In creating our community economic development strategy, the questions are:
- What offers the best opportunities for our community and our people?
- How can we make those opportunities better?
Keeping these two questions in mind, CFDC has addressed the principles that:
- Small Business will continue to be the main creator of employment opportunities
- The majority of local employment creation will come from local business expansion spurred by community members
- Employment development is more likely to occur in a nurturing environment
- From an employment creation perspective, it is more effective to enhance the skills of existing business than to attract or create new business
- Excellence is always in demand
- Sustainable locally owned development generates proportionately more community wealth
Philosophy of Approach
Simply put, and in the context of community development, our philosophy of approach is to:
- Recognize the inevitability of change
- Begin with the people and the current opportunities and proceed in stages realistic to the situation
- Stop doing what isn't working - concentrate on what is best and make it better
- Encourage greater coordination and cooperation among the various local groups, agencies and institutions
- Provide for many advances on a broad economic front, rather than one single thrust.
- Nurture positive attitudes wherever possible
- Help make other groups and individuals as effective as possible
- Encourage as much participation as is possible and reasonable
- Be flexible and adaptive; remain alert and receptive to new opportunities
- Function as a catalyst, bringing into an environment all the elements necessary to create success
- To not spend time doing something that someone else can do better, if we can get them to do it
- Be responsive to community discussion without being led too far from our corporate objectives
- Create an environment which will allow each and every individual the opportunity for personal growth
- Share any credit as broadly as is possible
