NWCT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SUMMIT 2018 NORTHWEST HILLS COUNCIL OF - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

NWCT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SUMMIT 2018

NORTHWEST HILLS COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS NORTHWEST CONNECTICUT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

Fiber + Mobile = Economic Development

A nonprofit corporation

Objectives

Why Is It Important?

 Immediate and forthcoming JOBS  Area will be more attractive to EMPLOYERS  YOUTH friendly communities  A future-proof economy and INNOVATION ready  Improved Public SAFETY  Telecom SAVINGS

What’s New?

Let’s ConneCT

www.northwest-conneCT.org

NWCTFOODHUB@gmail.com

NWCT Regional FOOD HUB Renee Giroux, Food Hub Manager

• 10 participating farms in Year 1
• Broad Street, Torrington warehouse
• Website in development
• Funding support from:
• NWCT Community Foundation
• Draper Foundation
• PSHC
• NHCOG
• Housatonic Heritage Area
• Ellen Harcourt Brace Foundation
• CT Department of Agriculture
• Individuals

Visit the Northwest Hills Regional Trails Page: northwesthillscog.org/ nhcogtrails

GOALS:

• 1. Attract and retain young residents
• 2. Protect water quality and natural

resources

• 3. Support farm businesses and protect

farmland

• 4. Strengthen our town centers and Main

Streets

• 5. Meet the needs of our older adult

residents

• 6. Continue to foster regional

collaboration and resource sharing

Data & toolbox can be found at northwesthillscog.org

GOAL: Develop focused, strategic, realistic set of actions that NHCOG, the 21 member towns, Chamber, NWCT EDC, NWRWIB, and other partners in the region will take over the next 5 years. The objectives of these strategies will be: 1. Grow the Business Clusters that Drive NWCT’s Economy and Encourage Entrepreneurial Development to Create Jobs 2. Ensure a Workforce that meets the need of NWCT’s employers 3. Support the retention and expansion of our existing businesses 4. Invest in the infrastructure needed to foster business growth 5. Actively market our assets and opportunities; Celebrate regional collaboration & successes

CEDS GOALS

NWCT Regional Housing Council

• Cornwall Housing Corporation
• Goshen Housing Trust
• Kent Affordable Housing
• Litchfield Housing Trust
• Foundation for Norfolk Living
• Salisbury Housing Trust
• Salisbury Affordable Housing Commission
• Sharon Housing Trust
• Sharon Housing Authority
• NWCT Habitat for Humanity
• Washington Community Housing Trust
• Washington Housing Commission
• (new) Barkhamsted Housing Trust
• (new) Falls Village Housing Trust

CelebrateCT Award Honorees

• Nov. 2017

Christian Allyn

Selectman North Canaan

What can NWCT do to attract young people?

• 1. Engage Young People
• Work to ensure that young people have financial capability to be able

to live and contribute to our community in their own unique way.-

• 2. Polished cultural and digital presence:

• 3. Innovation Hubs/Shared Office Spaces

• 4. Micro-Apartments

Providence Arcade

• 4. Micro-Apartments- Example: 560 on Main

Willimantic

• 5. Significant towns within an united area

Janet Carlson CEO,

One Eleven Group Chair, Cornwall EDC

Why Did We Move to NW CT?

Why NWCT?

• Weekenders to start.
• School was the deciding factor.
• Moved company and key employees.
• Life-based business.

○

Work-life balance

○

Surrounded by nature

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Community focused

• Low tax rate.
• Part of a community.
• Can make a difference.

Photo Credit: BM Photography

What Can YOU Do?

Next steps:

• Revamp EDC site
• Ongoing social media outreach for school and EDC
• Cohesive print and social media ad campaign

○

Heavier on social media

○

Geo-fencing

• Dinner parties/events with weekenders/visitors
• Support NW ConneCT
• Support www.discovernwct.com

Support DiscoverNWCT

The Website

• Almost 53K pageviews

since the launch in 2016

• Top website visitors come

from New York, Connecticut (Torrington, Salisbury, Hartford, New Haven, New MIlford), and Boston

• 57% of site visitors find

DiscoverNWCT directly through an organic search

• Tourists and weekenders

become full time residents!

Facebook

Currently at 1,764 page likes showing a 26% growth since taking control of the DiscoverNWCT Facebook page

Instagram

Newly created account with almost 700 followers and growing daily.

Twitter

220% growth in Twitter followers and audience interaction

Social Media Overview

8% of site visitors are brought directly from social media sources

Town Outreach & PR

E-Newsletter

• One designed for town representatives

and business owners to share their specials and events

• One designed for tourists, visitors and

locals interested in upcoming events in NWCT

Press Releases

Regular distribution of press releases sent

• ut to online bloggers, CT Office of Tourism

and regional papers

Awareness

Acting as the tie between the CT Office of Tourism and the local business owners to educate on new marketing opportunities and statewide tourism programs/events

Contact

One Eleven Group Janet Carlson 860-672-0043

janet.carlson@oneeleven-group.com

• neeleven-group.com

#AEP5

$34.4 million in Spending (2015) in Northwest Connecticut

Organizations

$21.5M Audiences $12.9M

Jobs Supported (FTE)

812

State & Local Government Revenue

$3.4 Million

Attracting Rural Entrepreneurs to the Northwest Hills

NWCT Economic Development Summit 2018

Benjamin Paletsky

Back to the Country

Urban Labs and Co-working

Urban Labs are ideal to solve Urban Challenges “Bean-bag” culture is not for everyone Overhead costs

We need a Vision

Defining the Litchfield Hills with a unique value proposition Providing thought leadership to the rural lifestyle we love Nurturing a culture of Rural Entrepreneurs

Rural Entrepreneurs

Who We Are

Entrepreneurs take calculated risks and build new economies The average age of a successful startup with over $1MM in revenues was 39** Excel at seeing opportunity and leveraging available resources

Establish America’s First Rural Lab

We can do this

There are existing models to replicate, improve, and apply The concept requires further development to be ready for primetime A Rural Lab would be highly marketable to the region

Thank You

NWCT Economic Development Summit 2018

Benjamin Paletsky

Actions/Goals: Rural Labs

• Advocate for Policy
• Create Networks: Investors, Forums for Thought Leadership, Link to

greater resources, Space alignment (Factories to Fields), Support resources, find temp housing, engage urban universities, engage VC divisions in tech sector

• Celebrate -Plan Annual Rural Labs Conference in NWCT
• Create a problem to solver culture - design challenges
• Marketing heavily to target markets
• Create the persona of the rural entrepreneur…
• Promote existing, attract NEW talent

“The consequences

• f refusing to

reimagine where and how we work threatens the American dream as we know it.“

Stephane Kasriel

National Rural Lab Initiative