Thanks!  

Dear Friend -

On behalf of the Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities Consortium's 33 member organizations, along with our staff, board members and supporters throughout the region, we would like to thank Northeast Ohio residents and leaders who helped make our first round of workshops so successful.

At each of the six meeting held throughout the region-in Oberlin, Warren, Canton, Akron, Cleveland and Warrensville Heights-attendees learned what awaits our region if we continue to pursue the course of "Business as Usual."  Attendees were able to see, in each and every community, and for the region as whole, we are facing several challenges that demand attention.

For those unable to make these sessions, we have included in this newsletter a link to the presentation and boards as well as images from images of the workshops.

The Vibrant NEO workshops were the beginning of our effort to listen to this region's priorities and values, assess whether our current actions reflect those priorities and values, and work with the people of Northeast Ohio to help develop a vision and plan for a more vibrant, resilient and sustainable future.

We all want a strong, thriving region to leave to future generations, and the best path forward isn't always clear, especially within a big region with finite resources and differing priorities.  While we don't know yet what path we can or should encourage the region to take, we do know that we can only find that right path together, with everyone coming together respectfully and finding common ground amidst our shared values.  That is what I hope we began with last week's workshops. 

This was only the beginning. In June, we will launch our online game, "Imagine MyNEO" which will allow people all over the region to share the same ideas and priorities for Northeast Ohio as you did during the workshop's table exercises.

Later this summer, we will build off the work we've just completed.  Phase 2 of the Vibrant NEO public workshops will take place on July 29-August 2 and will focus on developing "alternative scenarios" which imagine other futures for the region if emphasize and prioritize different factors.  Phase 3 will take place on September 16- September 20 and it will focus on synthesizing different aspects of the alternative scenarios into one Preferred Scenario for the region.  

Thank you once again for your support of the Vibrant NEO initiative.  We hope you will stay involved by visiting www.VibrantNEO.org or our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/VibrantNEO.  If you have not already, you can join our mailing list at http://tinyurl.com/NEOSCC-MailList.

Sincerely,

Hunter Morrison

Executive Director

Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities Consortium

What Works and What do you Need?
A Call for Products 

Building Northeast Ohio's future 

As part of the Vibrant NEO initiative NEOSCC is developing action products that focus on implementing, supporting, and highlighting current best practices and creating new tools, policy recommendations, and pilot projects that turn the Vibrant NEO vision into reality.

 WHAT IS WORKING? 

The purpose of the "What is Working" request is so we can identify and organize great projects, policies, and tools into a user-friendly list on our website. If you know of a project, policy, or tool currently being used in Northeast Ohio, PLEASE CLICK HERE.

WHAT IS NEEDED?

The purpose of the "What is Needed" request is so we can identify the tools and policies needs and challenges.  What is missing in your tool kit to address issues and create efficiency in your work?  We have created a form to engage you in helping identify these needs, PLEASE CLICK HERE