B ENCHMARKING C ENTRAL O HIO : The Design and Implementation of a Successful Community Benchmarking Project NNIP Meeting, Columbus June 20, 2013

What is Community Benchmarking?

2005: Columbus Partnership convened a meeting of local stakeholders discuss the need for, and feasibility of, a Columbus benchmarking project CRP asked to design and implement this project 2006: Multiple funders (philanthropic, corporate, and public) agree to support the project Columbus Partnership identified several guiding principles for the project B ENCHMARKING C ENTRAL O HIO

1.Benchmark against both similar and best-in-class communities 2.Select indicators from a broad framework, with a focus on economic competitiveness 3.Get advice from local experts 4.Use easily accessible, recent data 5.Produce a product that is useful to a wide audience 6.Provide regular updates S IX G UIDING P RINCIPLES

Local stakeholders and experts in key topic areas Select comparison communities and geographies Select indicators and data sources Provide feedback on the draft report Discuss ways to broaden the community conversation P ROJECT A DVISORY G ROUP

Use Census MSAs for comparison Peer communities and aspirational cities 15 Comparison metro areas from a list of 35:  Indianapolis  Jacksonville  Kansas City  Louisville  Milwaukee  Austin  Charlotte  Chicago  Cincinnati  Cleveland  Minneapolis  Nashville  Portland  Raleigh  San Diego G EOGRAPHY

54 primary indicators from a list of over 100 Divided into topic areas: Population Vitality: population, diversity, age, households Economic Strength: business, economy, workforce Personal Prosperity: income, poverty, housing Lifelong Learning: language, education, libraries, research Community Wellbeing: health, civic engagement, transportation, culture, environment I NDICATORS

Most recent report: Benchmarking Central Ohio 2011 Fourth edition (2007, 2008, 2009, 2011) Columbus Partnership, The Columbus Foundation 76 primary indicators 5-years of historical trend data for Columbus Primary indicator data for the 100 largest metro areas First spin-off report: Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Vital Signs 2013: Benchmarking Metro Milwaukee In the works: Benchmarking Central Ohio 2013 E VOLUTION OF THE R EPORT