Today, as federal and state governments work to allocate an unprecedented influx of funding resources, a group of leaders from throughout Erie County joined together to announce the launch of a new investment playbook designed to ensure Erie is prepared and organized to fully leverage this opportunity.
The initiative and investment playbook, titled “Erie’s Inclusive Growth: A Framework for Action,” includes a set of 35 tangible and transformational projects that require cross-sector collaboration, are near-ready for investment and will contribute to equitable and sustainable economic growth.
The projects included in the playbook stretch across Erie County and would boost Erie’s position in next-generation industries such as plastics recycling and advanced manufacturing, help upgrade the region’s critical digital, transportation and energy infrastructure and grow the number and size of minority-owned businesses.
The playbook also includes a series of “catalytic” projects in the greater core of Erie and other areas of the county that have an outsized impact on job growth. These projects would leverage the unusual concentration of anchor institutions and continue the revitalization of Erie’s downtown, the waterfront, the 12th Street industrial corridor as well as the East and West Bayfront neighborhoods.
“Collaboration is very important right now. Over the last 4.5 years, my team and I have focused on community outreach and planning work. With federal and state funding coming available, we are now ready to identify and secure funding for implementation,” said Mayor Joe Schember. “We appreciate the work of New Localism Associates to bring us together to create this Playbook. It will serve as our region’s road map for many years to come. It is a living Playbook that will change as needs of the Erie region change,” he added.
To facilitate access to federal funds, the investment playbook also lays out a detailed process for matching local uses and federal sources and staging and sequencing public, private and civic capital.
Erie’s Inclusive Growth will be held up by a central “nerve center” that helps to align the work across sectors. Meanwhile, the county has created, staffed and launched a complementary effort, The Fusion Cell, which will coordinate with this framework, working across county and state lines to maximize collaboration throughout the region.
“The investment playbook is a starting point to identify and prioritize projects in Erie County,” said Erie County Executive Brenton Davis. “This will allow us to leverage similar projects collectively across the region to maximize the potential for federal investment.”
The work has been guided by a steering committee made up of leaders from the City of Erie, Erie County, Erie Regional Chamber & Growth Partnership, Jefferson Educational Society and Diverse Erie, as well as funders including Erie Community Foundation, Erie Insurance and the Erie County Gaming Revenue Authority. The investment playbook was designed by Bruce Katz and Florian Schalliol of New Localism Associates, who conducted nearly 50 stakeholder interviews and reviewed more than a dozen regional strategic plans during the process.
Katz says that the success of Erie’s revitalization, when combined with new sources of federal investment, creates an opportunity for accelerating the redevelopment that is already underway and extending its benefits to a broader cross-section of residents. He said he sees the potential for Erie to compress a decade of investment in a few years for a dramatic effect.
“Erie has created the most ambitious investment playbook in the nation, identifying dozens of projects that can maximize federal investment and creating a ‘nerve center’ to ensure that funding is actually raised and projects get delivered,” said Katz. “This is a game changer for the city and county and a collaborative model to be replicated.”
Katz, Schalliol and steering committee members shared the playbook Friday afternoon during a series of stakeholder and public events held at Jefferson Educational Society.
“Erie Insurance is pleased to support this actionable and collaborative playbook,” said Christina Marsh, chief diversity and community development officer at Erie Insurance. “Erie’s Inclusive Growth framework is an extension of the collaboration we’re already seeing in Erie — with public, private and civic leadership coming to the table for the good of the community as we continue to emerge from the pandemic. Erie, Pennsylvania is a community ready to move forward in an inclusive and equitable way and this framework will help us get started.”
To facilitate the work, Kim Thomas joined the Nonprofit Partnership as the Director for Erie’s Inclusive Growth: A Framework for Action. Her new leadership role represents the next stage of the work supported by the partners. “I feel beyond excited and truly honored to have the opportunity to help this group of Erie County leadership and the members of this community carry out this work,” said Thomas. “Throughout my years working in community and economic development with the Commonwealth I have been privileged to gain a wealth of knowledge from the experts on this important work and realized a true passion for it. To be part of this effort, seeing first-hand where leadership at all levels is coming together for the greater community is inspiring.”
Thomas is responsible for the development of the strategic investment playbook to spur revitalization and growth in Erie by leveraging federal and state funding opportunities and increasing alignment of effort.
“We recognize the importance of the private, public and philanthropic sectors uniting with a shared vision to spark community investment in Erie,” said Karen Bilowith, president and CEO of The Erie Community Foundation. “Our board of trustees believes our work to support community collaboration relates to our mission to improve the quality of life for all in our region and will make a significant impact for Erie residents.”
