The Agenda 360 Process
Agenda 360 Leadership Chart
Transforming the region is an ambitious goal that needs an ambitious effort behind it.
In order for all Southwest Ohio residents to feel a part of Agenda 360, the effort to create it needed to involve as many people as possible.
Organizers determined three ways to do this:
1. Volunteer leadership.
The process started with the University of Cincinnati examining past studies, plans and reports and extracting valuable recommendations and key themes. The idea was that we not reinvent the wheel but rather build on the strong foundations begun by others.
Then, five action teams and three support teams were created, each with 50 to 80 community volunteers. Their job was to dive deeply into five key issues: competitive economy, educational excellence, livable communities, urban renaissance and effective governance.
The teams worked to identify opportunities and unmet community needs in their focus areas as well as to understand the big picture.
2. Community dialogues.
In order to obtain a representative sample of the region's population, it was important to hold meetings across Southwest Ohio. Meetings were hosted in every corner of the four counties, from Oxford and Middletown to Lebanon and eastgate, Norwood, price hill, Blue Ash and Forest park, among many others.
The Agenda 360 team formed a partnership with Citizens for Civic Renewal, a local community action group started in 1996 to amplify the voice of the people on vital community issues.
With CCR's help, more than 1,500 people participated in the community dialogue meetings. At each of the 28 meetings, participants were given 10 "million-dollar" bills and asked to invest the money in the issues they thought were most important to the region's long-term economic health and quality of life.
3. Community survey.
Finally, Agenda 360 organizers melded together the conclusions from the review of existing initiatives, the action teams and the community engagement groups.
The results were powerful. A clear group of common themes emerged across different groups of people in different parts of town with very different economic perspectives.
Organizers decided to test those themes with a community-wide survey that would help them verify the results.
Survey respondents were asked to rank the emerging ideas from making all neighborhoods safe, proud and vibrant; to providing access to health care for all citizens; to growing highimpact industries and a strong economy with jobs and careers for all.
The themes were compiled into an online survey in which 4,500 people ultimately participated. Their rankings formed the basis for identifying the priorities and strategies explored in this report.
In the end, what resulted was a consensus for change, a road map for transforming the region. A unified, comprehensive agenda.
Community priorities
In community engagement meetings throughout the four counties, participants got a chance to put their money where their mouths were by deciding how they would choose to invest $10 million in the community. The chart demonstrates how participant spent on community needs in millions):
Achieving demographic representation was an important goal of the community engagement meetings, and the effort resulted in a tour of the region's rich diversity. Meetings were held with Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities, hamilton County health and human Services executives, people of Appalachian origin, hispanic Chamber of Commerce members, Jewish Federation board members, Service Workers International Union members and Urban League job training participants. More than 80 people who are homeless participated in a meeting at Christ Church Cathedral's 5000 club weekly dinner. Meetings were hosted with high school students, college students and young professionals.
Geographical participation
people from all over the region made their voices heard by completing the Agenda 360 Community Survey. This map shows what zip codes were represented by respondents.
The big lessons
The inclusive process of the Agenda 360 survey provided five insights that have guided the formation of the six priority areas.
1. People are ready for regional approaches that provide benefits to many, leveraging the efficiencies that can be gained through collective efforts. They expect our cities and governments to work together.
2. We have come a long way with respect to diversity and inclusion. We see the power of having distinct voices at the table. Across groups, we seem to be more willing to stretch beyond natural boundaries and comfort zones to find solutions that have broad and measurable impact.
3. Accountability is crucial. People are ready for change that is obvious, dramatic and sustainable. They will want to know that the connections drawn between the strategy and the rallying cry are real.
4. The public sees the complexity of the 2020 vision and wants change that addresses multiple needs economic development, regional transportation and training and education that ultimately connect to job and career opportunities for all our residents, effective health care, and safe and thriving communities.
5. There is broad consensus to embrace the rallying cry to transform our region. Our people want our region to be an economic hub for industry, jobs and economic opportunity.
Source: Janet Metzelaar/Beyond Data