Economic Development Strategic Plan

Help Us Update the Economic Development Strategic Plan (EDSP)

Economic development programs seek to improve the quality of life for all community members by engaging in activities that support the local economy. These activities look different in each community because they rely on an area’s specific assets. Some community assets are physical (e.g., excellent transportation infrastructure), whereas others are social (e.g., availability of quality jobs). In general, economic development activities focus on growing the strengths of their community’s assets and seek to improve identified weaknesses.

An economic development strategic plan examines a community’s assets and prioritizes the activities that will most effectively support the local economy. The strategic plan becomes a roadmap for maximizing the community benefit of economic development activities.

About the EDSP Project

The Albemarle County Economic Development Office has hired Resonance Consultancy Inc. to lead an inclusive and data-driven approach to update the County’s Economic Development Strategic Plan (EDSP). The updated plan will provide goals, objectives, and actions that reflect community input and analysis of the County’s current conditions and best practices in economic development. Once completed, the plan will guide the County’s decision-making around economic development-related work and priorities over the next five years. The consultant is expected to provide a final plan draft during the Summer of 2025.

Phases of the EDSP Project

Phase 1: Strategy Development and Kick-off

• Meet with Economic Development staff, EDSP Stakeholder Committee, and County leadership
• Review consultant process and scope of work for updating the EDSP

Phase 2: Economic and Demographic Assessment

• Develop a Competitive Benchmarking Assessment and Target Cluster Analysis
  • Review
    • Existing studies on established target industry clusters and associated workforce.
    • Applicable local, regional, and statewide plans.
    • The County’s existing conditions regarding opportunities and constraints related to:
    • current/planned land use and zoning rules
    • national/regional trends in real estate development
    • trends in entrepreneurship and business development
  • Research
    • Benchmark best practices from 10 peer communities across the United States.

Phase 3: Partner Engagement

• Obtain feedback and buy-in from the community
  • Receive feedback from community members on strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to local economic development. Feedback can be provided through the online survey, submitted in writing to County staff, or given at roundtable discussions.
  • All community members will have virtual and in-person opportunities to engage with County staff and the consultant team and provide input into the EDSP update process.

Phase 4: Strategic Plan Development and Implementation

• Draft and finalize the updated Economic Development Strategic Plan
  • Strategy
    • Establish a clear set of strategy goals, objectives, and action items reflective of stakeholder input and data analysis.
  • Implementation Plan
    • Reviews best practices of peer communities.
    • Outlines staffing, resourcing, roles for partners, and metrics for performance management
    • Implementation Workshop
  • Final Report and Presentation (Summer 2025)

About the EDSP Project Team

The project team includes the Albemarle County Economic Development Office (EDO), Resonance Consultancy Inc., and a stakeholder committee. The stakeholder committee will help the EDO and consultant by advancing the project's community engagement goals and providing timely feedback on a series of drafted work products.

Stay up-to-date with the latest phase of the project by reviewing the News and Project Updates.

Do you have a question? Use the “Ask a Question” tool to ask the project team for more information.