The consultant shall provide professional services to support the tasks listed below. The city is open to creativity and modifications to the scope. The consultant should leverage resources in addition to the background documents above including studies conducted or data collected by Scott County, Scott County CDA, DEED, Metropolitan Council and GreaterMSP. The city will work jointly with the selected consultant to develop a final, comprehensive scope of work and schedule for the project. 1. Strategic Purpose & Direction Setting • Facilitate an initial visioning session with City Council, Economic Development Commission and staff to clarify expectations, define what success looks like, and determine the City's preferred role in economic development (active, passive, or hybrid). • Use insights to frame the plan’s guiding principles, ensuring that recommendations reflect priorities and values. 2. Economic Development SWOT Analysis • Conduct a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis of the current economic environment in Savage. 3. Baseline Assessment of Demographics & Economic Data • Compile and analyze current and projected demographic, workforce, housing, and income trends. 4. Market Trends • Assess emerging market and industry trends relevant to Savage’s economic sectors (housing, commercial, downtown, industrial). 5. Development Nodes • Identify specific geographic areas (nodes, corridors, or districts) within the City that warrant targeted development, infill, or reinvestment based on market opportunity and community need. • Highlight areas in Savage with the highest potential and areas that are under performing. 5. Comparative Analysis and Best Practices • Identify peer cities with similar characteristics and highlight programs, strategies, and incentive tools that Savage could adapt or adopt, particularly in areas like infrastructure investment, public-private partnerships, and business retention. 6. Fiscal Strategy & Funding Prioritization • Advise on how the City can prioritize and fund key economic development goals, including potential use of financial incentives, grants, public-private partnerships, and reallocation of internal resources. 7. Inclusive Economic Development Strategy • Reevaluate and expand on Goal 5 of the REDi Report, with a focus on providing tangible support for women-owned, veteran-owned, and BIPOC businesses. 8. Stakeholder & Community Engagement • Engage with key community stakeholders, including but not limited to the Savage Chamber of Commerce, Scott County Community Development Agency, city commissions, and City Council. Facilitate workshops, focus groups, and meetings to ensure the strategic plan reflects the diverse perspectives and needs of the community. Develop content or strategies to solicit feedback via Let’s Talk Savage which is the city’s online engagement platform. 9. Policy Review • Provide recommendations on policy changes to support the strategic goals and actions identified in the plan. 10. Fiscal Impact and Implementation Costs • Conduct a fiscal impact analysis to estimate the costs and funding needs for implementing the identified actions, goals, and strategies. This should involve a cost benefit analysis to weigh financial incentives, staffing, and other initiatives to ensure the plan is financially feasible and aligned with the city’s fiscal capacity.
