PROJECT OVERVIEW Taking control of the region's economic future requires first taking stock of those things that impact the overall economic health of Cleveland and Northeast Ohio. These days, economic health is not simply dependent upon access to raw materials and capital. In this new "Information Age" how workers live is just as important as how products are manufactured. Quality of life issues have emerged as crucial long-term factors in a growth calculus. As a result, workforce training, housing and land use, transportation, quality of educational opportunities, local government policy and responsiveness, the character of civic leadership (both existing and emerging) and the richness of the cultural and recreational landscape play critical roles in the overall economic equation. How does a community foster these vital aspects of civic life? How does a proactive community address what might be characterized as these "soft-core" elements of its development without ignoring the "hard-core" capital aggregation, raw materials handling and public policy issues that are the traditional focus for conversations and planning towards economic revitalization? OUR AIM "To create and distribute media products including radio and television programming and interactive web components that will help Northeast Ohio build a stronger economy. Making Change aims to enlighten citizens about their role in the regional economy through content that encourages them to engage in the betterment of their communities by making well-informed decisions in their everyday lives" THE BIG IDEA MAKING CHANGE is a series of radio, television and Internet products that will tackle that very question by concentrating on economic reinvention from the point of view of individual citizens. This approach is similar to the think globally-act locally paradigm that has historically directed environment consciousness. Treating the economic "environment" as an independent, mutable, almost organic system will foster person-to-person communication that often gets lost in large-scale economic development discussions. If quality of life issues have become paramount to the successful realization of robust civic economic growth then the view from each individual's pocketbook is likely to inspire the richest engagement and debate towards real change and ultimately a reinvention of our regional economy. The timing of this project could not be more critical. As chronicled in the landmark campaign A QUIET CRISIS, a partnership between ideastream and The Plain Dealer, Northeast Ohio is in dire need of a new outlook, a new way to plan and execute regional economic growth. All of the critical indicators of economic health place our region well behind comparably sized cities and even behind smaller cities such as Cincinnati and Columbus. For nearly a century and a half, Cleveland sustained a record of uninterrupted growth defined by constant change and reinvention largely centered on the business of manufacturing. Then in 1970 it all came to a screeching halt. Cleveland now has a 30-year history of uninterrupted economic faltering slowed only occasionally by a high profile project. Stagnant - insipid - reluctant towards change. At its most basic level, the growth and sustainability of the economy in any region depend upon the actions of its individual citizens. Civic engagement. Without growth Northeast Ohio will continue to have failure on a regional, community, organizational and very personal scale. Growth can only come to this region through change. If ways to change the status quo are not found, the entire region will simply continue to fail… one person and one paycheck at a time. Change is what this project will seek to encourage… one person at a time.