The three East Central Florida projects are among a class of 107 projects across 28 states.
Orlando, Florida (October 11, 2022) –
The East Central Florida Regional Planning Council is proud to announce that it has received three 2022 Aliceann Wohlbruck NADO Impact Awards, the most of any planning council in the state. The annual awards, hosted by the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO), highlight creative approaches to advancing regional economic development and improving quality of life. The 2022 class of awardees consists of 107 projects from 71 organizations spanning 28 states.
“We’re so honored to have so many of our projects highlighted,” explained ECFRPC Executive Director Tara McCue. “These three projects showcase the diversity of work our team offers our region and have helped lay the foundation for new partnerships and programs through East Central Florida.”
The three ECFRPC projects among this year’s award recipients are;
Partnership for the Goals through 17 Rooms – Partnership for the Goals, a regional leadership summit engaging government, philanthropic, academic, civil society, and the business community leveraging the Sustainable Development Goal framework to increase cooperation across traditional silos and vernaculars, was selected for its launch event which brought together close to 150 local decision-makers. The first-of-its-kind event in Florida was a partnership between the RPC’s Resilience Collaborative, the Central Florida Foundation, UCF’s GEEO Center, Orange County, City of Orlando, and Florida for Good that saw experts from the Brookings Institution visit from Washington, D.C., lead conversations alongside local experts focusing on collective action toward shared sustainable development goals.
Southeast Volusia Regional Economic Development Strategic Plan – After hosting two successful leadership summits, the ECFRPC coordinated the approval of multiple resolutions involving the communities of Southeast Volusia County to support the development and implementation of a regional economic development strategic plan. Comprised of the Cities of Edgewater, New Smyrna Beach, Oak Hill, and unincorporated Volusia County, the Southeast Volusia (SEV) County region is now embarking on an economic plan with ECFRPC staff providing regionally proven expertise and tools. Data and research provided by the ECFRPC and partners have resulted in the development of implementation actions over the next several years to promote a resilient economic strategy. The three cities also adopted an amendment to their Comprehensive Plan to create the Volusia County Commercial Space Industry Opportunity Overlay (CSIOO). The purpose of this overlay is to provide another tool for Volusia County's effort to attract, retain, and expand aerospace industries.
Pipeline Emergency Response Initiative (PERI) – The Florida Pipeline Emergency Response Initiative brought multiple training sessions and pipeline-related certification courses across the region. The PERI also saw the installation of six MSA 5-gas detector systems for fire departments located near pipelines. This comes after more than a dozen detection systems have been distributed in recent years. Finally, PERI helped familiarize first responders across the region with smartphone-based programs to help them better prepare for, and respond to, potential pipeline incidents.
Staff at the ECFRPC are honored to be the recipients of three 2022 Aliceann Wohlbruck NADO Impact Awards and is grateful for the community partners that helped bring success to these projects.
The diversity between these projects showcases the wide-reaching programs led by the ECFRPC. All three projects have laid the groundwork for new exciting work across the eight-county East Central Florida region. The three projects honored represent the ongoing work ECFRPC staff are providing our unique region.
About the East Central Florida Regional Planning Council
Established in 1962 as an area-wide association of governments, the ECFRPC is represented by 32 Council members and a skilled staff that provides technical assistance to governments and organizations within the East Central Florida region. The ECFRPC covers eight counties in East Central Florida, including Brevard, Lake, Marion, Orange, Osceola, Seminole, Sumter, and Volusia. These eight counties include 78 towns and cities.
