Purpose Statement
Omaha is facing a loss of talented employees and a mis-match of education versus job needs that is affecting our employment market. Omaha is not attracting or retaining employees for a variety of reasons. This issue is causing both short and long-term concerns from key organizations such as the Greater Omaha Chamber of Commerce, the Heartland 2050 project, and the Greater Omaha Young Professionals. Local organizations recognize that a meeting needs to be dedicated to this topic, key players identified, and action items designated. More
Nancy and I were given the opportunity to approach our final pilot project a bit differently. During our project process, we developed our own vision for the possible future of OPL (Omaha Public Library) facilitation. We were aware that the Douglas County Health Department (DCHD) was about to embark upon a community engagement initiative of their own because of previous FIT (Facilitator-in-Training) Team developments. Various FIT Team members sensed that facilitation could really help the health department overcome some of their challenges. Happily, our DCHD contact welcomed our unsolicited offer and was grateful for the assistance. We worked closely with Andy Wessel, DCHD’s Community Health Planner, throughout this process. The DCHD received a two-year grant to examine and experiment with their current public input processes. Since the workshop we participated in was the first step, its goal was to define desired outcomes for successful neighborhood engagement. This success definition was a collaborative effort with the meeting’s stakeholders including city planners, community leaders, developers, neighborhood alliance leaders, and architects. 
Purpose
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