If You Spend It, More Will Come

by Tricia Bentley and Helen Vollmer, Vollmer Public Relations

“Is this heaven? No, it’s Iowa.” In the movie Field of Dreams, an Iowa farmer hears a voice whispering from his cornfield… “If you build it, he will come.” At the risk of losing his farm, the farmer plows under his cornfield and builds a baseball field that leads to a secure future. A big leap of faith requiring thinking differently paves the way for success.

Today, we are in a similar situation as the world rethinks its approach to success and prosperity. As stimulus funds begin rolling into the states from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (http://www.recovery.gov/), there’s been lots of news coverage on the programs from foster care and adoption, to healthcare and the arts, to transportation and public housing that will receive these funds. Jumpstarting recovery is a tall order, and is forcing all of us to “think outside the cornfield” about ways we can work collaboratively, efficiently and creatively.

Public involvement counts now more than ever. For example, the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC) (http://www.hgac.com/) recently held three quarterly public meetings to explain how stimulus dollars are assigned and to receive feedback on potential transportation projects within the region. With one year to obligate the stimulus funds for projects that are “shovel ready,” have all the necessary studies and right-of-way purchased, there are challenges to shaping the future of such initiatives, as well as opportunities when public officials are alerted to them.

At this time vision and the ability to innovate through creative partnerships are of great importance as well. One of our long-term clients, the Uptown Houston District (http://www.uptown-houston.com/), has demonstrated repeatedly that it is possible to create greater good for the community by collaboratively leveraging existing resources. Uptown Houston, for instance, helped create funding and organizational mechanisms to become the first improvement district in Texas. It works with entities such as the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) and the City of Houston to integrate the District’s mobility initiatives with those of the region, and it has combined its available resources with those of both the public and private sectors to secure one of the city’s most beloved icons – The Water Wall – as a public park for generations to come. These achievements come about because the Uptown Houston board continually seeks innovative “win-win” situations that promise economic benefits not just for Uptown, but for those in our greater region as well.

Our job at Vollmer is to apply our expertise of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, transportation issues and the federal funding process to “connect the dots,” so there is more collaboration among those with shared interests. Sharing relationships and providing introductions, developing a position and key messages, monitoring opinions, and educating influencers – media, stakeholder groups and public officials – through outreach efforts, are just some of our means for helping our clients reconfigure success for the future.

The old saying, “it takes money to make money” is often true. And stimulus dollars undoubtedly will help America’s recovery. This time around, let’s be smart about it – through increased public involvement and collaborative approaches that will serve us all well beyond tomorrow.