Economic Development Recovery and Resiliency Playbook - Flipbook - Page 24
3. Conduct Community and Stakeholder Outreach
Another critical element of clearly defining economic goals is identifying stakeholders and engaging the community.
Stakeholder and community engagement is a key component of a successful Economic Vitality Strategy (EVS). It is important
to identify partners in conducting community and stakeholder outreach. In some cases, it may be necessary to hire an outside
consultant to assist with the process, and this may require outside funding. The case study of the Mariposa County Economic
Vitality Strategy (which appears later in this chapter on page 22) provides an excellent example of how to conduct stakeholder
and community outreach, particularly in an under-resourced community.
Economic Development Takeaway
When identifying stakeholders, reinforcing equity should be a top priority. Make every
efort to ensure that all members of the community are included in the process — in
particular, engage in dialogue with underserved populations: women, persons of color,
non-English-speaking residents, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Stakeholder Engagement. A stakeholder is an individual, group of people, or organization with a concern or vested interest in
creating and maintaining a robust community. When identifying stakeholders, reinforcing equity should be a top priority. Make
every efort to ensure that all members of the community are included in the process — in particular, engage in dialogue with
underserved populations: women, persons of color, non-English-speaking residents, and members of the LGBTQIA+ community.
Communities include residents with diverse interests, languages, cultures, etc. Activities should be inclusive of all groups within
a community from the beginning to avoid situations where groups who were not engaged early on show up frustrated or angry
due to the lack of inclusion.
Before you begin, determine how stakeholder engagement will be implemented. Should a consultant be hired to conduct
outreach or does the jurisdiction have the capacity to engage diverse populations? If a consultant is needed, will securing a grant
be necessary to provide adequate funding? Another option is to join with local community partners to facilitate engagement.
Engaging community stakeholders can be done in many ways. Keep in mind that your options encompass diferent types or
levels of community engagement, listed here by increasing level of involvement:
• Informing — disseminating fact sheets, public notices, requests for proposals, and funding announcements, holding
webinars, and reaching out through networks/community groups;
• Consulting — gathering feedback, conducting listening sessions, holding comment periods, providing consultation;
• Involving — facilitating two-way conversations, providing and seeking technical/administrative assistance, and
convening steering committees; and
• Collaborating — partnering to develop solutions together, from brainstorming to implementation.
Once you identify the stakeholders, make sure to include them in your goal setting process. Without stakeholder engagement
that includes all community groups, the goals will not be supported. Economic development that is equitable, inclusive, and
outcome-driven for residents begins with prioritizing community engagement and clearly linking that engagement to actionable
initiatives with measurable results.11
Key steps to engage your stakeholders include the following activities.
• Identify stakeholders and pay special attention to organizations representing marginalized communities.
• Create committees or task forces.
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33591_SmartIncentives_Report.pdf
CALED | Economic Development Recovery and Resiliency Playbook
