October 10, 2018 at 6 p.m.
Kent Town Hall
Topic: Northwest Connecticut’s new 5-yr economic development plan & Fiber optic network initiative:
How Kent can participate
Speakers:
· Jocelyn Ayer, Community & Economic Development Director, Northwest Hills Council of Governments
· Felicia Jones, Project Coordinator, Northwest ConneCT
The speakers will highlight the five core focus areas of the new economic development plan, initiatives currently underway to grow economic opportunity in our towns, how a fiber optic network will enable the region’s economic future in the arts, manufacturing, innovation, and continued high quality of life and how Kent’s residents and businesses can participate in these initiatives.
BACKGROUND:
The 21-town Northwest Connecticut region has a new Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). The new 2018 CEDS lays out priority action steps that will be taken over the next five years to grow economic opportunity in our towns. To see a summary of the CEDS initiatives or download a copy of the full report, visit NWCTEconomicDevelopment.org.
The new CEDS is the result of a nine-month strategic planning process led by the Northwest Connecticut Economic Development Corporation which included economic data and trends analysis, stakeholder meetings, and a regional economic development summit.
The five core focus areas of the CEDS are 1) working to build a world class fiber-optic network and enhanced mobile network; 2) attracting young workers to fill available jobs and visitors to the region through tourism, arts, and culture initiatives including a new regional community website at
discoverlitchfieldhills.com
; 3) fostering rural innovation and entrepreneurship in the region through a new Rural Lab initiative; 4) supporting the region’s farmers through the NWCT Regional Food Hub; and 5) promoting the region’s strong advanced manufacturing and healthcare sectors by attracting and training the workforce they need.
The CEDS was developed in partnership with Northwest Connecticut Chamber of Commerce and the Northwest Hills Council of Governments and funded in part by the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
