The EZ/EC Initiative is designed to afford communities real opportunities for growth and revitalization. The framework for the Initiative is embodied in four key principles:

1. Strategic Vision for Change
2. Community-based Partnerships
3. Economic Opportunity
4. Sustainable Community Development.

The Strategic Vision for Change identifies what a community will become in the future and a statement of the values in the community used to create its "vision". The Strategic Visions should identify realistic goals and a strategy for achieving these goals. The vision should also define a performance measurement system which will provide the framework for measuring progress and evaluating and adjusting the Strategic Plan for a given community.

A vision for change describes what the community wants to become-for example, a community may envision itself as a center for emerging technologies or for innovative methods of educating residents using information technology in partnerships with a nearby university or community college. A community may envision itself as a key export center for certain farm products or customized manufacturing goods; as a health care center; or as a vibrant residential area focused around an active local school, with access to jobs, retail markets, recreation and entertainment.

A vision for change is not a laundry list of concerns, shortcomings and deficits. Instead, it is a strategic map for revitalization. It builds on assets and coordinates a response to the needs of a community-such as public safety, human and social services, and environmental protection. It takes into account linkages to the larger region and how information technology can facilitate achievement of the strategic vision.

In pursuing its strategic vision, each EZ applicant was to create a plan that:

• States a clear vision and goals for the future


• Explains how the vision creates economic opportunity, encourages self-sufficiency, and promotes sustainable community development


• Builds on the assets and opportunities available and presents a coordinated strategy toward solving them


• Sets outs performance standards for measuring progress, and a framework for evaluating and making future adjustments to the Strategic Plan.

The Community-Based Partnerships principle encourages all stakeholders in a community to participate in the revitalization of distressed neighborhoods. Partnerships include residents, businesses, local political leaders, local, state and Federal governments, community development corporations, local public health and social service departments, regional planning organizations, unions, environmental groups, schools and universities, faith-based organizations, and other community groups.

Communities that stand together are communities that can rise together. Communities cannot succeed with public resources alone. The EZ/EC Initiative is grounded in the belief that each community knows how best to solve its problems, and that residents, businesses, government, and non-profits must all work as partners to revitalize distressed neighborhoods. The Federal EZ/EC grant funds and tax credits provide seed money designed to help get revitalization efforts in motion, but partners in local communities, along with the assets they bring to the table, must work with the community to achieve sustainable results.

Resident participation in planning and decision making is another key component of Community-Based Partnerships. Successful and sustained revitalization starts with residents. Residents must be involved in identifying the Strategic Vision for Change, developing specific goals, and crafting solutions. Residents must also play an active role in implementing and monitoring their plan for revitalization through governance structures that provide them with a real voice in decision making. Each EZ/EC is responsible for designing its own governance structure, which typically is a board composed of local decision makers chosen from a cross-section of the stakeholders in each community. Boards should not be so large as to be unwieldy in operation, yet they must permit an opportunity for all key stakeholders to participate. Some communities established a non-profit to implement their Strategic Plans and they used the non-profit's Board of Directors as the governance mechanism for the Zone. Others created stand-alone advisory boards to guide local officials during implementation.

Economic Opportunity includes creating jobs within the designated EZ/EC community and linking residents to jobs throughout the region; providing entrepreneurs with technical assistance; providing greater access to capital and credit for businesses so they can expand and create job opportunities for residents; and providing residents with access to job training and job placement services, including those associated with Welfare-to-Work and school-to-work initiatives.

The first priority in revitalizing distressed communities is to create economic opportunities-jobs for residents. The creation of jobs, both within the community and throughout the region, provides the foundation on which residents can become economically self-sufficient.

Communities should work with local businesses to understand their employment needs and to develop programs that match residents with real job opportunities. They should also develop programs to increase the flow of capital and credit to businesses so they can expand and create new high-wage jobs. Programs have included small business assistance centers, SBA One-Stop Capital Shops, Community Development Banks (CBDs), micro-enterprise credit programs, and loan pools.

An EZ/EC designee should understand:

• The existing economic base of the area including those sectors that will most likely provide job opportunities for residents;


• The credit and capital needs of business and the type of labor skills they need;
• The skill levels of residents and the kinds of programs that could upgrade those job skills;


• The barriers to employment such as child care, transportation, drug treatment, low job skills, etc., and how those barriers may be overcome;


• How the changing metropolitan, regional, national and global economic conditions, including military base closure and out- migration, affect the economic base; and


• How to bring jobs to the workforce and how to get people to job opportunities by improving transportation infrastructure.

Sustainable Community Development advances the creation of livable and vibrant communities through comprehensive approaches that coordinate economic, physical, environmental, community and human development. These approaches should preserve the environment and historic landmarks, address "brownfields" clean-up and redevelopment, explore the economic development advantages of energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy resources, and improve the quality of and/or access to health care and human services, education, child care, affordable housing, transportation and public safety.

While job creation is a critical first step toward the creation of livable and vibrant communities, the ability to sustain that positive momentum depends upon a coordinated and comprehensive strategy that creates an environment where human initiative, work and stable families can flourish. A community where the streets are safe, the air and water are clean, housing is affordable and secure, and human services are accessible, and where a vital civic spirit is nurtured by innovated design, is a community that can be a source of strength and hope for its residents. Sustainable Community Development promotes a holistic approach to revitalization through the coordination of economic, physical, environmental, community and human resources.