The Metropolitan Strategic Planning Grant Program in Kansas

Abstract

In 1990, the Kansas Legislature passed the Community Strategic Planning Assistance Act (CSPA), a three-year program for non­metropolitan counties in Kansas. The CSPA provided funds to countywide and multi-county economic development entities to develop strategic plans and finance action elements of those plans. In 1993, the Kansas Legislature renewed the program for three years and in 1994 eligibility was extended to include grant awards to neighborhood organizations for blighted areas in metropolitan counties.

The legislation calls for Kansas Inc. to evaluate the program two years after the last planning grant has been awarded. Therefore, in the spring of 1999, Kansas Inc. contracted with Kansas Center for Community Economic Development (KCCED) at the University of Kansas to assist with their evaluation of the Metropolitan Strategic Planning Grant Program. Specifically, the KCCED examined the strategic plans developed with state funding and surveyed community leaders and participants involved in the planning process.

The KCCED reviewed 13 plans that were developed with planning grants from the Metropolitan CSPA Program. They were reviewed for information about the process used to create the plan, the issued identified, the goals listed, and the action steps taken (including responsibility for implementation and funding resources).