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Orange County seeks community input on economic development and tourism strategic plan; consultant to lead stakeholder engagement
Summary
County economic development director Julie Perry introduced a three-part strategic-plan update and consultant Heather Graham (Platinum PR/PPR Strategies) outlined a stakeholder-engagement approach emphasizing data-driven research, inclusive outreach and co-created strategy; supervisors were invited to participate in stakeholder groups.
Julie Perry, Orange County director of economic development and tourism, returned to the board to continue the county’s economic development and tourism strategic-plan update and introduced consultant Heather Graham to describe the proposed stakeholder-engagement process.
Graham (identified in the packet as with Platinum PR and speaking on behalf of her firm) described a three-part approach: data-driven research to understand local quantitative indicators; collaborative action mapping and stakeholder engagement (community meetings, focus groups, 1-on-1 interviews) to surface lived experience and priorities; and development of actionable strategic outcomes tailored to county priorities. "We believe very strongly in insight driven discovery," Graham said, and emphasized that co-creation and transparency would support broad buy-in and implementation.
Perry told the board the county’s team will lead much of the data and research while the consultant will focus on community and stakeholder engagement. She asked supervisors to consider serving on topic-based stakeholder groups tied to the plan’s four pillars: business retention and attraction, small business and entrepreneurship, workforce development, and quality of life. Board members discussed priorities and whether certain pillars should receive a greater share of staff time and attention; Perry and staff asked for guidance on prioritization in later work sessions.
What’s next: Staff and consultant will schedule stakeholder sessions, surveys and interviews as part of the planning timeline and return draft priorities and a proposed strategy to the board for approval.
