Collective Impact is working with faculty members of the University of Tennessee Knoxville, Center for Sustainable Business and Development, Department of Political Science, and Department of Retail, Hospitality, and Tourism Management to conduct a research project to better understand Appalachian tourism and identify opportunities to grow tourism activities and encourage business development throughout the region. The project is funded through a competitive grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) - a federal economic development agency. The project is the largest and most comprehensive study of tourism ever conducted by the commission, which covers 205,000 square miles across 420 counties in 13 states. Results of the study will help us better understand the state of tourism of the region, new growth areas for tourism in Appalachian communities, and best practices and successful strategies to help the communities succeed. The project will use research, surveys, site visits, and focus groups as part of the research method. The project also will identify communities to use as case studies to illustrate local tourism success stories and best practices for tourism business development.
For over a 16 month period, Collective Impact provided an array of planning, coordination, facilitation, stakeholder engagement and input, and research services to assist Ridgeline and the West Virginia Governor’s Early Childhood Planning Task Force in the creation of the 10-year comprehensive Development Plan for Early Childhood in West Virginia. Recognizing the importance of the earliest years of life, Governor Earl Ray Tomblin created the Early Childhood Planning Task Force in May 2013. The Task Force was charged with creating a development plan for West Virginia’s early childhood system. A 10-year plan for improving early childhood programs, financing and governance was completed in September 2014. The Task Force partnered with the state’s Early Childhood Advisory Council on the creation of the plan. More than 1,200 West Virginians provided input through community forums, stakeholder discussions, study groups, an online survey, and key informant interviews.
"Bruce and Jeremy were a pleasure to work with on our agency's Comprehensive Community Needs Assessment project. They made sure they understood our needs and worked diligently to deliver a product that exceeded my expectations." ~ Rick Smith, Executive Director, Eastern West Virginia Community Action Agency, Moorefield, West Virginia
More and more, innovation is springing not from particular industries or disciplines, but rather across them, says Frans Johansson, author of The Medici Effect: Breakthrough Insights at the Intersection of Ideas, Concepts & Cultures. "When you step into an intersection of fields, disciplines, or cultures, you can combine existing concepts into a large number of extraordinary new ideas."
See the Prime Time Morning interview of Frans Johansson about The Medici Effect.
