Prosperous Places | A Community and Economic Development Resource

The economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis are profound and have long-term implications for community development. Because every community, region, and state is unique and has been impacted differently, there’s no one size fits all solution for moving forward. That’s why we have developed a toolbox of solutions that can be tailored to meet individual situations and needs. Our community and economic development tools for your use include best practices and success stories, “how-to” guides and direct support in a variety of forms. Explore this site to learn more about our community and economic development tools, and contact us should you need additional assistance.

We Help Communities Thrive

We love to see communities succeed, so the Janus Institute and Rock Paper Scissors created Prosperous Places as a platform for communities, regions, and states to learn from each other and find expert help.

We want to help all areas thrive in the “new normal” post-COVID-19 world. Traditional economic development strategies and practices have been sidelined by the crisis, and going forward playbooks will need to be updated. However, the principles of community development including consensus building, transparency, assessment, and strategic planning (to mention a few) apply now more than ever as communities develop recovery plans. The Prosperous Places team wants to help communities build a better future by sharing information, strategies, and success stories in community and economic development. Please join us on this journey.

A Few of the Organizations We’ve Worked With

Over the years, Prosperous Places professionals have helped all kinds of community and economic development organizations in many locations – cities and local governments, community improvement districts, public entities, and other organizations committed to making their communities better places to live, work, and play.

City of Napier, New Zealand

National Rural Electric Co-op Association

City of Duluth

Georgia Power

Twin Falls/Jerome, Idaho

North Dakota Dept of Commerce

Sioux City, Iowa

Government of Trinidad & Tobago

City of Dayton

Tennessee Dept of Economic & Community Development

“...From the beginning of the process through the presentation of the final report [for the Henderson County Comprehensive Economic Development Master Plan], your proficiency and professionalism were very impressive. Being willing and available to meet with the Steering Committee to discuss concerns identified in the report or to verify information and data helped the final report exceed our expectations.

Since contracting with your organization and presenting the findings as outlined in the final report, I am pleased to note that the County Board of Commissioners doubled our funding to assist in accomplishing the goals outlined in the report...I attribute the Commissioners’ support not only to your presentation of the findings but to the quality of the work put into the report.”

Scott T. Hamilton, Vice President
Committee of 100 of The Greater Hendersonville Chamber of Commerce

“...Your [Site Selection Workshop] presentation was both informative and insightful. I am convinced that the knowledge gained by participating in your program will prove invaluable to our community’s economic development efforts...Your seminar provided constructive feedback in a controlled and optimistic environment focused on helping our community become both more responsive and more competitive. The program encouraged us to build on our strengths, correct our weaknesses, and will ultimately allow us to more effectively compete for economic development opportunities.”

The Siouxland Initiative

“These findings will be influential in reconstructing the department to a level of optimum efficiency and effectiveness. We are confident this process will yield benefits for years to come.”

Matthew Kisber, Commissioner
Phil Bredesen, Governor
Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development

Tourism After COVID-19: Attracting Guests in a New Reality

Summary Introduction Robert Pittman, Founder and Executive Director of the Janus Institute Tourism is a very important industry for many communities (sometimes the largest) but often it is not recognized as such because the impact is spread over different industries: retail, restaurant, lodging and related industries. The COVID-19 crisis poses a special challenge for tourism…

The COVID-19 Crisis: How Can the Economic Development Community Respond?

Summary Sponsors and Moderators Robert Pittman, Founder and Executive Director, Janus Institute Amanda Sutt, Creative Director and CEO, Rock Paper Scissors Panelists Ron Starner, Executive Vice President, Conway, Inc. and Publisher of Site Selection magazine Rope Roberts, Community Development Manager, Georgia Power Invited panelist Wiley Blankenship, President/CEO of Coastal Alabama Partnership was called into meetings…

Resolving Political Division Begins with Community

By Robert H. Pittman, Executive Director and Founder, Janus Institute For those who still may not understand that our country faces significant and perhaps unprecedented political divisions, a quick scan of the news will educate them quickly. It is often hard to tell if you are reading a news article or an editorial when so…