Vermont Business Magazine Bill Shouldice, CEO of Vermont Teddy Bear and Chair of the Vermont Chamber Foundation, announced the launch of the Vermont Futures Project at the Vermont Economic Summit held today. “The Vermont Futures Project is a data-driven initiative to secure Vermont’s long-term economic health and provide opportunity for Vermonters,” Shouldice said in his remarks to the 200 business leaders and policy makers attending the conference. “It builds upon the dedication and strategic thinking of a diverse range of stakeholders that have contemplated what Vermont can and should be.”
Indicating that work on the Vermont Futures Project had already begun, the Vermont Chamber Foundation unveiled the first deliverable of the Vermont Futures Project—The Vermont Economic Dashboard, a snapshot of the State’s current economic indicators that gives business leaders, community members, policy makers, and the press a resource to understand the economic health of Vermont and a tool to measure and track progress in securing Vermont’s economic future.
Available on the Vermont Futures Project website, www.VTFuturesProject.org, the Vermont Economic Dashboard focuses on six pillars of the Vermont economy including innovation & entrepreneurs, workforce, and infrastructure. On the Executive Summary page of the website, each pillar is represented by a dashboard dial reflecting the Foundation’s assessment of the current state of that economic area.
In addition to reviewing the Vermont Economic Dashboard, the Vermont Chamber Foundation outlined the other key deliverables of the Vermont Futures Project: developing a long-term vision for a robust economy that provides opportunities for Vermonters and crafting specific policy recommendations to make the Foundation’s vision a reality.
Shouldice concluded his remarks with a call to action to the conference participants, “We need you to stand with us and make economic growth a reality.” Urging the audience to get involved he outlined three action steps people could take: spread the word, make a financial contribution, and stay informed and connected through www.VTFuturesProject.org.
About the Vermont Futures Project
Through leadership, research, and education, the Vermont Futures Project seeks to inform the conversation about Vermont’s economic future and demonstrate how economic growth contributes to Vermont’s vibrant communities and unique quality of life. For more information, please visit www.VTFuturesProject.org.
Source: Burlington, VT (January 8, 2016) — Vermont Chamber of Commerce