The Situation
Starting with a sizable private donation as seed capital, the Valley Prosperity Partnership formed as a private-sector effort to grown a multi-county region in the Red River Valley of North Dakota and Minnesota. More than two dozen companies contributed to create a strategic plan for the region. Once the plan was completed, the VPP needed to begin the implementation phase.
Our Process
We guided the work of four multi-stakeholder working groups as they developed actions steps in entrepreneurship, workforce and talent development, water management, and research capacity. We worked closely with the economic development organizations in Fargo and Grand Forks.
The Outcome
Each working group produced a position paper to guide VPP’s efforts on each topic over the next few years and became the basis of priorities for the next state legislative sessions. Praxis returned to the project a few years later and Delore Zimmerman is coordinating efforts of the VPP as its executive director.