ACCE AWARDS FOR COMMUNICATIONS EXCELLENCE SUBMITTED BY. Title: Greater Cleveland Partnership Public Policy Agenda Category: Guides

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1 ACCE AWARDS FOR COMMUNICATIONS EXCELLENCE SUBMITTED BY Title: Greater Cleveland Partnership Public Policy Agenda Category: Guides Summary The Greater Cleveland Partnership (GCP) created a member-driven two-year public policy agenda that sought to improve the business environment in Northeast Ohio by affection policy at the local, state and federal levels. Introduced in March 2007, the public policy agenda helped to further cement GCP s role as the one voice for business in Northeast Ohio. Greater Cleveland Public Policy Agenda 1

2 SYNOPSIS Needs Identification In March, 2004, the Greater Cleveland Partnership (GCP) was created by the consolidation of Cleveland Tomorrow (an economic development organization comprised of the CEOs of Greater Cleveland s largest companies), Greater Cleveland Growth Association (the chamber of commerce) and the Greater Cleveland Roundtable (a civic organization funded by the business community to address race and human relations issues). The merger was driven by the business community s need to create a more efficient and focused approach to stimulate and sustain economic development in Greater Cleveland. During the first three years of its existence, as outlined in its strategic plan and fortified by its public policy agenda, the GCP sought to establish itself as the one voice for business in Northeast Ohio. As the largest private sector economic development group in Ohio and one of the largest chambers of commerce in the country representing more than 17,700 employers, the GCP leveraged its position to take bold public policy positions and to create coalitions to achieve a businessfriendly environment in Greater Cleveland. As the one voice for business, the GCP not only leads advocacy efforts on behalf of the GCP membership, it also advocates for the entire economic development system in Northeast Ohio that it helped create. The GCP, in its advocacy efforts, is the voice for: Council of Smaller Enterprises, the GCP s small business division Cleveland Development Advisors, a GCP affiliate that invests in real estate BioEnterprise, a GCP partner that helps grow bioscience companies Build-Up Greater Cleveland, public works infrastructure consortium NorTech, a GCP partner that promotes innovation and technology JumpStart, a GCP partner that invest in and mentors start-up businesses Cleveland Leadership Center, a GCP partner that develops civic leaders Cleveland Plus Marketing Alliance, a GCP program that markets the region MAGNET, a GCP partner that provides resources to manufactures Commission on Economic Inclusion, a GCP affiliate that advances inclusion In addition, the GCP is the community s advocate for both OneCommunity, a nonprofit provider of ultra broadband networking services and applications, and NASA Glenn Research Center. Hard-fought, but immediate successes were achieved by the GCP advocacy team. Against significant odds, the GCP led the successful effort to save the Defense Fiance and Accounting Services office in downtown Cleveland that was slated for elimination by the Base Closure and Realignment Commission (BRAC). Not only did the GCP s advocacy efforts save the 1,100 jobs, it persuaded the commission that Cleveland was worthy of another jobs. Additionally, the GCP was the only chamber of commerce in Ohio to push for the passage of massive state tax reform that served to reduce Ohio s tax burden, as well as create incentives for investment and innovation by businesses. The GCP led the region s efforts to coordinate and secure million of dollars in state and federal funds, as well as passage of state tort reform. A two-year public policy agenda guided the GCP s efforts that led to these successes and it was in need of updating both because its two-year shelf life was expiring and because more than 95 percent of the goals outlined in the plan were complete. Greater Cleveland Public Policy Agenda 2

3 OBJECTIVES Objective: To create a public policy agenda that would guide the advocacy work of the Greater Cleveland Partnership and that would notify public officials of the priorities of the business community. To support this objective, the public policy agenda was developed with these goals: Outline the groups and interests the GCP represents in its advocacy efforts. Highlight an urban-focuses agenda. Chart a public policy agenda that follows the GCP strategic plan. Show clearly defined goals for each public policy agenda item. Key audiences: Greater Cleveland Partnership Board of Directors GCP Investor-level members Public officials at every level of government Elected officials at every level of government Staff of elected officials GCP s economic development partners Greater Cleveland Public Policy Agenda 3

4 COMMUNICATIONS PIECE Production Quality The GCP Public Policy Agenda was to be unveiled at the GCP annual meeting on March 20, The piece was a key component of the GCP s suite of products * that were introduced at the annual meeting, which would be attended by more than 400 business leaders, community groups and elected officials. As a main focus of the annual meeting, it was important that the public policy agenda have the look of the other materials that were being produced for the meeting and that would be used throughout the year. As a non-profit organization aware of appearing professional yet not extravagant, it was determined that all the pieces in the suite of products should be limited in color. The GCP colors of green and blue were used and black was introduced into the GCP color palette to modernize the look. The cover art was also important to the design. The star icon in the GCP logo became a spark and the theme for the annual meeting was a catalyst for change. It was important that the cover and inside artwork advance the message of the theme. The idea of the one voice for business was conveyed on the cover of the public policy agenda in a creative, yet obvious manner. Inside artwork was kept simple and the GCP star was utilized to emphasize the individual public policy goals that were outlined in the plan. This look was carried over into other pieces that were used throughout the year, including invitations to GCP advocacy-sponsored events. *The suite of products refers to a membership packet that included the public policy agenda, annual report, membership brochure, pocket-size elevator speech, etc. that were contained within a sleek black folder. Greater Cleveland Public Policy Agenda 4

5 METHODOLOGY Extensive input for the GCP Board of Directors, GCP Investor-level members, GCP s economic development partners and its small business members contributed to the overall plan. Input and data were collected by GCP staff using individual interviews and group meeting with GCP members and the GCP s economic development partners. The Council of Smaller Enterprises (COSE), the GCP s small business division, had recently updated its advocacy agenda through a member-driven process; therefore, the small business agenda created by COSE was incorporated into the GCP public policy agenda. The entire GCP Board of Directors was invited to complete an online survey. The survey detailed topics and issues pre-screened by GCP staff and asked the Board to indicate their level of interest in pursuing the issues. Open-ended questions were utilized in order to ensure that members of the Board were able to provide detailed feedback. Because significant accomplishments were achieved under the first plan (saving DFAS, securing passage of tax reform, etc.), it was imperative that the GCP set high, yet achievable public policy goals. After narrowing down the field of issues to that there were important to the GCP Board of Directors, the GCP staff devised goals to accompany each topic. The categories of issues were fancied to the objectives of the GCP strategic plan: Connected physical development Business retention, expansion and attraction Innovation, technology, and high-growth businesses Education and workforce development Economic inclusion Small business Timeline December 7-22, 2006 interview agencies for the concept, design work January 5, 2007 commence weekly staff meetings to plan annual meeting Early January to Mid-March individual interviews, small group meetings and electronic survey conducted January 16, 2007 initial meeting with selected agency February 5, 2007 review concepts for annual meeting materials March 12, 2007 send materials to the printer March 20, 2007 Greater Cleveland Partnership Annual Meeting of Members April to May 2007 receptions and meetings with public officials in Columbus and Washington to distribute the agenda Budget Budgeted: $30,000 Actual expenditures: $16,952* for the design and printing of 1,500 copies of a 20-page three-color piece. *Positive variance was created because the agenda was written in-house rather than by an agency. Funds were re-directed to cover the production of other materials in the suite of products. Greater Cleveland Public Policy Agenda 5

6 EVALUATION "The place where I've been absolutely thrilled is in the area of advocacy. The potency of a single, private sector voice in Columbus and Washington has been extremely beneficial." -Joe Roman, President and CEO of the Greater Cleveland Partnership, October 10, 2005, Crain's Cleveland Business, "GCP reports good grades for strategic goals" Media Coverage The GCP annual meeting and the unveiling of the public policy agenda received substantial coverage by the local media. The event was attended by: Jay Miller, Crain s Cleveland Business John Booth, Crain s Cleveland Business Ted Klopp, WTAM Becky Gaylord, Plain Dealer Tom Ott, Plain Dealer Sarah Hollander, Plain Dealer Curtis Jackson/Paul Breast, WEWA TV 5 Tom Beres/Shane Snider, WKYC TV 3 At the annual meeting, it was announced that GCP Board member Bill Christopher, executive vice president of Alcoa, would lead the GCP s advocacy efforts as the new chairman of advocacy. This created additional media opportunities and resulted in a feature story in Inside Business Magazine. Evaluation A total of 1,500 copies of the public policy agenda were produced and continue to be distributed. Recipients include the Ohio Congressional Delegation, the Ohio General Assembly, members of the governor s administration, the GCP Board of Directors, the 400+ in attendance at the annual meeting, members of the media, and prospective Investor-level members in the GCP. Public officials report that they appreciate the clear and concise nature of the document because it truly spells out what is important to the Northeast Ohio business community. Significant progress has been made on agenda items outlined in the document. As of September 2007, progress had been achieved on approximately 40 percent of the goals stated in the agenda. Advocacy successes since March 2007 include: Completion of a land use study for NASA Glenn Plum Brook Station Infrastructure funding was secured An environmental policy was created and advanced at the state and federal levels $25 million in federal New Market Tax Credits were secured by Cleveland Development Advisors to raise capital for catalytic real estate projects Eminent domain legislation was tabled in Ohio OneCommunity was awarded an $11 million grant from the Federal Communications Commission to extend broadband access to rural hospitals NASA Glenn s role in the space exploration program was secured with the awarding of a $63 million contract The power of a unified and aligned Northeast Ohio business sector was the catalyst for these achievements, serving to lead, drive, support and assist others with advancing the goals articulated in the GCP Public Policy Agenda. Greater Cleveland Public Policy Agenda 6