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THE CHALLENGE
The City of Greenville stands at a pivotal moment with a bold economic development strategy in place and a clear vision for inclusive, innovation-driven growth. However, translating this strategic vision into operational reality requires a new kind of institutional capacity. The city needs to establish the Greenville City Economic Development Corporation (GCEDC) not as an idea, but as an operational, effective, and revenue-sustaining institution capable of moving faster, partnering more widely, and delivering more flexibly than traditional public institutions. With strategic priorities including scaling entrepreneurship, advancing equity, and accelerating innovation, Greenville requires a nimble public-private platform to lead economic development efforts and position the city as a hub for talent, innovation, and inclusive growth.
"We needed more than just a great strategy on paper; we needed an organization that could actually make it happen."
THE CIVIC SOLUTION
CivicSol is leading the development of a comprehensive business plan for GCEDC, bringing unique continuity as the team that originally authored Greenville's 2022 Economic Development Strategic Plan. Our approach is structured around the Business Model Canvas framework, with particular attention to defining GCEDC's value proposition and role within the city's economic ecosystem, articulating governance and staffing models aligned with public-private best practices, and outlining diversified and sustainable revenue streams.
The business plan includes pilot activation strategies for entrepreneurship and investment attraction, stakeholder mapping and partnership frameworks to define roles across the ecosystem, and comprehensive organizational design recommendations covering legal structure, governance, staffing, and functional areas. We are facilitating working sessions with City leaders and the Strategy and Governance Committee to pressure-test the model, conducting comparative analysis of high-performing peer economic development organizations, and developing implementation roadmaps with clear next steps to move from planning to activation.
THE IMPACT
The GCEDC business plan will equip Greenville with a fully operational economic development corporation designed to lead the city's next chapter of growth. As a 501(c)3 organization, GCEDC will function as a co-investor, convener, and implementer—empowered to coordinate across sectors, secure external funding, and deliver programming aligned with community and business goals. The business plan will provide actionable strategies for staffing, structure, and programming while ensuring alignment with Greenville's seven strategic goals and institutional values. This transformation will demonstrate how strategic planning can evolve into institutional capacity, creating sustainable platforms that accelerate economic development and deliver measurable community impact.
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