North Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission
|
Location |
Wausau, WI |
|
|---|---|---|
|
Project Name |
CREATE Your Community |
|
|
Award Amount |
Federal Share |
Local Match |
|
$543,560 |
$135,890 |
The North Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission (NCWRPC) has identified support in the areas of innovation and entrepreneurship to be a regional economic development need in its 10-county region. Funds will co-launch CREATE Your Community, a regional ecosystem-building effort that will expand upon the success of CREATE Portage County. This investment will bring proven economic development and creative ecosystem building infrastructure, programming, and services to northcentral Wisconsin.
The program will focus on four key objectives:
- Opportunity mapping and strategic ownership: CREATE will work with county, economic development, and arts leaders to develop an opportunity map that identifies at least three key projects per county that will strengthen the local creative ecosystem.
- Expansion of CREATE’s IDEA Center: As part of this activation process, CREATE will work with communities to open five satellite locations for its IDEA Center.
- Expanded programming: CREATE will expand its established business accelerator program, Surge.
- Replicated and expanded technology: Replication of technology CREATE used to produce high-need PPE during the onset of the pandemic so that each IDEA Center satellite can assist in production should the need arise.