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Virginia Tech-led Partnership for Progress outlines yearlong community planning effort
Summary
Virginia Tech and local partners described "Partnership for Progress," a yearlong, collaborative effort to gather community input and produce an actionable framework on quality-of-life priorities; survey open through mid-February.
Emily Gibson, director of local government and community relations at Virginia Tech, told the Montgomery County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 27 that Partnership for Progress is a yearlong, proactive collaboration among local governments, nonprofits, business and higher education to develop an actionable community roadmap.
Gibson said the initiative is “a shared effort” that builds on existing work and aims to produce a framework that is not staff- or person-specific but portable so partners can continue implementation after the project ends this summer. She said a consultant team, Linked Strategic Partners, is facilitating the process and that the effort has emphasized “operating from a place of possibility.”
The project has a 21-member steering committee that includes county and K‑12 representatives, business and nonprofit leaders, and has conducted more than 10 focus groups and multiple one-on-one interviews with elected leadership, business owners and community organizations. Gibson said the steering committee and staff-level working groups are now prioritizing issues raised through outreach and that the public survey, which she said takes about 10 minutes to complete, will stay open through mid-February.
County supervisors asked how Partnership for Progress relates to past local planning efforts. Gibson said the initiative intentionally complements earlier efforts such as the county’s livability work, describing Partnership for Progress as a refresh that may overlap with prior initiatives. She said the consultant team and steering committee are working to avoid unnecessary duplication.
Board members expressed support for the project’s emphasis on producing “actionable steps.” Supervisor Biggs said she is “sort of the cheerleader” for the effort and hopes the outcome will include accountability measures. Vice Chair Fajkowski said he is “looking forward to the actionable steps” and that the consultants had been encouraged to produce them.
Gibson said the initiative has received in-kind support from partner organizations and that the project is intentionally portable so that a partner, a regional commission or another entity could host ongoing accountability and transparency after the consultant phase ends. She reported about 600 survey responses as of the morning of Jan. 27 and said that higher response totals could still shape the final framework.
The board did not vote on any measures related to Partnership for Progress at the Jan. 27 meeting. Gibson urged supervisors and residents to visit the project website for updates and to submit survey responses.
Ending: Gibson said the project’s consultants will continue community engagement after the survey period and that the group expects to deliver a planning framework this summer.
