Economic Development Inventory 2003

Conducted by the Indiana Business Research Center, Kelley School of Business at Indiana University

TO: PARTICIPANTS IN THE ECONOMY OF NORTHWEST INDIANA

The Northwest Indiana Region can be viewed as a group of neighboring towns and cities whose residents are both economically and socially reliant upon one another. In other words, each and every citizen of the Region is affected by virtually everything that happens to the economy of the Region.

In partnership, NIRPC and the Northwest Indiana Forum believe that our efforts in economic development should include an accurate inventory of the many different development programs existing throughout the Region. This requires that we identify those programs, their leaders and their funding and sources of funding. We have engaged the Indiana Business Research Center, Kelley School of Business at Indiana University, to collect and analyze this data.

In ascertaining what already exists, we expect to learn not only what’s out there but also where programs overlap or collide, and where there are opportunities for integration, collaboration, and coalition building. Moreover, we expect that the data and analysis we will provide will empower citizens and communities to join in cooperative initiatives to solve their common problems and achieve their common goals.

Since this is a region-wide effort to enhance quality of life, we need your help and support. We need you to participate in this survey. Your attention to this survey is very important to developing an accurate and complete picture of current economic development efforts that will be necessary to plan a regional strategy.

Please take the time to respond to this survey and we thank you in advance for your time and prompt response. In return, you will receive advance notice of the final report.

Sincerely,

Mayor Doug Olson, Chair
Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission

Tom Keilman, Chair
Northwest Indiana Forum