NADO Announces 2015 Innovation Award Winners
For 29 years, NADO’s annual Innovation Award program has honored members who have made significant impacts on their regions through innovative approaches to problem solving and program delivery. We are pleased to announce that the 2015 class of award recipients includes 115 impressive projects from 32 states!
NADO congratulates the 2015 Innovation Award-winning projects. These projects showcase creative approaches to regional community and economic development that strengthen regions throughout the nation. We applaud their efforts and impact!
This year, in partnership with Esri, NADO is pleased to present a virtual learning tool about the Innovation Award winners. The 2015 Innovation Award Story Map allows users to see the geographic distribution of the award-winning projects, sort the projects by topic area, and click on individual pins on the Story Map to learn about each project. We highly encourage you to check it out and share with project partners and other stakeholders throughout your region:
Alabama
- East Alabama Regional Planning & Development Commission, CLEAR Plan 2030
- East Alabama Regional Planning & Development Commission, Tour East Alabama
- Lee-Russell Council of Governments, CyberZone: A Gap Financing Success Story
- Lee-Russell Council of Governments, Providing Reliable, Safe, and Affordable Transportation Options for At-Risk Families Through Mobility Management
Alaska
- Juneau Economic Development Council, JEDC Innovation Summit
- University of Alaska Center for Economic Development, Alaska Business Retention and Expansion Initiative
Arkansas
- Central Arkansas Planning & Development District, Faulkner County Disaster Recovery Project
- Southeast Arkansas Economic Development District, Delta Bioenergy
California
- Sonoma County Economic Development Board, Sonoma County Business Development Tools Program
Florida
- Apalachee Regional Planning Council, North Florida Regional Domestic Security Task Force – Operation Deep Freeze
- Central Florida Regional Planning Council, Central Florida Regional Planning Council Areawide Plan
- North Central Florida Regional Planning Council, Bicycling Trails of Natural North Florida
- North Central Florida Regional Planning Council on behalf of the Florida Regional Councils Association, Statewide Coordinated Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy
Georgia
- CSRA Regional Commission, CSRA Veterans’ Partnership
- CSRA Regional Commission, Integrating Solar Land Uses: A Regulatory Template for CSRA Communities
- Coastal Regional Commission, Public/Private Partnership for Transit Program Enhancement
- Coastal Regional Commission, Regional Plan Digital Implementation Tool
- Georgia Mountains Regional Commission, 2015 GMRC Aerial Photography/LiDAR Consortium Project
- Georgia Mountains Regional Commission, King’s Hawaiian Expansion Project
- Georgia Mountains Regional Commission, Training 2 Work Offender Job Training Program
- Middle Georgia Regional Commission, Historic Dannenberg Building Revitalization
- Middle Georgia Regional Commission, Middle Georgia Digital Economy Project
- Middle Georgia Regional Commission, Regional Website Service Program
- Northeast Georgia Regional Commission, Braselton Bros. Store Rehabilitation
- Northwest Georgia Regional Commission, Northwest Georgia IMCP Floor 360 Consortium
- River Valley Regional Commission, Show Your Love of the River Valley Photo Contest
- Southern Georgia Regional Commission, Building a Tradition
- Southern Georgia Regional Commission, Local Government Finance Software
- Southern Georgia Regional Commission, Utility Management Made Easier Using GIS!
- Three Rivers Regional Commission, Three Rivers Regional Commission Updated Website
Idaho
- Clearwater Economic Development Association, Addressing the Skill Needs of the Metal Manufacturer Supercluster
Iowa
- City of Norwalk, Produce Innovations
- East Central Iowa Council of Governments, Region 10 Multi-Disciplinary Safety Team
- MIDAS Council of Governments, Emerald Ash Borer – Community Tree Management Plans
- Region XII Council of Governments, Western Iowa Advantage Employer-Educator Summit
Kentucky
- Barren River Area Development District, “Be the Change”
- Bluegrass Area Development District, Bluegrass Medication Management Program
- Bluegrass Area Development District, Cross Kentucky Trail Master Plan
- Bluegrass Area Development District, Medical Career & Science Institute (MCSI) Youth Career Camps
- Big Sandy Area Development District, Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR)
- Green River Area Development District, Senior Nutrition Initiatives
- Northern Kentucky Area Development District, Northern Kentucky Heroin Impact Response
- Pennyrile Area Development District, Guthrie Transportation Museum and Welcome Center
- Pennyrile Area Development District, Pennyrile Entrepreneur Network
- Purchase Area Development District, Career Discovery Center
Louisiana
- Greater New Orleans, Inc., Coastal Engineering and Sciences Program at the University of New Orleans
Maine
- Northern Maine Development Commission, Northern Maine Forest Products Industry Cluster
- Northern Maine Development Commission, Workforce Center of Excellence
Massachusetts
- Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, The Pioneer Valley Plan for Progress 2015-2025
Michigan
- Networks Northwest, Framework for Our Future: A Regional Prosperity Plan for Northwest Michigan
- Western U.P. Planning & Development Region, Economic Development Service Delivery
Minnesota
- Region Nine Development Commission, Telling the Regional Government Story Differently
- Southwest Regional Development Commission, Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) Program
Mississippi
- Central Mississippi Planning & Development District, Simpson County Health Care Zone Master Plan
- Central Mississippi Planning & Development District, Town of Pelahatchie – Multicraft International Expansion
- East Central Planning & Development District, Philadelphia Log Cabin Restoration
- Northeast Mississippi Planning & Development District, Marshall County MS-Roxul, Inc. / Public Infrastructure Improvements
- South Delta Planning & Development District, Inc., Harrah’s Tunica National Emergency Grant – Partnerships
- Three Rivers Planning & Development District, Disaster Recovery / “High Availability”
- Three Rivers Planning & Development District, Three Rivers #NMTC Allocation
Missouri
- Boonslick Regional Planning Commission, Meramec Regional Planning Commission, and Mid-Missouri Regional Planning Commission, Missouri Mobility Management Planning
- Kaysinger Basin Regional Planning Commission, Regional Economic Development Program
- Kaysinger Basin Regional Planning Commission, Truman Regional Education Center
- Mo-Kan Regional Council, Mo-Kan My Map
- Southeast Missouri State University – Institute for Regional Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Regional Entrepreneurship Assessment & Strategy Reports
Nebraska
- Omaha-Council Bluffs Metropolitan Area Planning Agency, CITIES Program
New Hampshire
- Nashua Regional Planning Commission, Granite State Future
- North Country Council, Business Disaster Planning
New Mexico
- New Mexico Association of Regional Councils (NewMARC), The Ristra Project
North Carolina
- Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments, Building Economic Resilience in the Kerr-Tar Region
- Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments, Kerr-Tar Regional STEM Education Summit
- Kerr-Tar Regional Council of Governments Area Agency on Aging, Surfing the Silver Tsunami: A Boomer, Senior, and Caregiver Expo
- Land of Sky Regional Council, Transportation Resource Center – Expanding Local Services
- Piedmont Triad Regional Council (Northwest Piedmont Service Corps), HOPE Crew Project – Raleigh National Cemetery
- Piedmont Triad Regional Council, CDBG Handbook
- Piedmont Triad Regional Council, GIS as a Tool for Targeting Efforts in Housing Rehabilitation Programs
- Piedmont Triad Regional Council, Survive, Thrive, Grow: Winston-Salem Small Business Development Pilot
- Upper Coastal Plain Council of Governments, Turning Point Workforce Development Board Simulation Lab Project
- Western Piedmont Council of Governments, Newton-Conover City Schools Elementary Redistricting and Student Growth Estimation Model
- Western Piedmont Council of Governments, Web-Map Application for Public Fixed-Route Bus Service
- Western Piedmont Council of Governments, Workforce Anytime, Anywhere, for Anyone
Ohio
- Buckeye Hills-Hocking Valley Regional Development District, Utica Shale Real Estate Marketing Initiative
Oklahoma
- South Western Oklahoma Development Authority on behalf of the Southwest Region Executive Directors Association, Southwest Region Peer Exchange
Oregon
- Greater Eastern Oregon Development Corporation, 2014-2019 Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy – Greater Eastern Oregon District
Pennsylvania
- SEDA-Council of Governments, Core PA Global
- SEDA-Council of Governments, Mann Edge Terrace Elderly Housing Facility
- SEDA-Council of Governments, Regional Gas Utilization Initiative (RGUI)
South Carolina
- BCD Council of Governments, Project STAND
- BCD Council of Governments, Study to Assess and Mitigate Maritime Traffic and Military Activities along the Cooper River and Charleston Harbor
- Catawba Regional Council of Governments, Catawba Regional Elected Officials Forum
- Central Midlands Council of Governments, Walk Bike Columbia
- Lowcountry Council of Governments, Lowcountry Regional Water System
- Lower Savannah Council of Governments, LSCOG ADTRC and Savannah River Site Retirees Association Partnership
- SC Appalachian Council of Governments, The Entrepreneur Friendly Toolkit
- Santee-Lynches Regional Council of Governments, Adapting in the Face of Crisis: Santee-Lynches RCOG Fire and Recovery
- Waccamaw Regional Council of Governments, Grand Strand Routing and Wayfinding Plan
- Waccamaw Regional Council of Governments, Murrells Inlet, SC Watershed Plan
South Dakota
- South Eastern Council of Governments (South Eastern Development Foundation), SEDF’s Governor’s House Development
Tennessee
- First Tennessee Development District, Alan Street Veteran Apartments
- South Central Tennessee Development District, SCTDD Regional Disaster Preparedness & Business Resiliency Planning Program
- Southwest Tennessee Development District, SOAR (Strategic Opportunities to Advance our Region)
Texas
- Ark-Tex Council of Governments, Ark-Tex Transit Scheduling Software (CaBAW)
- Capital Area Council of Governments, Regional Disaster Debris Management Plan Development
- Heart of Texas Council of Governments, Heart of Texas Efficient Towns and Counties Co-Op
- Houston-Galveston Area Council, Bringing Back Main Street
- South Plains Association of Governments, South Plains Rural Planning Organization
- Texoma Council of Governments, Helping Our People Excel (HOPE) GED Program
- Texoma Council of Governments, Texoma Craft Beverage Strategic Plan
Vermont
- Two Rivers-Ottauquechee Regional Commission, East Central Vermont: What We Want
Virginia
- Cumberland Plateau Planning District Commission, Appalachian Spring: Southwest Virginia’s Outdoor Recreation Initiative
- George Washington Regional Commission, The Nomination of “The Meadow,” Birthplace of Secretariat, to the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places
- New River Valley Regional Commission, Renaming and Branding of the New River Valley Regional Commission
- Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission (RIDE Solutions), Art by Bus
West Virginia
- Mid-Ohio Valley Regional Council, Workforce and Economic Development Integration
Wisconsin
- Northwest Regional Planning Commission, Hazardous Waste Collection, Education, and Mapping Project
