Who is using data in their decision-making? How are local governments using performance measures to help manage their jurisdictions, and how effective is it? What problems have they faced? In the fall of 2011, the University of Michigan’s Center for Local, State, and Urban Policy (CLOSUP) asked local government officials all these questions and more. Learn what more than 200 Michigan cities and over 150 villages had to say in the Michigan Public Policy Survey on performance management methods and strategies across the state during the Michigan Municipal League's 2012 Capital Conference, March 20-21 in Lansing.
The MPPS results session is just one of the many Capital Conference sessions where local government officials can gain insights and information they can take home to their own municipalities.
Click here to see the Agenda-at-a-Glance and the pre-conference sessions. Register here!
Everyone’s talking about the fundamental role of placemaking in the economic revitalization of Michigan’s communities. But the economics of place has to start with the politics of place. Join us in Lansing March 20-21 to learn about all the key state and federal issues that will impact our communities in the year ahead.
Capital Conference Registration opens January 11 but you can register NOW for these pre-conference sessions:
Recreation Authorities and Other Funding for Parks & Recreation
Most Common Open Meetings Act and Freedom of Information Act Mistakes, and How to Avoid Them
Creative Consolidation: Success in Shared Services
Saving Our Children - The Community's Role in Suicide Prevention
MAMA 26th Annual Advanced Institute
March 20-21 is coming fast, and League staff has been hard at work planning for the 2012 Capital Conference at the Lansing Center in Lansing. Here are the pre-conference sessions we are offering:
Recreation AUthorities and Other Funding for Parks and Recreation
Most Common Open Meetings Act and Freedom of Information Act Mistakes
Creative Consolidation: The Steps to Success In Shared Services
Saving Our Children - The Community's Role in Suicide Prevention
Michigan Association of Municipal Attorneys (MAMA) 26th Annual Advanced Institute
During the Conference, we are planning an action-packed agenda of exciting and educational programs. Plus we'll unveil the new Regional Roundtables featuring the 2012 Community Excellence Award presentations. Don't miss this opportunity to hear the latest on all the key state and federal issues that impact your community!
West Branch's Fabulous Fridays
A true collaborative effort between local government and the business community has revitalized the historic downtown at the heart of West Branch. Like CreateHere co-founder Helen Johnson's placemaking presentation at Convention, West Branch's Fabulous Fridays program shows how grassroots community-based efforts can fuel economic growth and reenergize the historic downtowns that were once at the heart of every city, village and town. This CEA finalist demonstrates how business and government working together can help our downtowns to once again become the "place" that helps define a community.
West Branch's Fabulous Fridays started a few years ago and has cranked up the city's historic downtown economy with themed Fridays, including a very popular Gong Show and Classic Chassis car show. More than 14,000 people attended over the last three summers and business is up 10-15 percent annually in the small town. The Fabulous Fridays increase the exposure to the downtown business district in the city and has generated a lot of interest in West Branch overall. It also brings back that clasic small town feel of a true community gathering.
Community Excellence Award Finalist Video "Uncork Paw Paw"
A media-savvy placemaking campaign called "Uncork Paw Paw" earned top honors as the Region 2 Community Excellence Award winner back in May 2011, and was one of the seven outstanding presentations at the League Convention in October. It's an outstanding example of placemaking, and of how a community can partner with business and foster entrepreneurship in a mutually beneficial relationship. (To learn more about fostering entrepreneurship, click here to watch Dr. Ernesto Sirolli's presentation.)
According to Paw Paw Village Manager Larry Nielsen, the community built its sense of place as a wine country destination. They first launched a market and cluster analysis to identify a target audience and devise an effective strategy for promoting the region. At the same time, they created a proactive support system for new entrepreneurship and existing businesses, giving out more than $400,000 in grants in the past three years for everything from education and training to building facade and interior improvements.
The marketing analysis determined there are about 54,000 homes within 20 minutes of Paw Paw, and 114,000 within 30 minutes. They used that data to build an effective marketing strategy that reached 79 percent of 2010 festival attendees in the target region outside the Paw Paw zip code. Paw Paw's annual schedule of lakeside concerts and blockbuster events include an annual Wine & Harvest Festival, Harvest Moon Exgtravaganza, Art Hop and a vintage ball club. It has all added up to create a unique sense of place in Paw Paw as a wine country destination. The result: Paw Paw has added 27 new businesses, with another 43 renovated or expanded.
"Uncork Paw Paw" is a do-able example for other communities seeking to build a sense of place based on their own unique assets.
