Title
Economic Development Organization Design Sprint and Stakeholder Engagement
Body
Issue/Request:
Economic Development Organization Design Sprint and Stakeholder Engagement
Key Issues:
On May 2, 2023 a "Best Practices for Economic Development Organizations" was presented to the City Council.
This discussion item is the next step towards optimizing the Economic Development Ecosystem for Lee's Summit.
Background:
The City of Lee’s Summit is attempting to modernize and optimize its approach to local economic development. To begin this, Lee’s Summit recently contracted with Thomas P. Miller & Associates (TPMA) to complete a ‘Best Practices of Economic Development Organizations’ report to the City Council to understand how communities and organizations across the country are maximizing the economic development approach. The report identified peer organizations from across the country and analyzed their lead economic development organizational structure, strategy, and performance. Additionally, the report outlined the four common functions of high-performing EDO’s, and a list of characteristics demonstrated by best-in-class economic development organizations. This was presented to the City Council at the May 2, 2023 City Council meeting.
To continue the momentum, the City of Lee’s Summit is looking to facilitate productive conversation with the City Council, City Administration, Community Partners, and Community Stakeholders to develop a roadmap for the future of economic development in Lee’s Summit. TPMA will work in partnership with Lee’s Summit to better understand the needs of businesses in the community, develop a structure that facilitates positive impact economic development outcomes, and help Lee’s Summit optimize its ecosystem to ensure the city and region meets its full economic potential.
TPMA will guide the Design Sprint utilizing the process of Design Thinking. This process will guide participants to idea generation and thought sharing, wor...
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