Dakota County cities included in Redesign MN project
Session to be part of public television documentary
More than two dozen area leaders will gather at the Apple Valley Hayes Community and Senior Center tomorrow night to explore new ways to make state and local public services work better for citizens and tomorrow’s economy.
The event, called Redesigning MN, will bring together area residents of different perspectives – inlcuding business owners, local government innovators and others – to share their experiences with redesign and investigate new ways that they might work together to improve the community and its public services.
Redesigning MN is one of three events statewide convened by InCommons, an initiative of the Bush Foundation designed to empower leaders, spark conversations and share resources online and face-to-face. The events are based on a Twin Cities Public Television documentary called Redesigning MN that premiered Friday, April 13.
TPT will film Thursday’s session and citizen perspectives for upcoming programs as part of its eight-part series exploring “redesign” in Minnesota. The series is funded by the Bush Foundation.
According to event organizers, “redesign” is the application of new thinking and perspectives to existing public services – including transportation, housing, health programs, natural resource conservation – with a focus on outcomes expected rather than the current delivery processes and systems.
“Dakota County has a long history of exploring new and creative approaches to solving community problems,” said Dakota County Board Chairwoman Nancy Schouweiler in a press release. “Take, for example, the county’s prevention-focused approach to managing juvenile offenders. We’re always looking for smart, effective solutions that will preserve the outcomes our residents expect and at a greater value for the tax dollar. Redesigning MN is a great opportunity to explore these ideas with citizens from diverse perspectives, and I am pleased to be a part of the conversation.”
Leaders from the cities of Burnsville, Eagan, Apple Valley and Lakeville are invited to the session, which is not open to the public.
Similar events were held in Worthington and Brainerd. The communities were selected because of their depth of civic leadership and history of service sharing and collaboration, which event leaders hope will serve as a model for other communities.
“Our communities are facing unprecedented challenges that will require not only new service delivery approaches, but new, citizen-led strategies that harness existing community strengths in a coordinated and sustainable way for greater impact,” said Jeff Mortensen, of the Burnsville-based nonprofit 360 Communities, which is helping to coordinate the local event. “As an organization committed to strengthening communities, we engage diverse populations across sectors to involve them in problem-solving efforts across Dakota County. We are pleased to have provided this expertise to the Redesigning MN conversation.”
For more information about InCommons, or to connect with the initiative, go to www.InCommons.org. For more information about the documentary series, go to www.RedesigningMN.org.
– Tad Johnson
