St. Augustine tries to move from vision to action Wednesday, October 09, 2002 For the past ten months, the citisens of St. Johns county in Florida have been developing a strategic plan. It's one of the best examples I've seen of a clear, well-managed, and well-documented process. The head of the Vision Steering Committee clearly states what the effort is all about: "Our vision is to identify the future desired by current St. Johns County residents to leave as a legacy for future generations." To that end, the St. Johns Vision outlines 4 key themes: 1. Provide the best possible educational opportunities for the county's children. 2. Emphasize the responsible stewardship of the environment. 3. Address the infrastructure needs of the county to keep pace with the growth that's coming. 4. Grow the business segment of the county to lessen the tax burden on the lower- and middle-class residents and small businesses. EDPros involved in a community-wide planning process should study this model. This approach is not cheap. The sponsors of the Vision Plan raised $250,000 to develop the plan and begin implementation. (The original time line is 18 months long or about $14,000 a month.) The City and the Chamber split the cost. Despite it's expense, it is a good step-by-step model of a "visioning" or grass roots approach to strategic planning. (You can reduce the expense a great deal by not hiring an outside consultant. Strategic planning is not rocket science. It's applied common sense and a commitment to a fair and open process.) You can learn more from their web site. Go One weakness to keep in mind: Although the plan is only 12 pages long, it reads like a laundry list. There's very little "story" being told. posted by Ed Morrison |		This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. links Some Background on EDPro Weblog The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it. One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information. So, spread the word...Share the knowledge. Tell a friend about EDPro Weblog. If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site: Here's the link if you are a bloglines subscriber: Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking. Background on Ed Morrison Download some background information on me here.

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