CAN DO, Inc., Greater Hazleton’s economic development organization, released its strategic plan on Tuesday during its board meeting.

CAN DO President Kevin O’Donnell said, “To continue our progress as we move toward a future in which we will encounter different challenges, we set forward to determine a strategic plan for our organization. Although we recognize that we live in a rapidly changing world, we wanted to create a strategic plan to let others know the direction we are taking and hold ourselves accountable to staying on course.”

The strategic plan was developed in conjunction with consulting firm Tweed-Weber of Reading. Throughout the process, Tweed-Weber conducted extensive research of Greater Hazleton and sought input from community leaders, focusing on both qualitative data (personal perceptions, descriptions and meaning) and quantitative data (numbers and statistics).

The plan includes goals and strategies for meeting those goals as CAN DO continues its work to help improve the local economy and increase prosperity for the Hazleton area’s residents. In order to evaluate the effectiveness of and progress toward the goals of the plan, CAN DO will track certain measures of success, with the organization’s leadership team reviewing results on a regular basis.

Strategies identified through the planning process include supporting entrepreneurs, marketing the area to selected industries, making workforce development efforts, generating recurring revenue and advocating for downtown improvement.

CAN DO Chairman Lew Dryfoos said, “Both our volunteer board of directors and the CAN DO staff are excited about where this plan can take us in the upcoming years, and we have already begun to implement several of its action steps. We plan to keep our board and the community informed of our progress in achieving the goals and objectives of our strategic plan on a regular basis.”  

As a result of the strategic planning process, CAN DO has updated its mission statement. The new mission statement is “to improve the quality of life in the Greater Hazleton area through the creation and retention of a full range of employment opportunities.”