Previous | Table of Contents | Next

PART II -- APPROACH OF THIS PLAN.

The members of the Northeast Kingdom Enterprise Collaborative acknowledge that the Northeast Kingdom has many economic development challenges stemming from isolation and persistent poverty. However, the Collaborative wishes to take an Assets approach to formulating a strategic plan.

The Northeast Kingdom has many people, organizations and agencies who every day do the best they can with the limited resources available to improve community well being in the region. We believe this "human capital" is one of the most important resources in the region. Therefore, each section of the plan begins with a brief summary statement followed by:

• ASSETS: a comprehensive list of the organizations and other assets we have in place to work in this area;
• VISION: the way we would like to see the Northeast Kingdom twenty years from now, developed from a region wide visioning conference held at Lyndon Institute on March 27, 1999;
• CHALLENGES: The key problems we need to work on; and
• STRATEGIES: The methods and types of activities we will undertake to meet the challenges and attain our vision.

Finally, the plan articulates a set of indicators of success to measure if we have indeed had an impact on the lives of the individuals and families who live and work in the Northeast Kingdom. Progress on any of these individual indicators may not necessarily be attributable to the benefits of REAP designation. However, when taken as a whole, these indicators will tell us over time if the people of the Northeast Kingdom are better off than they were before the REAP designation took place.

Previous | Table of Contents | Next