The Leadership Louisville Center’s Bingham Fellows Class of 2011, charged with “Shaping Louisville for the 21st Century,” launched their project plans on Sept. 15, at The Frazier History Museum, 829 W. Main St.

The forty 2011 Fellows are a unique gathering of individuals with expert knowledge and a passion for civic involvement. They represent a variety of employers, backgrounds and interests. And, after months of exploration and creative problem-solving, they are ready to chart a new path forward in creating and executing an infrastructure master vision for Louisville.

Watch a short video about the work of the 2011 Bingham Fellows featuring comments from Mayor Greg Fischer and David Jones, Sr.

Download the Bingham Fellows 2011 Summary (pdf)

To Shape Louisville, the Bingham Fellows developed a three-pronged approach:

Focus. Plan. Invest.

FOCUS:
Aligning Infrastructure Priorities with Economic Development Strategy

The first step in a successful infrastructure plan is making sure it’s aligned with economic development strategy and job creation. The Fellows will solicit funding for a partnership with IBM Global Business Services, to assess Louisville’s competitiveness in regard to infrastructure.

About aligning infrastructure with economic development

1. Define Louisville’s domestic and international competitors for business in targeted Advanced Manufacturing and Logistics sub-sectors.

2. Conduct simulated site selection analyses to benchmark the quality of Louisville’s logistics infrastructure.

3. Identify solutions to eliminate threats and capitalize on opportunities to establish Louisville’s logistics infrastructure as the world standard.

PLAN LOUIE:
Coordinating a Long-term Vision

Just like a business, Louisville needs a long-term strategic plan, and Plan Louie will be modeled on the groundbreaking PlaNYC undertaken by Mayor Michael Bloomberg. Plan Louie will give Louisville a way to draw an infrastructure master plan for a competitive city where everyone thrives. It will be a plan that results in action, because it will include strong executive leadership, clear decision points and accountability for results.

About Plan Louie

Louisville will have an integrated vision for infrastructure investment that:

1. Identifies Key Challenges and Opportunities

• Coordinates infrastructure planning and investment
• Ensures progress on the Greater Louisville Project’s Deep Drivers (21st Century Jobs and Quality of Place)
• Includes input from the public and a broad-based Advisory Board

2. Defines Overarching Goals and Principles

• Reflects the Mayor’s vision and the community’s aspirations
• Informs priorities and decisions throughout Metro Government

3. Identifies Specific Initiatives

• Projects that are ambitious, actionable, achievable
• Identifies lead agency, milestones for completion, capital and operating budget needs

4. Provides for Effective Implementation

• Enables immediate action on initiatives and clearly defines agency responsibilities
• Provides effective communication and civic engagement

5. Ensures Accountability

• Provides regular progress reports on all initiatives
• Uses well-defined metrics to report progress

INVEST:
Ensuring the Best Return on Public Investments

The new approach in infrastructure decision-making will happen through the creation of an Infrastructure Investment Board. This framework will ensure infrastructure investments generate significant “return” for the community. The board would provide elected officials with advisory recommendations based on objective data and analysis, as opposed to the current ad hoc model.

About ensuring ROI on public investment

In addition to the plan developed through Plan Louie, the Infrastructure Investment Board will utilize additional resources the Fellows have structured:

1. A model for analyzing infrastructure investments based on:

• Job creation and resulting increase in tax revenue
• Impact on key industry clusters (advanced manufacturing, logistics, lifelong wellness, aging care, etc.)
• Support of economic drivers such as increasing educational attainment and fostering innovation and entrepreneurialism

2. A map of economic “hot spots,” that identifies areas where an investment in infrastructure would generate additional private investment, boost job growth and enhance quality of life and sustainability.

3. State/local tax and policy recommendations to enable additional infrastructure investment, including exploring opportunities for local revenue growth, utilizing available bonding capacity and encouraging new public/private partnerships.