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NWCT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT SUMMIT 2018NORTHWEST 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
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:
o NWCT Community Foundation o Draper Foundationo PSHCo NHCOGo Housatonic Heritage Areao Ellen Harcourt Brace Foundationo CT Department of Agricultureo 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 AllynSelectman
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-ApartmentsProvidence 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
○ 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!
Currently at 1,764 page likes showing a 26% growth
since taking control of the DiscoverNWCT Facebook
page
Newly created account with almost 700 followers and
growing daily.
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
out 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
#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 PaletskyJanuary 30, 2018
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 VisionDefining 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 thisThere 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
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 of refusing to reimagine where and how we work threatens the American dream as we know it.“Stephane Kasriel
National Rural Lab Initiative
![[May2012] edc](https://img.pdfslide.us/doc/110x75/55cf881955034664618d5a8b/may2012-edc.jpg)
