Redevelopment – particularly across a wide metropolitan area
– is complex and requires input from a variety of stakeholders to help guarantee
its success. However, lack of
organization and a unified vision among participating groups can reduce the
impact of the best-intentioned work.
Without strong partnerships between the groups involved, projects run
the risk of being at cross-purposes. Further,
organizations oftentimes miss opportunities to support each other – with
manpower or money – to make a more successful impact to areas in need.
In Memphis,
the community development corporations (CDCs), foundations, banks, non-profits,
the private sector, and the local government all have unique roles to play in
helping to revitalize the city. The
Greater Memphis Partnership has taken a leadership position to try to create
positive change in the area by creating a comprehensive public/private community
plan to support neighborhood development.
Over the course of the drafting of the plan (from April, 2008 to October
2008 – a very short seven (7) month period), it is hoped that all of these groups
can become unified under a common vision for Greater Memphis and can reach
consensus on how revitalization can be accomplished. The first critical step in the process – and
one that must carry on throughout the project – is establishing how these
groups can work through common issues in a meaningful way.
This Stakeholder Involvement Strategy outlines such an
approach, detailing when stakeholders will convene to discuss existing
redevelopment plans, visions for the future, and ideas for implementation. Also important to the success of this project
is an active and engaged Steering Committee.
From the outset, this Strategy provides a road map for when these
meetings should occur, what the meetings should achieve, and how the results
will be incorporated into the plan.
In 2007, the Assisi Foundation of Memphis, the City of Memphis, and the Community
Foundation of Greater Memphis began a series of discovery conversations with
the local community development corporation (CDC) industry to determine their
perceptions of industry opportunities and needs. A diverse group of community development
corporations from throughout the city participated in interviews and group
discussions, as well as banks and public agencies that fund and support these
types of organizations. Two reports
documenting these findings were produced by Consilience Group LLC, which serve
as foundational materials for the current study – the drafting of a
comprehensive community development plan for Greater Memphis.
It is understood that the drafting of the strategic community
redevelopment plan presents an opportunity for Memphis policy-makers and neighborhood
leaders – acting on behalf of the residents of the areas – to take a look at
the “big picture” of what they want the neighborhoods to become. Specifically, the comprehensive community
redevelopment plan for Greater Memphis is meant to accomplish several
objectives, namely to:
- Devise strategies to most
effectively revitalize targeted neighborhoods;
- Define overall community
investment priorities;
- Establish roles and responsibilities
of existing – and possibly new – organizations to help implement community
development plans;
- Identify greater external
partnership opportunities for these organizations, particularly to be able
to tap into more substantial and less restricted financial resources; and
- Suggest ways to build capacity
and retain knowledge within neighborhood organizations to be able to
continually develop and implement innovative solutions.
Broadly, this will be accomplished through analyzing the
existing situation in Memphis
neighborhoods and among area CDCs; developing a neighborhood redevelopment
vision and short-term, one (1) year and longer-term, five (5) year action plans;
and finally developing an implementation plan.
To more accurately describe our ultimate goal, the subtitle of this
effort has been dubbed “A Blueprint for Revitalization.”
Input received from stakeholders and from the Steering
Committee throughout the planning process will be vital to the success of the
project. This will help ensure the
resulting strategic community redevelopment plan represents a range of insights
and a comprehensive view of the strategies needed to move Greater Memphis
forward.
- 1.3 - Participation Strategy
Outreach for the Greater Memphis Neighborhoods: A Blueprint
for Revitalization project must be inclusive and far-reaching to fully
understand where the community is now (i.e. its current issues and concerns), what
it wants to change, and how it’s going to get there. A three-phase planning process will be
carried out which concentrates on each of these themes. As described below, participation is a key
aspect of each stage of the project:
- Phase I, Situational Analysis focuses on understanding “where the
community is now.” Baseline research
will be conducted at this stage through the review of contextual materials and
initial meetings and interviews with stakeholders and the Steering Committee;
an existing conditions report and needs analysis will be completed.
- Phase II, Neighborhood Redevelopment Vision and Five (5) Year Goals focuses on understanding “where the community wants to be.” Visioning exercises will be carried out with
stakeholders and the Steering Committee; a strategic framework, revitalization
vision, and five (5) year strategic goals will be created.
- Phase III, Implementation Plan focuses on understanding “how the
community is going to change.” The
Steering Committee will be convened to work through strategic planning issues
and devise an implementation plan, and a stakeholder project status meeting
will be held to provide updates on these processes and give feedback. Implementation strategies, organizational
structures, resources available, and budget estimates are some of the outputs
which will be generated in this phase.
Representatives from all local stakeholder groups will be
invited to attend a series of workshops, meetings, and presentations to be held
at regular intervals throughout the study period. The
staff of the Community Development Council will assist in the identification of
the stakeholders and will handle the specific scheduling of the meetings and
interviews. Outreach will incorporate
the views of groups such as:
- Local CDCs;
- Neighborhood Association
leaders;
- Non-profit developers;
- Bankers;
- Private sector leaders;
- Local government;
- Local academic institutions;
- Neighborhood faith
institutions;
- Foundations; and
- Others, including the Chamber
of Commerce, heritage organizations, and cultural organizations.
The
Steering Committee, comprised of the sponsors of the Greater Memphis Partnership,
which includes representatives from the City of Memphis, local CDC’s, and foundations will guide
the project.
Through this process, a community-wide vision for
neighborhood revitalization will be formulated based on input from the myriad
of individuals, neighborhoods, organizations, public officials, private
entities, businesses, programs, and, most importantly, advocates for the
residents of the targeted Memphis neighborhoods.The meetings and
workshops for the Steering Committee and wider stakeholder group are outlined
below.
- 1.4 - Steering Committee Meetings
The Steering Committee will formally convene four (4) times over
the course of the study. Working with
consultants EDAW and the staff of the Community Development Council, each of
the meetings will focus on a specific, defined theme:
- Steering Committee Meeting #1
will concentrate on Guidance. This meeting will serve as the project
‘kick-off’ session. The meeting will
aim to clarify and finalize the study parameters, outline
responsibilities, establish which stakeholder groups need to be involved, and
set goals for what is hoped to be accomplished through the course of
work. Additionally, it will be
important to discuss work that is currently being undertaken or is already
accomplished which will inform the consultant’s understanding of the
area. It is anticipated that this
meeting will take place in late April, 2008.
- Steering Committee Meeting #2
will concentrate on Visioning. Through the visioning process we will
focus on ways to insure that the Greater Memphis neighborhoods develop and
redevelop into special places for all citizens and visitors alike. Participants will be asked to describe
existing conditions and pinpoint problems which need to be tackled. Through the aid of best practice
examples from elsewhere in the state and country (presented by EDAW),
Steering Committee members will then brainstorm how they’d like Greater Memphis
to change and where key areas of intervention might be, and start thinking
about the players and resources needed to reach these goals. It is anticipated that this meeting will
take place in mid-June, 2008.
- Steering Committee Meeting #3
will concentrate on Strategic
Planning. Specific projects which will help Memphis
neighborhoods reach their goals will be identified and discussed at this
meeting. The specific neighborhoods
as well as the number of potential projects identified will likely need to
be prioritized. It will then be the
task of the Steering Committee to work through which initiatives are most
urgent and which will make the biggest impact towards revitalizing the
area as a whole. It is anticipated
that this meeting will take place in late July, 2008.
- Steering Committee Meeting #4
will concentrate on Implementation. The purpose of this meeting will be to
devise a ‘roadmap’ outlining the specifics of implementation, e.g. identifying
potential partnerships, funding sources, and communication strategies necessary
to accomplish the projects as outlined in Meeting #3. Organizational roles will also be
tackled in this meeting, where participants will discuss who is best
suited to oversee the strategic plan.
It is anticipated that this meeting will take place in early
September, 2008.
Minutes will be kept at each Steering Committee meeting, and
these minutes will subsequently be written up as records of the meetings.
Although this series of meetings is presented in a linear
fashion, we certainly anticipate that more casual, one-to-one Steering
Committee member involvement will be continuous throughout the study
period. It will be important not only to
keep Steering Committee members informed of developments in the study, but also
for EDAW to learn of any local issues which might arise which would impact
project work. Such conversations or
informal meetings will also help EDAW cross-check findings to ensure outputs
produced are as current and relevant as possible.
- 1.5 - Stakeholder Participation
Stakeholders interested in and dedicated to the improvement of
Memphis neighborhoods – including CDCs, neighborhood associations, area
non-profits, bankers, neighborhood faith-based institutions, foundations, and
local governments – will be invited to participate in a series of meetings and
workshops to give their perspectives on what needs to be done (and by whom and
how) to strengthen Memphis neighborhoods.
Based on a list provided by the Community Development Council staff, these
stakeholders will be invited to participate in our meetings and workshops via
email, phone calls, and various other notices.
EDAW will meet with stakeholders (individually and in
groups) to gain an understanding of the local context from various points of
view. The list of identified
stakeholders is incorporated in the Deliverable report entitled “Inventory of
Organizations Working for Neighborhood Revitalization.” It is important to note
that not all of these groups and individuals will participate, but the planning
team will strive to interview a cross-section of representatives. Following
these meetings, a series of three (3) stakeholder workshops are planned at
important milestones during the project.
Responses from these meetings, which will be documented in
the form of meeting notes, will be utilized to inform the next steps of the
project.
Stakeholder involvement, therefore, can be outlined as
follows:
- A
series of Interviews and Focus
Groups will be held to ascertain neighborhood development leaders’
views on the current state of Memphis neighborhoods - strengths and areas
in need of improvement - and their initial ideas on what needs to be done
to help them revitalize. While EDAW
will prepare a series of questions for stakeholders to respond to, it is
anticipated that these will serve mainly to spark conversations relating
to issues most important to them. This
series of meetings will begin in early May, 2008, but may continue
throughout the project as more and more stakeholders are identified.
- A Visioning Exercise will be held to
find out what stakeholders think are the main issues facing
Memphis
neighborhoods
and to brainstorm in a ‘blue sky’ manner about goals for the future, much
the same way the Steering Committee was engaged. To encourage a more interactive session,
innovative technology called Turning Point will be used. This new software allows participants to
vote on issues important to them and feeds back their responses in real
time so participants can see how the entire group voted. As well as being a fully transparent
process, the technology is oftentimes revelatory, inspiring further
debate. It is anticipated this workshop will take place in mid-June, 2008.
- A Project Status Meeting is planned
to update stakeholders on the study’s progress. Baseline research on local conditions as
well as feedback from the Steering Committee and stakeholder visioning
sessions will be presented for comment.
It is anticipated this workshop will take place near the end of
July, 2008.
- The Final Presentation will summarize
all project work completed up to that point, including Steering Committee
concerns and main findings. The
strategic plan will be presented for comment. It is anticipated that this workshop
will take place at the end of September, 2008.
As noted above, each stage of stakeholder involvement will
be documented in the form of meeting notes to insure that the views of
participants are used to inform subsequent phases of work.
