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30 | I NSIGH T • J a n u a r y 2 0 15 w w w . i n s i g h t o n b u s i n e s s . c o m ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT figure out the community's overall goals so everyone knows them and we can bring out all the great resources." e idea of GO-EDC emerged following a study the city of Oshkosh commissioned in 2012 to review the city's economic development policies and strategies. An ad hoc group formed to review the findings grew into the Greater Economic Development Commission, and as discussions continued, the idea of creating a non profit entity to develop a more strategic approach resulted in the formation of GO-EDC. ere is no intention for GO-EDC to replace any of the existing agencies, Wyman stressed, though Chamco will wind down and transfer many of its functions to the new agency. Chamco's board voted to direct its industrial development activities to GO-EDC, though it will still exist as a legal entity. e activities of other development groups such as the Chamber of Commerce and UW-Oshkosh will continue. "What we realized is we needed a centralized economic development 'one-stop' approach," says Oshkosh City Manager Mark Rohloff. "Now we can better leverage the collective resources of all the partners." e EDC board of directors includes representatives from the Chamber, the university, Fox Valley Technical College and public schools, as well as the surrounding towns and private businesses. Organized in May, bylaws were adopted in June and a strategic plan outlining the group's immediate goals was announced by August. Since then, GO-EDC has been recruiting staff, seeking funding and seeking inclusion from all the economic players in order to get a quick start to 2015. Included in the organization's three- year goals: » Complete, either directly or with partners, 150 company visits and calls annually » Increase existing business capital investment by $75 million » Help create 1,000 new jobs in the greater Oshkosh area » Provide a one-stop solution to economic development It's an ambitious agenda, but one that acting COO Brenda Hicks-Sorensen says is important for showing progress with investors, partners and the public. "We need to show them a way to measure results," she says. "at's an important part of the strategy." Hicks-Sorensen and Wyman recently accepted interim roles with the agency to provide time to find the right candidates to fill the critical CEO and COO positions. To be certain, some of the goals may be a stretch for an organization O N T H E W E B » www.go-edc.com Employee-Owners of Keller Offices in the Fox Cities, Madison, Milwaukee & Wausau 1.800.236.2534 l www.kellerbuilds.com Construction Excellence Since 1960