One Stop Ready

About the Program

Category: Community and Economic Development (Best in Category)

Year: 2017

Oakland County’s One Stop Ready program formed in response to the economic downturn and associated reduction of the local tax base. The program’s mission is to provide local communities with the resources, tools and trainings necessary to capitalize on community strengths, refine economic development processes and implement local vision. Recognizing that time is money, the program focuses on alignment between boards and commissions and streamlining the development process through a customer-friendly, solutions-oriented approach. Member communities are challenged to think like investors and respond to project proposals in a knowledgeable, collaborative, and agile way. The program identifies five core tools and strategies that are considered Best Practices. Together these five tenants compose the fundamental message of the program and are the basis for the provided training sessions. • Pre-Application Meetings • Internet Accessibility • Proactive Project Tracking • Clear and Efficient Permitting Processes • Business/Community Input These Best Practices are evaluated by the community and County staff on an annual basis using the Benchmark Self-Evaluation Tool. Community and County staff work together to document and refine the impact of the best practices. The One Stop Ready program began in 2013 with seven member communities and has since expanded to 20 member communities, increasing the opportunities for peer learning and networking. Since its inception, the program has provided formal training in development readiness to over 750 community staff members and officials and has showcased OSR communities to over 200 investors. In addition, member communities have implemented several specific program recommendations to improve their individual development processes, including administrative reviews, certificates of occupancy, joint meetings and website enhancements.