CLAYTON — The St. Louis Economic Development Partnership on Friday agreed to hire a consultant to compile a strategic plan evaluating its place within the region’s economic development landscape.
The Partnership board approved at a special meeting Friday a $115,000 contract with New York-based HR&A Advisors, Inc. It is the latest strategic planning effort by regional economic development organizations. At least four other reports have been released or are in process from both public and private entities amid a shift in the leadership of the region’s economic development infrastructure.
“We didn’t want to start from scratch,†said Janet Wilding, a vice president of major projects at the Partnership. “This is more of a literature review of what’s out there, what strategies are out there, and it’s more targeted at our organization to understand where do we fit in, where do we add value, what is the best placement of our activities.â€
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The Partnership, which spent much of the last two years rebuilding amid a political scandal that ensnared its former leader and sent former St. Louis County Executive Steve Stenger to prison, tends to focus more on St. Louis County, though St. Louis has some representatives on its board.
The city’s economic development arm, the St. Louis Development Corp., over the summer released its , which calls for reorienting its staff to a more place-based approach, focusing on neighborhood-by-neighborhood redevelopment. The longtime chief of the SLDC, Otis Williams, is also retiring this spring.
Meanwhile, the new Greater St. Louis Inc., created by the recent merger of business groups Civic Progress and the St. Louis Regional Chamber, is in the midst of gathering feedback on its new strategic plan that calls for a heavy focus on the urban core. More specific plans focused on downtown and the region’s geospatial workforce have also been released to guide the work of Greater St. Louis and the SLDC in the last year.
The Partnership received 11 proposals for the contract and interviewed four, Wilding said. The request for proposals calls for a completion of the strategic plan this summer.
Partnership board member Dave Spence, who served on the selection committee that chose HR&A, said the committee was unanimous in its recommendation.
“Being stewards of taxpayers money, and trying to get a different twist on things, this was the right choice,†Spence said.