Union County Oregon became the most recent county in America to complete an economic development strategic plan based upon the Building Communities methodology.

Union County, with a population of nearly 25,000, had not completed an economic strategic plan since the early 1990s. Confronting some of the highest unemployment rates in recent memory, the county was looking for an expeditious and comprehensive approach to envisioning and enacting its future. Union County selected the Building Communities approach.

Building Communities is unique in that it begins with 25 viable economic development strategies. This menu of strategies is then considered by American communities, and the strategies that have the greatest likelihood of success are selected.

Likelihood of success is based upon the concepts of comparative advantage and key success factors. Communities that have comparative advantages with respect to many of the 85 Building Communities key success factors select the most viable strategies. Building Communities then offers a series of essential action steps ensuring that communities do not just plan—but they enact—their future.

For Union County, the most viable strategies include education development, pass-through visitor services, health care, energy development, attracting government funding, downtown development, and value-added agriculture.

For each of these top strategies, development organizations in Union County collaborated to identify the essential action steps for success. For the first time in recent memory, all of the development-related organizations are meeting regularly to implement elements of the strategic plan.

Comparative Advantages of using the Building Communities Economic Development Strategic Planning Metholodogy vs. traditional planning methods

Are you ready to begin the Building Communities planning process? Building Communities is ready for you!