Residents and Researchers Shaping New Strategy for Northwest Neighborhoods
Jan. 24, 2023
Northwest Neighborhoods CDC will complete its first-ever strategic plan in May 2023, following a unique, collaborative process with community members and local experts. The strategic plan will guide the next five years of work for Northwest Neighborhoods (NWN), the nonprofit currently serving the Cudell, Detroit Shoreway, and Edgewater community as the result of a members-approved merger between Cudell Improvement, Inc., and Detroit Shoreway Community Development Organization in 2021.
“Our very diverse community has wide-ranging needs, but our resources are finite,” said Adam Stalder, NWN Executive Director. “With the support of the Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Foundation, we made a big commitment to strategic planning. We have hired a team with broad expertise to combine community voices with data and find the greatest opportunities for improvement.”
NWN is employing Sangfroid Strategy, a local data-driven strategy firm, and The Center for Poverty & Community Development at Case Western Reserve University as a team to conduct research, data analysis, and surveys of residents and stakeholders. The resulting strategic plan will establish shared values and a mission statement for NWN. Unlike a neighborhood master plan focused on the physical realm, the strategic plan will guide the larger priorities and programs of the nonprofit’s board and staff on behalf of its communities.
“We are already seeing some issues rise to the top,” said Anna Perlmutter, NWN Board President. “Housing is the biggest theme, including our organization’s portfolio of more than 300 affordable units as well as a tough private market, absentee landlords, and residents struggling to maintain their homes.”
The Center is currently conducting in-depth analysis of issues and trends in the NWN service area, which spans from West 45th to West 117th Streets, north of Interstate 90. The research includes data on population and demographics; housing types, quality, and affordability; health and wellbeing; access to services; and green space and tree canopy coverage.
“Different parts of the service area need different approaches to community development,” said Paterson Gauntner, an NWN board representative on the Strategic Planning Committee. “The Center has done an excellent job of mapping data to help our staff target our programs, like Senior Home Repair Assistance, to the locations that need them most.”
Sangfroid Strategy is conducting community engagement by distributing resident surveys, talking face-to-face with NWN residential tenants, collecting input from NWN staff and board of directors, and meeting with local organizations, businesses, and funders. The resident survey has received more than 300 responses to date.
“Other concerns we hear in our neighborhoods are poverty, racial equity, walkability and transportation, success of small- and minority-businesses, and access to green space,” said Stalder. “The challenge of our strategic planning is acknowledging where we can have the most impact and how we can be a partner or voice for issues beyond our influence.”
In 2022, The Center and Sangfroid Strategy responded jointly to a two-part Request for Qualifications from NWN for neighborhood research and strategic planning. Their academic, public, and private sector experience made The Center and Sangfroid Strategy the most qualified applicants, and NWN employed the team in Fall 2022.
NWN will release its 2023-2027 Strategic Plan to its members following completion in May. For updates about NWN, please visit nwneighborhoods.org.