The Chautauqua County Partnership for Economic Growth (CCPEG) has released a new case study that illustrates how Chautauqua County is getting economic development projects across the finish line – faster, better coordinated, and with results people can see.

For years, economic development initiatives in the county were spread across many groups. This not only made it challenging to agree on priorities, but also created a situation where multiple groups were competing for limited funding. It also resulted in good ideas stalling before they became real projects. This case study, developed in collaboration with the Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, Camoin Associates, and CCPEG/County Planning Staff, demonstrates how County leaders, the County of Chautauqua Industrial Development Agency (CCIDA), and various community partners have been working together since 2019 to reduce fragmentation by building a shared structure for countywide collaboration through the launch of CCPEG.

One of the first initiatives of CCPEG was the creation of a County Economic Development Strategic Plan (2020-2025). The plan was organized around five pillars – Business Development, Placemaking, Infrastructure, Housing, and Workforce Readiness. This strategic plan has been the basis for how CCPEG has functioned and worked with dozens of partners from throughout Chautauqua County ever since.

“We realized that for decades, much of the economic development efforts occurring in Chautauqua County were being undertaken in silos, with stakeholders not always cooperating, or even aware, of what their counterparts were focusing on,” explained Mark Geise, Chautauqua County Deputy County Executive for Economic Growth and CCIDA CEO. “The main goal of the Partnership was to bring a wide array of economic development-related stakeholders to the table and help prioritize key projects in a coherent and methodical way. While we are always striving to improve upon our methods, we believe we’ve largely been able to achieve that goal, as evidenced through this new case study.”