Richmond Brainstorm

Over the years, various organizations and government entities in our area have commissioned studies and reports related to the growth and success of our area.  Some of the studies have evaluated the feasibility of creating new facilities or organizations, while others have focused on taking stock of the resources and possibilities that exist here, and how best to make use of them.  Unfortunately, the predominant trend with these kinds of reports seems to involve presenting them, working on them a little bit, and then filing them away - possibly for reference, or possibly never to be seen again.

In the theme of making the most of the resources we already have, it would be useful to catalog and re-publicize all of the studies and reports that have been done in the last, oh say 10 years (e.g. Comprehensive Plan, Life Sciences Feasibility, Creative Industries, etc.).  It could be as simple as creating a webpage on an existing online community resource (like WayNET.org) that provides:

• Title of the study/report
• Primary topic areas and keywords that the content covers
• Information about the firm(s) who conducted/produced the document
• Information about the organization(s) who commissioned and paid for the work
• Executive summaries of the findings
• Links to any information about actions taken as a result of the report

Someone could take this resource even further by looking at themes in the findings across multiple documents, to see if there are any items that we aren't sufficiently taking on but that have been identified over and over again as opportunities or liabilities.

Beyond the obvious public benefit of making the information more accessible, having these documents complied in a central location could give us more perspective on what our community can do to better itself, and will help avoid duplicate or fragmented efforts to research and discuss those issues.