Chautauqua County, NY Economic Development and Organizational Plan

The Challenge

Before proceeding with the County’s overall economic development strategy, Chautauqua County officials saw a need to take an inward look at the County’s economic development system. County’s economic development. The County recognized the fact that economic development services in Chautauqua County are not well-coordinated across various public and quasi-public agencies, nor across the public private divide. To foster better economic development strategies and outcomes the County needed to coordinate and rationalize the various agencies and stakeholders involved in economic development.

The Solution

Camoin Associates conducted a detailed review of the existing service delivery agencies within Chautauqua County and identified gaps within the County’s economic development organization environment. This analysis, coupled with a facilitated process to engage stakeholders in a discussion regarding best practices, contributed to the creation of recommendations and an action plan designed to help change behaviors, coordinate actions, and open-up new possibilities for advancing countywide prosperity.

The Impact

Findings from the analysis revealed that the future economic development success of the County requires stronger partnerships among stakeholders including improved communication, shared data and resources, and establishment of common priorities. The County is currently leveraging case studies created by Camoin Associates to explore creating an alliance-type structure, which will help provide a collaborative forum for stakeholders to move the County in the right direction.