Organizational Structure

Advancing Places: Strategic Planning for Your Organization

Place management organizations vary from city to city whether it be in size, structure, funding or implementation strategies, but ultimately performance needs to align with the downtown and its stakeholders. Hear from three seasoned professionals and the work they are doing to keep their strategic plan front and center.  

Advancing Places: Strategic Visioning & Work Plan Management

Building and implementing a strategic plan that aligns with your organizational values can be one of the biggest challenges for an organization. In the world of place management, the process is made even more complex by the presence of a variety of stakeholders, outside factors and limited resources. Where should you begin? What tools should you use?

Rethinking Your Organization and Informing PBID Renewal

Coming out of the pandemic, all businesses are rethinking their business model, including place management organizations. This presentation examined how strategic planning for place management organizations is also translating into the renewal of PBIDs, the primary source of funding for many downtowns in the west. The results may surprise you as illustrated by two downtown organizations that are innovating, and pushing PBID boundaries, including aggressive increases in funding.

Advancing Places: Place Management Membership Programs

Place management organizations generate revenue from various sources. In this session, we will focus on the membership component of organizations and hear from three different organizations to learn how they are approaching membership. Walk away with a better understanding of what other place management organizations are doing and gain new ideas to help with your membership program.

IDA Leadership in Place Management Certification Program Launch

After years of work to codify our profession, IDA’s Professional Development Committee, and newly created Leadership in Place Management (LPM) Commission, has launched the premier certification program for urban place management professionals. Join this session and learn more about the program and why it’s important to the urban place management profession and industry.

Planning for a New Downtown Management Organization

In the late 2000s, the City of Tulsa, being dissatisfied with the management of the downtown improvement district, disbanded the private downtown management organization in place by terminating the long-time improvement district. In 2018, a new mayoral administration evaluated the existing downtown management structure and determined that a public-private partnership model should be explored. DCC staff developed a planning scope and timeline to convene stakeholders and partners for the process.

BallstonConnect

As our organization was not formed with residents in mind, we had to think strategically about how we could best encourage and engage our growing number of multi-family properties and tenants. We determined that to secure the long-term sustainability of the BID, we must work in partnership with our multi-family owners and inspire them contribute resources and perspective to the BID. We developed BallstonConnect Club, an all-inclusive, membership program now covering over 3,000 residents growing!

Standard Contract Negotiation with the City

In 2014, the NYC BID Association, Small Business Services and City Law department produced a uniform contract agreement, which can be tailored to specific conditions via the exhibits tied to the contract. Beyond creating standardized language for contracting with the City of New York, the process also created greater cohesion among BIDs with differing budgets and resources as they worked together. By 2020, all 76 BIDs in the Association will be on the new standard contract.

Making the Switch: Branding the Organization

In 2011, the Downtown Denver Partnership acknowledged the need for a cohesive brand for downtown Denver and embarked on a branding campaign that encouraged residents, visitors, and employees to enjoy all that downtown Denver had to offer. The downtown Denver brand was already beginning to surface organically as the city emerged from an economic downturn, and the Partnership embarked on creating a strategic marketing strategy to more intentionally encapsulate the place brand.

Public Art and Authenticity: From Beauty to Community, from Pretty to Political

Many place management organizations that began with “clean and safe” (and viewed public art as merely a re-branding tool) are now becoming sophisticated curators of culture, and serving as a counterpoint to the homogenization that often grows from economic success. This panel explored the tools for nurturing genuine partnerships with cultural organizations from different communities in a way that empowers lesser-known artists, connects disparate communities and develops an authentic urban core.

Peering into the Crystal Ball: Adapting to a Changing Climate

Addressing sustainability and resilience is critical to the future of our cities. Urban management districts are uniquely positioned to implement key strategies, from grassroots efforts to more large-scale planning initiatives. Learn how several downtowns across North America are catalyzing and advancing sustainability in their districts.

Optimizing Operational Efficiency and Reducing Your Carbon Footprint

Global warming is a real concern and each of us has a responsibility to limit our carbon footprint – especially businesses. Typically, improvement districts use gasoline-powered equipment to augment manual labor cleaning efforts. Panelists will introduce alternative ways to achieve your clean and safe goals, and make a case for alternative options related to equipment that will reduce your carbon footprint and operating costs while improving efficiencies.

The Power of International Partnership

Ahead of Mayflower 400, the downtown orgs in Baltimore, MD and Southampton, UK have “twinned” with each other after meeting at the World Towns Leadership Summit in Berlin. With a mirrored history of waterfront regeneration, the two organizations have identified common themes and shared, knowledge, ideas, staff, and artists. The Japan Area Management Network will review its new collaboration with Singapore and South Korea on common issues and opportunities resulting from the summit in Tokyo.

Dupont Circle BID Brand Launch & Implementation

The Dupont Circle BID catalyzed renewal of the area’s public infrastructure through $25 million in streetscape upgrades and an innovative plaza deck over an avenue dividing the retail core. Flowing from Dupont Circle, it will be an exciting, programmable gathering space for the entire city. Its marketing roll-out includes a content-rich website, social media platforms, colorful street light banners, monthly newsletters, transit advertising, a neighborhood guide, and materials for retail brokers.

Tyler Norris Master Talk

Tyler Norris, MDiv, is an entrepreneur and founder of over a dozen businesses and social ventures. His three decades of service in the public, private and non-profit sectors have focused on population health, community vitality, and equitable prosperity. Currently, he serves as vice president, Total Health Partnerships at Kaiser Permanente, where he helps lead the implementation of “anchor institution” work.

Kate Joncas Master Talk

Seattle Mayor Murray named Kate Joncas Deputy Mayor of Operations in June, 2014. Previously, Kate had been the President and CEO of the Downtown Seattle Association since 1994. Kate has over 30 years’ experience in downtown revitalization in the private, public and nonprofit sectors in communities around the world. Ms. Joncas is the Past Chair of the International Downtown Association.

Neighborhood 360°: Planning for the Future of New York City Commercial Districts

In order to begin the deployment of what is now known as N360°, SBS developed a strategic public-private partnership with LISC NYC and Citi Community Development, aided by technical assistance from Larisa Ortiz Associates, to develop an assessment tool and analytical framework — a “Commercial District Needs Assessment” (CDNA) — that would help SBS to engage community partners in evaluating existing conditions and identifying needs of a commercial district.

Effective Leadership and the Toolkit to Get it Done

This workshop will explore ways to maximize your staff and productivity, manage pressure and make decisions about new projects and priority setting. We will focus on Board development, strengthening the effectiveness of committees and ways to support and bolster the Executive Director and staff of your organization. You will leave with the tools to help explain the role of the Board versus the role of the staff and discuss some of the challenges of leading in today’s business climate.

Strategic Planning for Downtowns

Whether it’s preparing for P/BID formation or renewal, or to refresh a downtown management organization that needs to diversify its funding and approach, strategic planning is an essential tool to guide downtown managers and board members. This session will provide an overview on the benefits of strategic planning for downtown organizations, and then focus on two recent strategic planning efforts undertaken for the Old Pasadena Management District and the iconic Santa Monica Pier.

Big Spring Partners Advisory Panel: Renewed Mission and Leadership

IDA’s Advisory Panels are a time-tested way to explore new ideas, solve difficult problems, and rally the board, staff and community around priority projects or topics. This panel focused on tailoring a fresh mission and vision for the downtown organization while also providing guidelines for how to hire and lead the organization. The report detail’s the panel’s findings and recommendations.

Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership Advisory Panel: Strategic Visioning

IDA’s Advisory Panels are a time-tested way to explore new ideas, solve difficult problems, and rally the board, staff and community around priority projects or topics. The CHDP was looking to refine their organization’s mission and community vision ahead of their search for a new executive director. The report details the panel’s findings and recommendations.

Huntington Beach Downtown BID Advisory Panel: Visioning and Organizational Restructuring

IDA’s Advisory Panels are a time-tested way to explore new ideas, solve difficult problems, and rally the board, staff and community around priority projects or topics. This panel focused on creating a fresh strategic vision and a restructuring of the management organization to improve efficiency. The report details the panel’s findings and recommendations.

City of San Antonio Advisory Panel: Visioning for a Changing Downtown

IDA’s Advisory Panels are a time-tested way to explore new ideas, solve difficult problems, and rally the board, staff and community around priority projects or topics. This panel focused on helping the community and city government build a vision for downtown San Antonio as well as outlining the need for an organization to manage the downtown. The report details the panel’s findings and recommendations.

Good Governance: It may not be sexy, it’s the key to success

Governance is a constant work in progress, evolving and responding to changes in policy, regulation and the needs of volunteer Board/Commission members. NYC, Toronto and Chicago will share best practices of their BIDs/BIAs. While each city has approached governance differently, the three municipalities recognize that success of the districts relies heavily on good governance.

The Economic and Cultural Impact of Downtown University and College Campuses

Are you maximizing the potential of your downtown’s town/gown relationship? Across North America, downtowns and higher education are forging partnerships by embedding classrooms and campuses in the downtown core, producing an enhanced college experience for students and increased economic vitality for downtowns. This webinar’s presenters share their experiences with their own town/gown relationships.