Being chosen as a quarter finalist in the America's Best Communities competition earned Richmond some grant money, but it also brought another round of work as the city pursues the top prize of at least $1 million.
The objective of this round is to create a unified view and comprehensive approach to economic revitalization and enriching the labor pool.
On Monday, about 50 people who participate in the Council on Economic Vitality and/or the Complete College Initiative met at the Innovation Center to help discern the most important aspects of that revitalization plan.
They met in groups of four or five, seeking to answer questions such as:
•Why do people choose to or not to live here? What are the current economic conditions we need to change?
•What are employers concerns as they set out to hire employees? What is needed ensure and/or prepare a productive work force? What are the anticipated employment trends to plan for?
•What is happening to alleviate these challenges? What benchmarks should be used to evaluate the success of a revitalization plan?
By the end of the session, Colorful Post-It notes with the answers to those questions were plastered around the meeting room.
Repeated themes included eliminating generational poverty, the entitlement mentality and substance abuse issues; improving quality life and education for residents from cradle to career and beyond; and creating targeted education to meet the needs of local employers.