GREAT FALLS — The Great Falls Development Authority is inviting the community to be part of a conversation about economic growth and development.
The GFDA is developing a new regional economic development strategy. The organization is working with national economic consulting firm Barber Business Advisors to craft the plan.
The first step in the process is to hear from the people who live and work in Great Falls.
A listening session will be held on September 15th to discuss strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats to the Great Falls economy.
GFDA president Brett Doney explained, "Everyone in the community and region have so much more knowledge than we have or certainly the consultants that we've hired have. So it's really important that we hear, we tap into this database of a lifetime of knowledge both about the region and about particular industries so we can really feed that into the strategic planning process.”
The consultants from Barber Business Advisors are in town this week to help facilitate the listening session and gather information, and will be back in October.
In late November or early December they’ll present their findings to GFDA. After that, the economic strategy plan will start to come together. The goal is to get all organizations in the Great Falls community moving in the same direction through immediate, mid-term and long-term initiatives.
The Great Falls Development Strategic Planning Meeting is scheduled forWednesday, September 15th from 5:30 to 7 p.m. at Great Falls College MSU B101 through the south entrance.
People can also provide feedback about the Great Falls economy by filling out a survey by clicking here.
