Whenever change is presented to a community, there will be opportunities to maximize success as well as an opportunity to squander the chance for a successful transition. The stakeholders of Tech Valley have recognized this realization and have chosen to make a proactive stance to learn from less fortunate communities and make the most out of the chance for increased economic development. The strategy is to build a collaboration of stakeholders from all sectors of the community including business, nonprofit, government, education, etc. And overall, the strategy appears to be steering the community in the right direction and citizens appear to be receptive. This is evidenced in the growth of the collaborative program as shown in figures 2 and…show more content… - Holding large events that attract and utilize new stakeholders while exposing the unique job opportunities of Tech Valley (manufacturing, engineering, etc.).
- Reaching out to minority groups and informing them of how they also benefit from the technology boom.
Although Tech Valley appears to be going down a potentially benefitting path, the analysis shows room for improvement. Chief among which is the fact that there is no defined leader. As mentioned several times throughout this report, in order to keep the Collaboration running smoothly, a leader must emerge to provide focus and enthusiasm. A leader could appear naturally, or the Collaboration could possibly take a proactive stance and utilize a sort of SODA II exercise in order to come to a consensus on who should fulfill the leadership role. In addition, this analysis shows that, while the collaborative efforts seem to be doing well reaching minorities and the underrepresented, there is not a lot of involvement I these groups in the collaborations themselves. Perhaps, involvement of these groups/individuals can provide perspectives that the collaboration may not otherwise have.
