Live Blog — EDA Director’s Report

Lisa Clarke, executive director of DMC’s Economic Development Agency offered eight points in her monthly update to the DMC Corporation Board of Directors, in addition to discussion around how to survey and understand the patient experience from the patient’s perspective.

  1. Creating a formal process for developers to approach and work with both DMC and the City of Rochester. This initiative is currently in the planning process, in partnership with the city, and the team has drafted a universal application process that developers can use  when interfacing with Rochester and the Economic Development Agency will share.
  2. Development of a formal monthly report for the DMC Corporation Board of Directors and the public. Report would include an executive summary and will help board members and the public better understand day-to-day operations and current initiatives of the Economic Development Agency.
  3. Refining a digital informational package about the community and DMC that will help developers, investors, and the public understand what is DMC and why it’s important.
  4. A new Transportation Working Group held its first meeting this month to bring all affected parties together. “This is going to be an underpinning of everything that we do,” Clarke said. IBM has expressed interest in helping to study transportation into and throughout Rochester and the state with the company’s big-data interpretation and analytics unit.
  5. Communications update: Finished with a focus on crafting and discussing the DMC Development Plan and now moving toward keeping people informed about DMC and why the effort is so important. Website redesign is underway in two areas: more user-friendly, and developing a portal for investors and developers to get the information they need from anywhere in the world.
  6. Community Engagement: “Partnerships are critical, Clarke said. “Just because the plan is approved, doesn’t mean we’re going to stop asking for community input.” The EDA is currently soliciting input from neighborhood groups, faith-based groups, social service organizations, arts and culture groups, energy partnerships, affordable housing and Rochester-area Foundation, and others.
  7. Airport: “That’s a very important group to Rochester,” Clarke said. A group of regional businesses already has organized around the airport to support and bolster use of Rochester International Airport.
  8. Workforce Development: Elevating opportunities and satisfaction for employees across several industries throughout Rochester.