For the Sustainable Development Department’s Five-Year Economic Development Strategic Action Plan (EDSAP), Willdan performed extensive community outreach, including more than 100 individual stakeholder interviews and seven public meetings. Substantial nationwide case study research was conducted on transit-oriented development, business incubation/acceleration, and retail retention/recruitment. Project deliverables included: Economic Profile Report, Economic Development Issues Identification & Prioritization Analysis, and Economic Benchmarking Assessment comparing the City’s key statistical trends to those of nine competitive cities.
With these results, Willdan created 10 Economic Development Strategic Action Plan Initiatives focused on increasing job creation, small business growth, transportation, and parking. Implementation of the EDSAP is guided by an organizational and institutional assessment, a detailed annual funding plan, and an “Annual Economic Development Benchmarking Dashboard” to track progress in achieving the Plan’s targeted outcomes.