Our Path Forward

West Virginians working on community development have the potential to shift the narrative of a state in perpetual decline, establish our state as a national leader in the community development field, and better position our communities to attract new and greater resources for our work.

What does the road look like?

Step 1) Engage

Over the next year, we will be learning from West Virginians about impacts and lessons learned from innovative community development work happening on the ground.

Step 2) Build

This next year will also be a time of conversation, planning and growth for a newly forming WV community development network. This work will be collaboratively directed by invested West Virginians (Email network@wvhub.org to join in!). The network will also begin to explore collectively capturing data and information to demonstrate the impact of community development efforts in total for the state.

Step 3) Define & Assess

Learning from West Virginians, forming a WV community development network, and independent research will all inform the creation of a full report on community development strategies and impact, to be released in late 2020.

Step 4) Share & Teach

With the release of the report will come newly held information for people participating in community development efforts in the state, including shareable strategies that will support West Virginians in leveling up their efforts as well as innovative practices to share with communities across the nation.

Step 5) Collaborate & Measure

As the WV community development network moves into practice and quantitative and qualitative data begins to be regularly captured, we can tell a story that more clearly depicts the positive momentum and solutions-focused work happening on the ground in West Virginia.

This story has the potential to usher in a time of greater opportunity and to reframe how our fellow residents across the United States think about West Virginia.