The City of Smithville (https://www.smithvillemo.org) is located on the northern edge of the Kansas City metropolis. It is anchored by a high performing school district, Smithville lake and a rejuvenated main street. With a population of 8,768 in 2012, the city is growing and has experienced a 318% population increase since 1990.
With a relatively new and energized leadership that is looking forward, along with a new resident population, including many young families, the City of Smithville is embarking upon a new planning process. The City has contracted Future iQ to guide a Community Vision and Strategic Action Plan process for the community.
The Community Vision will represent the whole community, reflect core community values address emerging trends and issues, imagine a preferred future, and promote local action. The Community Strategic Action Plan will direct efforts and resources toward a defined vision for the future employing a roadmap that is realistic, achievable and sustainable.
The visioning and strategic planning process aims to provide a response to the following questions:
- What should the City of Smithville become?
- What makes the City of Smithville unique and special and how can the City use these characteristics to prepare for the future?
- How will community stakeholder preferences fit into this vision?
Future iQ has been contracted to guide the City of Smithville in the process of creating of a new Community Vision and Strategic Action Plan that involves:
Background research including Benchmarking the City against similar Cities and Towns across the United States
- A communication plan for the project
- Facilitation of a scenario-based City of Smithville Future Think-Tank producing a Scenarios of the Future Report
- Extensive community stakeholder engagement
- Think-Tank and Community Surveys
- Data analysis and visualization presented on Future iQ’s Lab Portal
- Vision validation through a Think-Tank Reconvene
- Production of the City of Smithville Community Vision and Strategic Action Plan