Regionalism

The Role of Regionalism

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Ottumwa actively participates in, and in fact hosts, regional forums of economic develoment professionals in a 10-county area on a monthly basis. These gatherings provide a number of key benefits such as:

  • Providing a geographical jurisdiction that represents our laborshed in ways that a local municipality cannot; there is power in numbers
  • Having regional knowledge about land and buildings available for business growth is essential for site selectors when they come knocking
  • Building talent attraction or workforce upskilling programs are critical for all employers in the area, not just one community
  • Regional discussions among peers bring new issues to the conversation, and therefore, new ways of thinking about common responses or resolutions
  • Each regional participant has different strengths and experience; working together to overcome, assist, secure funding, or address an issue is a collaborative effort from many points of view, which can lead to better use of human and financial capitial; streamline expenses, and avoid duplication of effort

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