PlanHere. BuildHere.
ExecutiveSummary
BlueprintProcess
Background
IProud,independent,andastrongsenseofidentity thisiswhatmakesruralUtahspecial.
Utah’sruralcommunitieshavemotivatedstakeholderswhowanttohelptheircommunitiesprosperand havegreatideastodoso However,thesecommunitiesdon’talwayshavethecapacitytoturnideasinto action Localgovernmentstaffwearmanyhatsandlackthetimeandexpertisetocollect,document,and prioritizeeconomicdevelopmentstrategies
TheGovernor’sOfficeofEconomicOpportunity(GOEO)leadershipvisitedallofUtah’s24ruralcounties in2024.Duringthistour,communitiesrequestedsupportforeconomicdevelopmentplanning.Asa result,GOEOcreatedanewresourcetoaddressthisneed TheRuralEconomicBlueprintProgram.
InhisStateoftheStateaddressonJan 23,2025,Gov CoxexpressedthatUtahneedsto“BuildHere”in ordertofacethechallengesofthemoment Manycommunitiesarereadytoputtheirshovelsintothe dirt However,othersneedtodrawupblueprintsbeforetheycanstarttobuild
Forthesecommunities,it’stimetoPlanHere
Executive Summary
Objective:
Facilitateaplanningprocessinrural communitiestoreinvigorateeconomic developmentactivities.
Outcome:
Communitiesareempoweredbytheirnew blueprintandtakeactiontomaketheirvisiona realitywiththeongoingsupportoftheirregional GOEOoutreachmanager
Communitiesarebetterpositionedtotake advantageofGOEORuralOpportunityProgram funds.
Benefit:
Theplanningprocessencouragescommunity leaderstodiscusslocalprioritiesandexplore howtheirgoalsalignwithregionalandstate initiatives
Eachparticipatingcommunitywillhavealistof actionableandprioritizedprojectsthatitcan workon.
Deliverables:
ARuralEconomicBlueprintProgramstrategic economicdevelopmentplanthatcontainsthe following:
EconomicData
SWOTAnalysis
Strategicgoalsandprojects
Listofpossibleprojectfundingsources
Timeline:
Produceblueprintsforninecommunitiesbythe endof2025
Eligibility:
Thecommunitymustbearuralcountyor municipality.
Thecommunitymusthavealocalchampionfor economicdevelopment.
Thecommunitymustdemonstrateaneedfor economicdevelopmentplanningsupport
Thecommunitymustbeenthusiasticabout engaginginaplanningprocess
GOEOProjectTeam:
JimGrover|ManagingDirector,EconomicGrowth ColetteCox|DirectoroftheCenterforRural Development&CommunityOutreach
JamesDixon|DirectorofCommunityGrants
BekaCall|Grants&DataManager
AugustGranath|TechnicalOutreachManager
ForestTurner|OutreachManager
LoriHaslem|OutreachManager
SherryStevens|OutreachManager
DebraMcKee|OutreachManager OliviaMidgley|DataManager
Howdowedraw upaneconomic blueprintfora ruralcommunity?
Itstartswithlistening hearingdirectlyfromthe community,understandingdailylife,and identifyingwhat’sworkingandwhatneedsto change
Thenwebringdataintothepicture,talkthrough whatanidealeconomicfuturecouldlooklike,and brainstormideastogetthere.
Fromthatlist,wefocusontheideaswiththe greatestpotentialforsuccess,buildagameplan tosecureresources,andpartnerwithlocal leaderstoputtheplanintoaction
BlueprintProcess
Blueprint Process
Inthefirstphase,regionalGOEOOutreachManagers(OMs)willinviteruralcommunitiestoapplyto theprogram Theapplicationwillbesimpleandconcise,butrequirecommunitiestodemonstrate clearneedandinterestintheprogram ApplicationswillbereviewedbyacommitteeofGOEOteam membersthatwillselectcommunitiestoparticipateintheprogram
Inthesecondphase,theinitialassessment,theGOEOTechnicalOutreachManager(TOM)will performoneononeinterviewswithkeyeconomicdevelopmentstakeholdersasrecommendedbythe community’sOM Theobjectiveoftheseinterviewswillbetointroducethestakeholderstothe planningprocess,createrapportwiththeTOM,andgatheranunderstandingofthatindividual’s perspectiveontheircommunity.Interviewswillcoverachecklistofinformationtogaugeawareness andengagementwithexistingresources.Thiswillidentifyopportunitiesfortrainingandcapacity building.
TheTOMwillgatherinputfromthegeneralpublicandthebusinesscommunityatlargeinorderto ensurethatallperspectivesareincludedintheplanningprocess Finally,theTOMwillgooverthe existingcommunityprofilewiththecommunitymemberandaskwhatinformationfeelsusefulorwhat feelslacking Duringtheseconversations,theTOMwillidentifyadditionalcontactstointerview Fromthisgroupofcontacts,asteeringcommitteewillbeformedfortheplanningprocess
Blueprint Process
Asampleparticipantlistforthesteering committeecouldinclude:
Localeconomicdevelopmentchampion
Countycommissionrepresentative
Citycouncilrepresentative
Localgovernmentexecutiveleadership
ChamberofCommerceleader AssociationofGovernment(AOG)staff Planningandzoningstaff
Workforcedevelopmentrepresentative Representativefromlocalbusiness Representativefromthepublic
Aninitialin-personmeetingwiththesteering committeewillbescheduledDuringthismeeting, aStrengths,Weaknesses,Opportunities,and Threats(SWOT)styleplanningexercisewillbe performedtogatherthesteeringcommittee’s understandingofthestrategicpositionoftheir communityAfterengagingwiththecommunity, theTOMwillperformqualitative/quantitative analysisbasedontheinitialconversations,and existingcommunityprofileswiththesupportof thedatamanager.Uponcompletion,theinitial assessmentwillbesenttothesteeringcommittee forreview
Separately,duringphasetwo,theTOMwill developareferencelistofeconomicdevelopment projectsthatruralcommunitieshaveexecuted acrossthestatewithresourcesfromtheRural OpportunityProgram.Thesewillserveasalistof possibilitiesthatcommunitiescanconsiderwhen developingtheirprioritizedprojectlist
Blueprint Process
Inthethirdphase,theTOMwillconducta strategicplanningprocesstoidentifykeygoals, targetedindustries,activities,andmetricsforthe communitybasedontheinitialassessment The processwillincludeanopenbrainstorm,agroup analysisoftheideas,andconcludewitha prioritizationexercise.
Thisprocesswillbeframedthroughthelensofthe CoordinatedActionPlanforEconomicVision2030 byutilizingthe6I’sofeconomicdevelopment: Infrastructure,Innovation,Intellectualcapital, Interest,Investment,andInternational Additionally,itwillattempttoalignthelocal blueprintwithregionalComprehensiveEconomic DevelopmentStrategy(CEDS)plansandstate targetedindustries.
Inthefourthphase,theTOMwillreflectthe assessmentandstrategicplanbacktothe steeringcommitteeandrequestrevisions.Finally, theblueprintwillbepresentedtotheelectedbody ofthecommunityandseekfinaladoption.
Thefifthphasewilllaunchtheimplementationof theblueprintandwillbefacilitatedwithongoing supportfromGOEO.
AugustGranath
TechnicalOutreachManager agranath@utah.gov
ColetteCox
DirectoroftheCenterforRural Development&CommunityOutreach ccox@utah.gov
BUSINESS.UTAH.GOV