. “With that in mind, we convened the Small Cities, Big Futures project to learn from the ‘best of the best’ in our peer group.”
KEDCo engaged with the Community Research Institute at Purdue University Fort Wayne to lead an evaluation of quantitative and qualitative data for Warsaw and eight other Midwest peer cities with corporate headquarters or significant production facilities for well-known American companies. The other peer cities examined are Batesville; Benton Harbor, Mich.; Bloomington, Ill.; Columbus; Findlay, Ohio; Lancaster, Ohio; Midland, Mich.; and Peoria, Ill.
“Warsaw and Kosciusko County are in a position of economic strength thanks to the outsized presence of world-class orthopedic medical device manufacturers for a community of this size,” said CRI Director Rachel Blakeman. “While the community may as a result be vulnerable to circumstances outside the control of local leaders, the report recommendations will improve quality of life and make the community more attractive for businesses and residents alike.”
CRI offered 19 recommendations for local leaders under the headings of collaboration, community development, economic development and talent, to build on key industries and community assets. Examples include strengthening collaboration across sectors in order to solve community problems and encouraging private sector investment in community and economic development.
“We saw firsthand how local leaders in Findlay, Ohio, were all trained on how to use the ‘Findlay Formula’ for stakeholder engagement to solve local problems,” said Kosciusko County Community Foundation CEO Suzie Light. “We are confident that our leaders can build similar capabilities to respond to challenges and get in front of opportunities in our community.”
The project was funded by KEDCo, the Kosciusko County Community Foundation, Lake City Bank and Parkview Health.
Next steps include development of a Small Cities, Big Futures network of in order to learn from and communicate success among the peer cities.
KEDCo was formed in 1984 to promote economic and community development in Kosciusko County. KEDCo is the economic development corporation serving Kosciusko County and all the municipalities therein. Its mission is to promote economic development in Kosciusko County through the retention and expansion of existing business and industry, while attracting new business investments that complement the improvement of the quality of life. For more information, visit www.kosciuskoedc.com.
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