Hudson’s Horizon Project Receives Indiana Planning Association’s Outstanding Plan Award

Hudson Institute’s Horizon Project has received the Indiana Planning Association’s Outstanding Plan award, given to a written plan representing significant advancement of planning in the state.

The Horizon Project is a county-wide visioning process to plan for the future of ElkhartCounty in Indiana.  The Horizon Project: Today's Vision for a DynamicElkhartCounty Tomorrow was designed to guide the community through the creation of a comprehensive vision for its future community, economic, and quality of life development activities.  The process included a complete analysis of the general economic climate of the community supported by community input.

The BallStateUniversityCenter for Economic and Community Development led the consultant team that included Koehn Consulting of Goshen and Hudson Institute.  

Sponsored by the Elkhart County Community Foundation, the Horizon Project has been guided by a steering committee consisting of private, public, and non-profit sector leaders from throughout the county.  The committee was chaired by William P. Johnson, former CEO of Goshen Rubber, with Diana Lawson of the Elkhart County Convention and Visitors Bureau serving as vice-chair.  “We're at a pivotal time in the economic history of ElkhartCounty to position it for positive changes,” said Johnson.  “This committee is key to facilitating those changes.”

The Horizon Project encompassed several key objectives, including:

·         Conducting a comprehensive analysis of the demographic, socio-economic, and land use components of ElkhartCounty; and identification of areas of competitive advantage and areas of stagnation and decline

·         Providing guidance, facilitation, and technical assistance in the creation of a comprehensive, community-based strategy for community and economic development

·         Building consensus on how the county should approach major issues through broad based community involvement

In September 2003 the general public was invited to participate in community workshops and input sessions to identify key issues impacting the county's development and overall quality of life.  These sessions called on the community to respond to and interpret demographic and economic analysis; develop a comprehensive strategic plan; and commit to implementation of the plan.