Harrison Strategic Doing Workshop
Do you want to continue to be directly involved in shaping the future of Harrison and in moving the needle on the ideas and projects outlined in the Harrison Community Survey results? Join us at the upcoming Harrison Community Catalyst Strategic Doing workshop on September 22 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at North Arkansas College in the John Paul Hammerschmidt Conference Center! Check in and breakfast will be from 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. with the workshop beginning promptly at 9 a.m. Lunch will be provided.
During the workshop, citizens of Harrison will utilize the Strategic Doing process to develop immediate, impactful small wins and goals to create transformation in their community.
Follow this link to RSVP for the Harrison Strategic Doing Workshop!
What is the Community Catalyst program?
Harrison has been selected as one of five communities in Arkansas to be a part of the Community Catalyst program which is assisting five Arkansas communities in Entergy’s service territory with grassroots citizen engagement and technical assistance training to develop small, actionable community and economic development goals and to serve as a catalyst for longer-term economic development engagements and priorities.
This program is facilitated by our team at the UCA Center for Community and Economic Development in partnership with Entergy Arkansas and the Stennis Institute at Mississippi State University.
This program involves engaging the community at a citizen level to understand the needs and goals of the community and how to achieve those goals through citizen-led community development efforts. Harrison has already completed their community survey and will be hosting a workshop utilizing the Strategic Doing process to put the priorities lined out in the survey into action. Strategic Doing enables people to form collaborations quickly, guide them toward measurable outcomes and make adjustments along the way. Strategic Doing enables leaders to design and guide new networks that generate innovative solutions. In Harrison, this process will be utilized to create citizen-led community development efforts based on the results of the community survey (outlined below).
Harrison Community Survey Results
Harrison received 506 responses to the community survey which represents roughly 3.6% of the Harrison community. The survey received responses with a diverse representation of ages, employment status, employment industry, and included folks in Harrison city limits (51.6%), outside of Harrison city limits and within Boone County (42.9%), and both outside of Harrison city limits and outside of Boone County (5.5%).
The survey collected information about the community and asked key questions that will help shape the future of Harrison including the community’s personality, community focus areas, and specific projects that the citizens of Harrison think need to be addressed.
As a part of the Harrison Community Survey, citizens were asked “Which words best describe the personality of your community?” This question unveiled how internal stakeholders at the local level perceive the city of Harrison. The top words used to describe Harrison include: Small Town, Conservative, Close to Nature, Friendly, Scenic, Rural living, Down Home, Family-Oriented, and Outdoors.
The next part of the Harrison Community Survey asked citizens about the most important focus areas for the future of Harrison in the categories of quality of life, economic development, and community development. The results of each section are listed below:
The top focus areas for the Quality of Life section are (1) youth and family activities, (2) walking trails, and (3) parks and recreation. You can find a full breakdown of the results in the pie chart below:
The top focus areas for the Economic Development section are (1) job creation, (2) downtown revitalization, and (3) retail development. You can find a full breakdown of the results in the pie chart below:
The top focus areas for the Community Development section are (1) education, (2) healthcare, (3) housing, (4) poverty, and (5) diversity. You can find a full breakdown of the results in the pie chart below:
While the identification of the most important focus areas for Harrison to capitalize on for the future will provide a clear direction for the community, citizens were also asked to share specific projects they want to see completed. The top five projects citizens shared include:
- Community Center; there were multiple mentions of a community center, community gym, recreation center, or an indoor swimming pool for Harrison residents
- Sidewalks and Trails; these comments included repairing and maintaining sidewalks, development of walking trails, development of bike trails, and improved infrastructure downtown
- Youth and Family Activities: citizens want to see more parks, sports facilities, and community events
- Downtown Revitalization; it is important to citizens to beautify the town square, create a farmers market, focus on vacant properties, and increase street lights
- Retail and Restaurant Development; some ideas included a drive-in movie theater, recruitment and development of department stores, and more diverse restaurant offerings
Questions?
If you have any questions about the Community Catalyst program please reach out to Dylan Edgell at dedgell1@uca.edu.
Click here to learn more about the Community Catalyst program.