Hartford, CT - More than 300 members of the Greater Hartford business community gathered at The Bushnell on Wednesday evening for the unveiling of the MetroHartford Alliance’s Strategic Plan for 2012-2015. The plan, which was the culmination of a year-long collaboration with investors, stakeholders and outside consultants, provides a strategic framework for growth and advancement in the Hartford Region over the next four years.
“Alliance investors played a vital role in the development of our new strategic plan,” Oz Griebel, President and CEO, MetroHartford Alliance said. “Our investors are actively engaged in the Greater Hartford community and share our commitment to making the region a great place to live, work, play and raise a family.”
Designed to build on the Alliance’s significant accomplishments under its four year plan for 2008-2011, the Strategic Plan for 2012-2015 includes new strategies to guide the Alliance as it fulfills its mission of ensuring the region competes aggressively and successfully for jobs, capital and talent. To help achieve this mission and fulfill the plan’s goals, the Alliance will continue to operate as the region’s strategic convener of investors, stakeholders and other interested parties to accomplish critical objectives that require collaboration.
The overarching goals of the plan are:
- Foster a climate for job creation and infrastructure investment
- Retain, develop, recruit and engage a diverse and talented pool of employees and entrepreneurs
- Promote the stability and expansion of specific industry sectors with a link to support small business growth
- Market the region’s assets to retain and attract businesses
- Ensure that the Capital City is the dynamic urban core of the region
Each goal is supported by annual priorities which will be adjusted as the plan evolves through its four-year cycle.
The Alliance’s Strategic Plan for 2012-2015 was developed with the assistance of Deidre Tavera and Bruce Putterman of the Nonprofit Consulting Group. In April 2011, the group worked with more than 100 of the Alliance’s Strategic Partners and Leadership Investors, guiding them in small group discussions and collecting their feedback through electronic polls and via the Alliance website. This was followed by a day-long strategic planning retreat in October where more than 150 investors shared feedback on the plan’s strategic goals through interactive voting and group discussions. Considering the group’s feedback, the Alliance worked in partnership with the Nonprofit Consulting Group to design a comprehensive plan to sustain the successful core of the region while seizing new opportunities in the future. The plan was then approved by the Alliance Board of Directors during its quarterly board meeting in December 2011.
“We look forward to continuing our role as a catalyst for regional growth,” Griebel said. “Hartford and the surrounding region have a great deal to offer both businesses and residents and we look forward to helping the area realize its full potential.”
