By Eugene T. Lowe
July 18, 2011

The Obama Administration announced on July 11 a new federal interagency pilot initiative that will strengthen the capacity of local jurisdictions and assist in their development of an economic vision and strategies to achieve it. The initiative called “Strong Cities, Strong Communities” will provide technical assistance and federal agency experts to help cities create new public and private partnerships. Melody Barnes, the President’s Domestic Policy Adviser and the Director of the Domestic Policy Council, said, “By leveraging existing assets, providing new resources, and fostering new connections at the local and national level, Strong Cities, Strong Communities will support towns and cities as they develop comprehensive plans for their communities and invest in economic growth and job creation.”

The federal-local pilot will be conducted in six cities through four ways:

1) Community Solutions Teams will leverage their expertise in such areas as health, education, and transportation;

2) A fellowship program of mid-career specialists will be sent to the six cities to work with the Community Solutions Teams;

3) A new Economic Challenge grant will be awarded based on a national competition to help additional cities design a comprehensive economic strategy; and

4) A National Resource Network will be established as a one'stop'shop for local governments that have need of technical assistance from national experts with broad skills to assist in the promotion of economic growth and resiliency.

The six pilot locations are: Chester (PA), Cleveland (OH), Detroit (MI), Fresno (CA), Memphis (TN), and New Orleans (LA). The White House said, “… the pilot cities were selected on the basis of economic need, strong local leadership and collaboration, potential for economic growth, geographic diversity, and the ability to test the model across a broad range of environments. Federal assistance teams spent time on the ground working directly with mayors and other local officials to determine needs, opportunities and gather input for the pilot initiative.”