Grundy Resiliency Project moves on to economic diversification and resiliency plan

The Grundy Resiliency Project is taking proposals for the second part of the project, the Grundy County Economic Diversification and Resiliency Plan.

The Economic Diversification and Resiliency plan’s objective is to identify, recommend, and justify key initiatives, action items, and market-driven opportunities for economic diversification in Grundy County to enhance the county’s economic prosperity and resilience. Upon completion, this diversification and resiliency plan will be used as a tool to inform and guide comprehensive planning, business attraction, infrastructure investments, and marketing.

The plan is part of the resiliency project by the Grundy Economic Development Council and the Grundy County Chamber of Commerce & Industry. The organizations were given a $600,000 grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration at the end of 2022. These grants help nuclear host communities plan for and build more diverse, resilient economies. Grundy’s grant is being matched 20% by Grundy County, and North Central Illinois Council of Governments is assisting as the grant administrator.

The grant focuses on regions with nuclear plants and provides funding to local entities to evaluate economic impacts, competitive diversification, decommissioning issues, and building community capacity.

In September, the first part of the project, the economic overview, was completed by the University of Michigan Economic Growth Institute. The data from the economic study will serve as the foundation for the strategic plan for which the organizations are currently seeking proposals.

“The next step is to create a strategic plan that will be a roadmap for our community that will provide ideas and action items to diversify Grundy’s economy,” said Nancy Norton, President & CEO of the GEDC.

The full RFP is available on resilientgrundy.com and includes the detailed scope of work, expected deliverables, timeline and other specifications. Proposals are due Feb. 9 by 4 p.m. to Norton and Chamber President & CEO Christina Van Yperen at nnorton@gedc.com and christina@grundychamber.com.

The completed Comprehensive Economic Overview is also available on the Grundy Resiliency Project website.

The scope of the project is over 24 months and includes future steps of doing a broadband analysis and researching the decommissioning process of nuclear plants.