Partnership for Prosperity
About the Project
Recognizing the Opportunities for the Sacramento Region
As an economic engine, the Sacramento Region has done well over the past decade. Despite the national recession, the region has been one of the strongest economies in California, adding 219,000 jobs over the past 10 years with employment growth nearly twice the state average. Business 2.0 Magazine has labeled it a "boomtown" and the Milken Institute Index ranked the metro area in the top 15 nationwide for economic performance.
By most measures, the region is at a turning point. Responding to market forces alone can't suffice as a defacto economic development strategy. Sustained economic growth and job creation now require deliberate steps at a regional scale, executed locally, to create the conditions for economic prosperity. The good news is that regional planning and collaboration have reached a high point in the Sacramento Region. Efforts like the Blueprint Project for transportation and land use brought about by SACOG and Valley Vision have provided a roadmap for creating regional solutions.
Assessing this landscape, SACTO and other top regional economic development leaders felt the time had come to pull together a diverse group of stakeholders to build a 3-5 year business plan for the Sacramento Region that leverages its unique strengths and market opportunities.
Launching a Collaborative Planning Effort
In late 2004 the leadership of the Sacramento Metro Chamber of Commerce, the Sacramento Area Commerce and Trade Organization, and Valley Vision decided that the stage was set to take the Sacramento Region to the next level. After considering successful models of regional economic development planning efforts from across the country, these leaders were instrumental in assembling a diverse group of partnership organizations and financial sponsors that enabled the project to move from conceptualization to initiation. Following the kickoff meeting in February 2005, the project partners embarked upon the process of creating a proactive economic development plan for the six-county region.
Focusing on Outcomes
The purpose of the Partnership is simple: to create a shared business agenda with focused economic development strategies that leverage our competitive advantages. Five key outcomes have been identified:
- Regional partners will agree on a shared economic identity that can be marketed within and beyond the 6-county area.
- Participating organizations will align their work plans and resources to implement the strategies within the created action plan.
- Regional partners will fully understand the roles and work plans of the organizations associated with strategy implementation, thereby cultivating continued collaboration.
- Meaningful stakeholder engagement will lead to broad understanding and support for implementation of the action plan.
- Regional partners will ensure that the backend strategy for execution and implementation of the Business Plan is as robust as the planning process itself.
Selected Sacramento region photos by Tom Myer's Photography. More Sacramento images can be seen at www.tommyersphotography.com | Sitemap