In the creation of EfficientGovNow, we envisioned a program by which the citizens of Northeast Ohio could play an active role in the region’s economic future. We wanted to create an outlet by which people became more engaged in the day-to-day affairs of their local government; an outlet that raised awareness of the importance of cooperation in a time of great fiscal despair; an outlet that, if sustained, could restructure the way local governments operate in the region and increase the region’s economic competitiveness on a global scale. It’s no small task, and the work is not easy. But we hoped (and hope) that each individual citizen of Northeast Ohio will take us up on our call to action, and begin to think: “How CAN WE make this work? How CAN WE look beyond our immediate borders, and act in a way that is beneficial for the greater whole?”
So, what can you do? You can start by contacting your local mayor, councilperson, township trustee, school district official, etc. and encourage him/her to find a way to collaborate and apply for the $300,000 in available grants. If you’d like, you can use our letter template. Whatever method you use to connect with your officials is your choice – what is important is that you connect with them and encourage them to operate in a new way.
I welcome any/all feedback and encourage you to connect with us at any point throughout this process.
I’d like to second Mike’s call for encouraging elected officials to apply for funding. The early inquiries from around the region are very very promising – but it is vital that we bring forward a set of great ideas to the public in July. In addition to hearing the strong call from citizens to support collboration, the Fund has been hearing for some time from municipal officials who have said they have ideas for collaboration but lack the discretionary resources to pursue them. This is our attempt to bridge the public’s desire with the aspirations of our elected officials.
But it will only work if our elected officials know about the opportunity. We are trying to reach them in a variety of ways (email, snail mail, speeches, press coverage, phone calls) — BUT NOTHING WORKS SO WELL AS A PERSONAL APPEAL FROM A CONSTITUENT OR A FRIEND. Please help us out!