APPROACH AND METHODOLOGY
ECC seeks to spark a 'mass localism' movement that creates sustainable, 'community-up' solutions to the economic challenges facing rural communities. The approach is based on the belief that local solutions to macro issues (e.g. poverty and unemployment, energy, food systems) are often more effective, as they reflect the specific needs and resources of communities and engage citizens in taking action. Yet, governments have generally struggled in the past to support genuine local solutions. ECC has worked to demonstrate that communities that clearly understand their resources, have the capacity for innovation, and have defined goals can create ground up solutions that address state and national priorities. The collective 'mass localism' of communities working to address local needs and achieve local aspirations provides a sustainable, cost-effective approach to tackling some our countries more pressing challenges while strengthening rural communities.
IMPLEMENTATION, TIMELINE, AND DELIVERABLES
ECC's goal is to replicate its model to10 additional rural communities in Ohio over the next three years. They will target the first community in July 2011, with a plan to solidify their processes and approach by the end of 2011. Beginning in 2012, they will launch a beta version of the web platform for the initiative, and scale the initiative to be able to work with two communities simultaneously. By July 2012, they hope to be at full scale and on schedule to reach the goal of working with 10 communities by July 2013.
The commitment will unfold in three stages:
Stage one is a discovery-driven planning process aimed at helping communities to develop an identity and vision based on local assets and resources. This process will be led by student planners hired through the University of Cincinnati's School of Planning Co-op program that will work immersed in participating communities for three month periods advised by planning faculty and professionals. The planning process will focus on the intersection of local economic development, sustainable land use and infrastructure development, and building collaborative resource networks.
The second stage will focus on overcoming the initial challenges of implementation to ensure sustainable change. ECC will work with community leaders that emerge through this process by developing tailored tools and resources such as issue branding, web development, marketing design, and community organizing tools to be utilized in implementation process. They will also receive regular coaching and advising on how to implement sustained change.
The final stage of the process focuses on collecting the knowledge, tools, and best practices developed during stages one and two to be shared on a collaborative web platform aimed at informing and inspiring rural innovation across communities.
The recent national recession has affected many US populations, but rural America has been dealt a particular blow, especially parts of Ohio. Of the rural nine-county region in southwest and south central Ohio, all but one county has unemployment at least one percent higher than the national average, and this region contains the first (Clinton County) and third (Highland County) highest unemployment rates in the state.
Yet, this crisis is the culmination of decades of economic decline as rural communities have relied heavily on industries that extract wealth, namely, commodity-based industries and big box businesses. These same communities engage in a zero-sum game of industrial recruitment as they compete for jobs by offering the best incentive package at the expense of their local tax payers and their rural neighbors. At the same time, many rural communities have neglected the local assets that provide an economic foundation and have failed to invest in entrepreneurs, locally owned businesses, quality of life, and young future leaders. If these issues are not addressed, the continued decline of rural communities will place a growing burden on state governments, both in terms of providing social services, as well as maintaining crumbling infrastructure that can no longer be maintained by the communities themselves.
Since 2008, Clinton County has been ground zero for the national recession, losing 10,000 jobs based at the Wilmington Air Park between 2008 and 2009. In response this crisis, ECC led an effort to broaden the community's response to the crisis by bringing investment in local assets to the forefront of the economic development strategy. Since 2008, ECC has worked with partners to develop and plan for a new economic future which emphasizes local business development, local food and agriculture, and local energy. As a result of ECC's efforts, the community has seen unprecedented investment in these areas, making the community more resilient in the face of crisis, and establishing it as a new model for rural development. This commitment will build on ECC's success in Clinton County by transferring its model to other counties/communities in need.
Seeking Partnership: Financial Resources, Implementing Partners, Media/Marketing Opportunities
We are primarily seeking financial partners. We are also interested in partners that can help to promote the project, and raise awareness about the need for rural innovation and investment.
Offering Partnership: Implementing Partners, Best Practice Information
