According to a May 10 press release from the chamber, the launch of the Regional Economic Development Partnership is a “first-of-its-kind collaboration” that brings municipalities and counties together “to strengthen community relationships, track business trends, and share data and resources.”
“We’re extremely proud to launch this initiative with nearly 20 organizations committed to date,” said Chris Strayer, executive vice president of economic development for the Fort Worth Chamber, in the release. “This collaboration provides invaluable information and resources to our regional partners, and we’re so excited to work together to grow and develop our local economy.”
Strayer told Community Impact Newspaper that the partnership came as the chamber decided to shift to a more regional focus in its economic development efforts.
“We held focus groups with regional leaders, and with the rapid growth happening in North Texas, it made sense to officially launch a partnership,” Strayer said.
The partnership will have two main focus areas: to support existing local businesses through upgraded retention efforts and to market the region as a target location for companies relocating, the release states.
“Being attached to a regional partnership raises the profile for some of our smaller, surrounding communities that don’t have domestic and international presences,” Strayer said.
The Regional Economic Development Partnership founding partners include people from the cities of Burleson, Corinth, Granbury, Joshua, Keller, Mansfield, Saginaw, Southlake and Weatherford in addition to the Fort Worth Chamber, Cleburne Economic Development Foundation Inc., the Decatur Economic Development Corporation, Grapevine Economic Development, the H-E-B Economic Development Foundation, North Richland Hills Economic Development and Parker County Economic Development, according to the release.
“This initiative will create exposure for our partners on a larger scale,” Strayer said. “With the FWC’s business retention and expansion efforts, we are able to identify the programming and resources to support local businesses, creating jobs and growth in these communities.”
