Martin County Quality of Place

MARTIN COUNTY QUALITY OF PLACE AND WORKFORCE ATTRACTION PLAN

INTRODUCTION

As part of the Indiana Uplands, Martin County was invited to create a Quality of Place and Workforce Attraction Plan. The plan was created in response to a call to action by Regional Opportunity Initiatives, Inc. (ROI), which “as part of an overarching strategy for improving economic and community prosperity established a grant opportunity.” The purpose of the plan is to build quality of place and grow regional capacity of workforce development and attraction.

CHALLENGE

For Martin County, this would be the first time that the county developed a plan to strategically address quality of place and workforce development. County leaders reached out to the eSolve team for support in gathering data, facilitating conversations, developing goals, and designing the final plan. Lacking previous planning, the county realized that this would be an extensive process, which would consist of listening to residents and developing short, mid, and long term goals.

Learn more about Ready Communities Grants.

SOLUTION

eSolve started by hosting a county-wide survey targeted at gauging the satisfactions, hope, dreams, and frustrations of residents. To gather additional information, county residents were invited to participate in focus groups hosted by eSolve. During this process, it was evident that Martin County needed to study broadband and workforce development. Therefore, a broadband summit and an employer summit were hosted. During these meetings, eSolve facilitated a community education session and gathered input to guide the creation of the plan.

Over the course of a year, eSolve guided 40 community leaders through planning sessions to:

review data
analyze county and community comprehensive plans
set goals and a timeline for the plan

RESULTS

As a result of engaging in the eSolve Design Process, the Martin County Quality of Place and Workforce Attraction Plan outlined was developed with input of hundreds of residents. The plan reflects the desires and needs of the county and targets five priorities: Housing, Health and Wellness, Branding, Recreation, and Workforce. Each priority has three objectives which outline strategies and activities to be completed. The community has since partnered with eSolve to facilitate the implementation process. As a result of this partnership, various county organizations have applied for nearly $2.5 million in grant funds to implement the objectives.