Community Listening & Stakeholder Mapping: Building the Coalition and Trust
Data and planning give Grant County the tools to move from shared vision to measurable action. But there is a quieter ingredient that determines whether those plans actually hold: trust—and trust is built through listening.
Federal economic development guidance is blunt about this: a strong strategy is not a one-time document. A Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) is the federally recognized planning framework that guides how regions like ours invest in jobs, infrastructure, and resilience. It is meant to be the result of a continuing planning process with broad-based and diverse public and private sector participation, and it functions as a performance-based roadmap for resilience.
That's the "why" behind community listening. Now here's the "how."
Listening Is the Work
Economic development is often judged by outcomes: jobs, investment, wages, new housing, improved infrastructure. But the day-to-day work looks more like coordination—aligning the people who own pieces of the puzzle.
That view is built into national practice. The Economic Recovery Corps (ERC) focuses on accelerating recovery in distressed communities—not by parachuting in projects, but by connecting organizations with the talent and capacity to do economic development differently.
Translation: the work is not just projects—it's capacity, relationships, and follow-through.
IEDC's professional ethics reinforce that, too. Economic development leaders are expected to keep the community, elected officials, boards, and other stakeholders informed, maintain confidentiality appropriately, and assure equality of opportunity for all segments of the community.
Listening is how we live out those commitments in public.
What a Stakeholder Map Is
A stakeholder map is a structured inventory of everyone who has a stake in an outcome—organized so we can engage them fairly, consistently, and before plans are finalized. In practice, it is a document or spreadsheet that makes the "who" visible and forces two honest questions:
Who is affected by the outcome (or will be affected later)? Who can help (or hinder) that outcome—and why?
CEDS Central describes the CEDS stakeholder mapping process as locally based and regionally driven, engaging with a range of partners including community members, the private sector, educational institutions, tribes, and other stakeholders.
That structure is what helps us move past the usual suspects and reach the people who are most affected but least likely to show up on their own.
How Grant County Organizes Its Stakeholders
Because Grant County is a countywide ecosystem—not one neighborhood, one town, or one industry—it helps to start with countywide "lanes":
Local government and planning bodies (county + cities/towns)
Employers and entrepreneurs (small business to major employers)
Education and training partners (K–12, CTE, colleges)
Nonprofits and community-based organizations (housing, childcare, youth, health)
Utilities, real estate, and redevelopment (site readiness + reuse)
Media and storytellers (trusted messengers)
Residents (including groups that are often underrepresented)
The Grant County Economic Growth Council already has a living example of this kind of cross-sector coalition: the Growth Council's partners include organizations working on business growth, quality of place, workforce, and philanthropy—and in some cases sharing infrastructure and tools like Data Drive.
Inside the Process: How a Stakeholder Map Comes Together
The Hague Academy—which trains local leaders globally on Local Economic Development—starts with a foundational principle: LED is a participatory process. Step one is to identify and convene stakeholders, and specifically target groups often not included, because full representation is what makes the process legitimate and meaningful.
Here is what that looks like when we apply it to Grant County:
Start with the goal, not the meeting
Before scheduling anything, the first question is: what are we actually working toward? A corridor plan, a workforce initiative, a site readiness push, a downtown redevelopment package — the goal gives us a starting point.
Without a clearly defined goal and objectives, it's impossible to identify who needs to be in the room or what kind of engagement fit
2. List stakeholders by impact and influence
From there, we work through two lists:
People and groups most impacted by the goal, even if they have low formal power.
People and groups with high influence over the outcome, even if they aren't directly impacted.
Then comes a third, and arguably the most important: the voices we have to intentionally seek out. Young adults, shift workers, renters, small businesses, residents without easy internet access — the people least likely to show up on their own but most likely to feel the effects.
3. Organize them in a simple matrix
A practical way to visualize this is a basic influence-and-impact grid:
| Group | Example | |
|---|---|---|
| High Influence | High Impact | County / City Decision Makers |
| High Influence | Lower Impact | Regional Partners / Funders |
| Lower Influence | High Impact | Residents in Affected Area |
| Lower Influence | Lower Impact | General Public |
The point of the matrix is not to rank people — it's to guard against a common failure: hearing only from the loudest or most convenient voices.
4. Define roles and expectations before engagement begins
The Hague Academy makes this explicit: early in the process, stakeholder roles need to be defined, so cooperation and coordination are clear.
In plain language, that means every participant should understand what kind of engagement they're part of:
Informing — sharing updates and context.
Consulting — gathering feedback on options.
Co-designing — working together to shape options while they're still forming.
Deciding — participating directly in the outcome.
When people across all of Grant County's stakeholder lanes, from local government and planning bodies to residents, understand their role in the process, engagement becomes productive instead of frustrating.
5. Build contact paths that fit real life
This is where local infrastructure matters. Grant County already has engagement channels people recognize: public meetings and planning materials through county offices, local town councils with scheduled public commentary, and city boards and commissions.
Ideally, stakeholder outreach meets people where they already are, not just in formal settings, but through the networks, organizations, and communication channels they already trust.
6. Track what was heard, and publish what changed
Trust collapses when input disappears into a black box. The most reliable trust-builder is a straightforward recap: here's what you said, here's what we did, and here's what we can't do yet — and why.
Closing the loop is not simply good manners; it is the mechanism by which public engagement earns lasting credibility.
A Starter Stakeholder List for Grant County
Stakeholder mapping is most effective when it begins with the obvious anchor organizations and then expands to the people who are usually missed.
Here are local anchors (examples, not a complete list):
County + planning/public meetings infrastructure: Grant County Area Plan, comprehensive plan materials, public meeting information
City leaders and boards: City of Marion government and boards/commissions
Towns with structured public comment opportunities: e.g., Matthews Town Council public comment process
Business and community connector organizations: Greater Grant County (formed via collaboration among former chambers; emphasizes community interaction, information, and connection)
Community philanthropy and civic infrastructure: Community Foundation of Grant County (grants, strategic vision resources, Data Drive link)
Youth and talent pipeline partners: Project Leadership (work-based experiences; mission focused on equitable access to education and careers)
Place-making and local pride organizations: Our Town–Upland (501(c)(3) supporting community projects, collaborative grants, and events tied to the local economy)
Trusted local storytellers: Chronicle-Tribune, Grant Connected (student-run news site focused on Grant County; overseen by IWU's student media team), The Echo (Taylor University publication and staff), Radio Classics, Channel 27 News and Entertainment, and Ed Bounds Live
Workforce and credentials: GRCC (career and technical education, certifications, dual credit)
Choosing the Right Engagement Method for Message Complexity
Not every topic needs a town hall. Not every topic should be a survey. The key is matching the engagement method to the complexity and stakes of the message.
A widely used tool for this is the IAP2 Spectrum of Public Participation, which defines five levels—Inform, Consult, Involve, Collaborate, Empower—each with a public participation goal and a specific promise to the public.
Here's the short version, translated for economic development:
| If the message is... | Use this level | What we are promising |
|---|---|---|
| Simple update (low controversy) | Inform | "We will keep you informed." |
| You need feedback on options | Consult | “We will listen, acknowledge concerns, and explain how input influenced decisions.” |
| Complex tradeoffs, still forming options | Involve | “We will work with you so concerns are consistently understood and considered.” |
| High stakes, shared ownership needed | Collaborate | “We’ll look to you for advice and incorporate recommendations to the maximum extent possible.” |
| Community should decide directly | Empower | “We will implement what you decide.” |
The key is this: a participation process succeeds or fails based on whether we keep the promise appropriate to the level we chose.
The Facilitator’s Job: Protect Trust, Not Take Sides
One example of an opportunity for public participation is listening sessions, which can either lower the temperature or raise it. Good facilitation is not about "managing" people. It's about creating a structure where people can disagree without the meeting turning into a referendum on someone's character.
A strong local example is the Growth Council's reporting on the Exit 255 Listening Sessions, where the stated purpose was "not to promote a predetermined outcome," but to hear from the public before next steps were considered—especially when opinions differed on opportunity, infrastructure, land use impacts, and long-term community character.
A practical facilitation team for Grant County sessions usually includes:
A neutral facilitator (keeps time, enforces norms)
A "facts" presenter (brief overview of what's known and unknown)
A note-taker (captures themes, not names)
A local host (community leader or partner org that improves turnout)
A follow-up owner (the person responsible for publishing what was heard)
This is also where International EDC ethics matter: keep stakeholders informed, maintain confidentiality appropriately, and ensure equality of opportunity in participation.
Where This Connects: Indiana's Region-Led Framework and Forge ECI
The principles outlined in this post — listening before acting, mapping stakeholders broadly, matching engagement methods to the stakes involved — are not just best practices from a textbook. They reflect the direction Indiana is actively heading.
In 2025, Governor Braun issued two executive orders that reshaped how the state approaches economic development. One established standards around wage growth and job quality. The other formalized a region-led model, empowering Indiana's communities to develop and execute their own strategies for growth rather than waiting for top-down direction from Indianapolis. The Indiana Economic Development Corporation, now operating under the state's Office of Commerce, validated the 15 READI regions as Indiana's official economic planning framework — backed by independent research from Indiana University's Business Research Center confirming that these regions, built through local collaboration, provide a strong foundation for economic and workforce development.
What does that mean in practice? It means the state is asking regions to lead, and leadership requires exactly the kind of stakeholder engagement this post describes.
Each of Indiana's 15 READI regions is developing a strategic plan to guide investment and execution with state support. Those plans don't emerge from a single office. They require the same cross-sector coordination outlined in our stakeholder map: employers, local government, education and training partners, nonprofits, and residents all contributing to a shared direction. The state's approach through READI has already leveraged more than $19 billion in private-sector investment, with every awarded dollar generating a 20-to-1 return; results that only happen when community buy-in is real, not performative.
Grant County's Regional Partner: Forge ECI
Grant County doesn't operate in isolation within this framework. We are one of nine counties in the East Central Indiana region served by Forge ECI (formerly the East Central Indiana Regional Partnership), the region's leading economic development marketing and business attraction organization. Forge ECI works in collaboration with local economic development organizations like the Growth Council and with the Indiana EDC to attract new investment, support existing industries, and strengthen quality of life, place, and opportunity across the region.
Through the original READI initiative, the eight-county ECI region developed the Forge Your Path Regional Development Plan — a product of input from hundreds of organizations and businesses representing nearly 400,000 residents across 67 cities and towns. That plan has driven $15 million in direct READI investment, leveraging over $135 million in total funding across 19 projects covering broadband, childcare, infrastructure, arts and culture, recreation, and talent attraction. The ECI Talent Collaborative, spearheaded by Ball State University, brings together stakeholders from across the region to pursue shared goals in talent attraction, workforce development, and equitable access to education and careers.
This is what stakeholder mapping and community listening look like when they scale beyond a single county, and it's the model Indiana is building on as regional strategic plans take shape in 2026.
Alignment, Not Duplication
The Growth Council's approach to stakeholder engagement is designed to align with this state and regional framework — not duplicate it. When we talk about identifying who is affected by a goal, building engagement paths that fit real life, and closing the loop on what was heard, we are describing the same participatory process the state expects from its regions. The national references cited earlier in this post — IEDC's code of ethics, the CEDS planning framework, the IAP2 participation spectrum — provide the professional foundation. Indiana's region-led model and Forge ECI provide the structure through which Grant County puts those principles into action.
For more on Indiana's economic development framework: iedc.in.gov For more on Forge ECI and East Central Indiana's regional work: forgeeci.com
Where People Fit In
Economic development works best when participation starts early — before plans are finalized, not after. The Growth Council's role in that process is as a connector: supporting business growth, collaborating with local government, education, and community partners, and linking residents to the boards, organizations, events, and volunteer opportunities where their input matters.
There are two questions that consistently shape better outcomes when more people weigh in on them:
Who is missing from the conversation? Every stakeholder map has gaps. The most valuable input often comes from someone identifying a voice or perspective that hasn't been included — and explaining why it matters.
What matters most to protect — and what matters most to grow? Grant County's next decade will involve tradeoffs. The earlier those priorities are surfaced by the people who live and work here, the stronger the foundation for decisions that hold up over time.
Participation in economic development is not about agreeing with every proposal. It's about contributing perspective early enough to shape the process — and trusting that when the loop is closed, what was heard will be accounted for publicly. That cycle of input, transparency, and follow-through is how trust gets built, one conversation at a time.
Trust isn't built in a single meeting. It's built by showing up, asking the right questions, and every time publishing what you heard.
FAQ
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It’s a structured way to gather public perspectives—especially before major investments, zoning, infrastructure, workforce, or redevelopment decisions—so strategy reflects real needs and tradeoffs.
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A public meeting is often a required legal notice; it creates a record. A listening session is designed to gather input before decisions are made. The key difference is intent: a public meeting informs the community about what is happening; a listening process asks the community what should happen. The two are not interchangeable and conflating them is a common trust-eroder.
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Because without one, engagement tends to default to whoever already has time, access, and comfort with public processes leading to blind spots and avoidable mistrust.
Sources and Data Notes
Code of Federal Regulations. (n.d.). Comprehensive economic development strategy (CEDS). https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-13/chapter-III/part-303/subpart-B/section-303.7
Economic Recovery Corps. (n.d.). Economic Recovery Corps. https://economicrecoverycorps.org/
International Economic Development Council. (n.d.). IEDC code of ethics. https://www.iedconline.org/pages/code-of-ethics/
CEDS Central. (n.d.). CEDS Central. https://www.cedscentral.com/
Grant County Economic Growth Council. (n.d.). Collabora Data Drive. https://www.grantcounty.com/news/collabora-data-drive
The Hague Academy for Local Governance. Five steps to designing a local economic development strategy. https://thehagueacademy.com/news/five-steps-to-designing-a-local-economic-development-strategy/
State of Indiana. Grant County. https://www.in.gov/counties/grant/
International Association for Public Participation. IAP2 spectrum of public participation. https://cdn.ymaws.com/www.iap2.org/resource/resmgr/pillars/iap2_spectrum_2024.pdf
Grant County Economic Growth Council. Exit 255 listening sessions: A community conversation about Grant County's future. https://www.grantcounty.com/news/exit-255-listening-sessions-a-community-conversation-about-grant-countys-future
City of Marion. City of Marion. https://cityofmarion.in.gov/
Town of Matthews. Town government. https://townofmatthews.com/town-government/
Greater Grant County. About the chamber. https://www.gogreatergrant.org/about-the-chamber/
Community Foundation of Grant County. Give to Grant County. https://givetogrant.org/
Project Leadership. Project Leadership. https://www.projectleadership.org/
Our Town Upland. About us. https://www.ourtownuplandindiana.org/home/about-us
Grant Connected. About. https://grantconnected.net/about/
The Echo. About. https://www.theechonews.com/page/about
Grant Regional Career Center. Grant Regional Career Center. https://grcc.marion.k12.in.us/
Grant County Economic Growth Council. Get involved. https://www.grantcounty.com/get-involved
Indiana Economic Development Corporation. (n.d.). https://www.iedc.in.gov
Forge ECI (formerly East Central Indiana Regional Partnership). https://forgeeci.com
Forge ECI. READI 1.0. https://forgeeci.com/readi-1-0/
Forge ECI. ECI Talent Collaborative. https://forgeeci.com/ecitc/
Indiana Business Research Center. (2025). The case for READI regions as official economic planning regions. Indiana University. https://www.ibrc.indiana.edu/studies/READI-Regions-Assessment-Report.pdf