NLEA Strategic Planning Survey

Thank you for taking the time to provide valuable feedback to the Northern Lakes Economic Alliance (NLEA). NLEA serves as the economic development organization for Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, and Emmet Counties and will use your feedback to shape its strategic focus in advancing economic development in the region. This survey is built to collect feedback based on the role(s) you currently hold in the region as a business owner/leader, employee, public official, developer, and/or resident. Please indicate which of the role(s) you play below to begin the survey

I live or work in the regionI own/am a C-Suite Executive of a business in the regionI am a public sector official or key staff memberI am a developer

Residing/Working in the Region

Please answer the following questions from your perspective as someone who lives or works in the region (Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, and Emmet Counties.)

Reside in the regionWork in the region

Yes, always hasYes, but only in recent yearsNo, but things have improved over the past three yearsNo, and I don't expect it will in the futureN/A - I do not currently work

Consider growth industries, resources, etc.

Business in the Region

Please answer the following questions from your perspective as someone who owns or serves as a key decision maker in a business based-in/operating in the region (you may answer similar questions from other roles in other sections of the survey).

Yes, ownerYes, key decision makerNo

Thanks for your interest in this section, but in order to get the highest quality data, we've limited this section to owners and key decision makers. Please hit the next button to continue to the remainder of the survey.

These are federally defined business codes which allow us to analyze for commonalities between respondents.

	Not Familiar	Somewhat Familiar	Very Familiar
Site Selection Services
Tax Abatement Services
Annual Symposium
Serving as the go-to local resource for economic development resources
Navigate multi-jurisdictional land and infrastructure issues
Provide data support/business intelligence
Host educational events and trainings
Write, package, and/or administer grants
Tactical problem solving (overcoming regulatory barriers, utility issues, etc.)

	Do Not/Will Not Need	Might Use	Don't currently use, but expect to	Currently use
Site Selection Services
Tax Abatement Services
Annual Symposium
Write, package, and/or administer grants
Serving as the go-to local resource for economic development resources
Navigate multi-jurisdictional land and infrastructure issues
Provide data support/business intelligence
Host educational events and trainings
Host industry groups
Tactical problem solving (overcoming regulatory barriers, utility issues, etc.)

	Not Important	Neutral	Important	Very Important
Site Selection Services
Tax Abatement Services
Annual Symposium
Package and administer grants
Serving as the go-to local resource for economic development resources
Navigate multi-jurisdictional land and infrastructure issues
Provide business intelligence
Host educational events and trainings
Host industry groups

	Not at all	Neutral	Somewhat valuable	Very valuable
Business loan program up to $100k with participating lender
Programming/incentives that will help retain/attract talent for our region's businesses
Business leader roundtables/industry groups to discuss key economic issues/opportunities for the region

These could be physical opportunities such as expanding on access to air service and highways to non-physical such as developing new markets or population growth

Yes, we already areYes, we don't currently but would be willing to considerNo

Public Officials

Please answer the following questions from the perspective of your role as a public official
(you may answer similar questions from other roles in other sections of the survey)

Elected officialAppointed official (non-staff)Key staff (Manager/Department Head)

I want to attract new businesses to our communityI want to focus on expanding existing business in our communityI want to maintain the status quo

	Not Familar	Somewhat Familar	Very Familiar
Grant Writing
Grant Administration
Development Incentives Support
Site Readiness Support
Economic Development Planning, Data Analysis, and Policy Design
Education and Training
Business Retention & Attraction Services

	Do Not/Will Not Need	Might Use	Don't currently use, but expect to	Currently Use
Grant Writing
Grant Administration
Development Incentives Support
Site Readiness Support
Economic Development Planning, Data Analysis, and Policy Design
Education and Training
Business Retention & Attraction Services

Developers

Please answer the following questions from the perspective of your role as a developer (you may answer similar questions from other roles in other sections of the survey)

YesNo, but plan toNo, and do not plan to

Antrim CountyCharlevoix CountyCheboygan CountyEmmet County

	Was Not Aware NLEA Provided	Aware, but do not use	Used in the past	Currently using
Site Selection
Navigating local development hurdles
Incentive/funding assistance
Building local relationships

	Don't Need in the Region	We don't need it but would be valuable for others	Would likely use
Grant Support: Identifying & packaging
Emerging Development Support Services: Connecting to mentors, education, resources, etc.
Market Analysis: Data to show the demand and impact of specific development projects.
Capital Stack Support: Connecting to resources, including local financial institutions
Tax Abatement Support: Representing you in discussions with local governments for incentives.

Wrap Up

Just a few more quick questions!

For above, consider 0 as world-ending, 5 as neutral, and 10 as phenomenal.