A Blueprint for Economic Resiliency and Reinvention in the Greater Charlottesville Region - A Blueprint for Economic Resiliency and Reinvention in ...
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A Blueprint for Economic Resiliency and
Reinvention in the Greater Charlottesville Region
A Blueprint for Economic
Resiliency and Reinvention
in the Greater Charlottesville Region
March 23, 2020 seemed like a
typical day in Charlottesville — but it wasn't.
From the Chamber of Commerce's offices at the The Greater Charlottesville region is fortunate to have
corner of 5th and Market, our small staff watched as an attractive physical setting and enviable ingredients
local businesses, entrepreneurs and institutions made for a vibrant economic base. But as residents, we did
preparations to shutter doors, close up shop or move consider whether this pandemic and its economic
online in anticipation of a rumored statewide stay-at- challenges were big enough to break us.
home order.
So, working virtually from kitchen tables, spare
At our weekly staff meeting, we had agreed that, just bedrooms, basements and garages, a small number
to be safe, we would each take home a week's worth of community, academic, and city, county, and state
of office necessities in case we found ourselves economic development leaders, came together to
working at home. exchange thoughts about how the region might
weather this storm.
Of course, when the Governor's order to shelter-in-
place came through, it quickly became apparent that Project Rebound is the product of those
one week of supplies would not be nearly enough for conversations.
what was ahead.
The idea was simple: Bring together anyone who was
The global public health crisis sparked by the interested to express their needs, voice concerns and
COVID-19 pandemic has severely impacted our share ideas on how to deal with the crisis.
community, our relationships, and our economy. In
Charlottesville and throughout Central Virginia, the Since the very nature of the pandemic prevented
shock of the past three months has taken lives too face-to-face interaction, we sent out an invitation
soon, upset ambitious plans, and exacerbated for community-wide virtual workshops. But we
pre-existing divisions and disinvestment. wondered — given the pressing personal and financial
needs faced by so many — would anyone even show
up?
2
The level of response was overwhelming. Within the The fourth section takes a more granular look at the
first hour, 20 acceptances had been received (which unique perspective of the eight sectors that play an
was good, because, we would have been happy with outsized role in the Charlottesville region's economy.
30). Then by the end of the day, 50 registrations.
When it was all said and done, more than 300 people This crisis is also an opportunity for reinvention.
had committed to participate. In the midst of the development of the report, the
As the virtual workshops began, ideas and killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police
experiences were shared, and concerns were raised. officer, and the national conversation, led by the
And while there were committed participants from Black Lives Matter movement, that it sparked,
various corners of the private, nonprofit and public only heightened the need to ensure the economic
sectors — it was also clear there were many voices, progress envisioned by this ongoing initiative is felt
equally bound by a commitment to the Charlottesville broadly — and especially by Charlottesville's African-
region's future, who were missing. Those able to American business community, many of whom have
participate were ready to be part of a solution and been systemically and historically shut out from the
to give the Chamber a chance to prove it was worthy benefits of economic expansion. In order to improve
of being a trusted convener — but more input was the Chamber's efforts to foster a more equitable and
needed. inclusive economy, the leadership of the Board of
Directors has voted to create an Equity Council to
We are thrilled to expand the conversation through develop best practices for programming, staffing and
this document. It compresses four weeks of community engagement.
introductory input from a small cross-section of our
community, multiple meetings with stakeholders, and Every attempt has been made to capture the
examples from outside the region as well. hundreds of ideas that surfaced during the
workshops. After this work of encapsulating the
Our goal is to build a blueprint for resiliency. input, we think there are some ideas that can
be immediately pursued and others that can be
The Project Rebound Blueprint document is divided prioritized with focused effort that considers impact,
into four sections. The first section sets the pre- equity and who should be involved.
pandemic baseline and shares the story of how we
came together to develop implementable ideas. Our intent is that this report is just one first step
The second section focuses on a dominant theme and that it will continue to evolve, expand the
expressed by many of the participants, specifically, conversation and contribute to the improvement
that economic recovery is only possible if we pursue of Charlottesville, Albemarle County and Central
a broad, inclusive effort to nurture confidence in our Virginia. If you would like to get involved please send
community. The third section details the range of an email to connect@cvillechamber.com.
ideas that could assist all elements of the community
and prioritizes them by what can have the quickest
impact.
Project Rebound Steering Committee
Elizabeth Cromwell, President and CEO Denise Herndon, Program Director for Economic Development
Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce University of Virginia
Chris Engel, Director of Economic Development Andrea Copeland-Whitsett, Director of Member Education
City of Charlottesville Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce
Roger Johnson, Economic Development Director Rachael Hobbs, Project Associate, Office of Economic Development, University
Albemarle County of Virginia
Pace Lochte , Assistant Vice President for Economic Development Ann Marie Hohenberger, Marketing and Communications
University of Virginia Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce
About this document Project Rebound Logo Design
The ideas and insight were gathered through virtual workshops, Bunmi Adeeko Collins, StickyNote Creative
one-on-one conversations and emailed comments. The vast stickynotecreative.com
majority of participants were from businesses and organizations bunmi@stickynotecreative.com
with a vested interest in the economic, social and environmental
well-being of Charlottesville and Albemarle County. Professionals
from KPMG synthesized this analysis and report from our Funding for this effort was made possible by GO
community conversations and direct feedback from many Virginia (www.govirginia.org)
participants. The committee's goal is to help implement actionable
solutions and to be intentional about expanding the spirit of
collaboration by soliciting additional input in the weeks and
months ahead. 3
Contents
8 14
How we started Where we are now
A virtual effort The challenge of confidence
The process for developing a Nurturing customer, business and workforce confidence amidst
community response to a unique uncertainty will be an ongoing need in order to build resiliency
crisis leveraged technology in a
big way
Customer Confidence
Creating a sense of safety
and reliability among consumers will vary
Business Confidence
Broad access to information, financial resources
and advice will be critical
Workforce Confidence
Adjusting to the new way of working requires
resources, transparency, quality and frequency
4
If you learn to use it right – the adversity – it will buy you a
ticket to a place you could not have gone any other way.
UVA Men's Basketball Coach Tony Bennett, after winning the NCAA national championship,
April 2019
24 34 How we will get there
Partnerships and Collaboration
What we will do The roadmap for implementation will require broad participation
Ideas to begin
Hundreds of ideas were 38 Sector-specific actions we can take
generated and we can start today
Reviving Small Business
Restarting the Hospitality and Tourism Engine
Leveraging the Strength of Anchor Institutions
Protecting the Arts and the Creative Economy
Supporting IT, Financial and Defense
Supporting Biotechnology, Manufacturing and
Food and Beverage Manufacturing
Rebuilding Nonprofit and Community Organizations
Preparing Vital Infrastructure
74 Opportunity Index
A comprehensive list of community-generated ideas
88 Appendix
Workshop Questions
Charlottesville MSA Indicators
5
This is our chance to restart and reinvent
Project Rebound is engaging business leaders to share
insights, identify challenges, and build actionable strategies to
restore the local economy in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.
When it arose in Winter 2019, the public health Project Rebound is an initiative to provide
emergency represented by COVID-19 presented information, resources, connection and guidance to
communities, families and businesses around local business
the world with an extraordinary challenge. From
In basketball, a "rebound" occurs when a player
personal celebrations to travel to commerce, many
possesses the ball after a missed shot.
of our assumptions and best-laid plans were upset.
How many missed shots, opportunities and
In Virginia, a statewide shelter-in-place order was
milestones have we experienced as a result of
issued in late March in order to slow the virus'
COVID-19?
spread. A major impact of the order was that many
businesses — including those in the Charlottesville But what matters at this moment of adversity is not
region — were forced to suddenly close their doors. just what we have missed, but how quickly we can
In early June 2020, the state issued guidance for pivot to take possession of the next opportunity.
the reopening of Virginia businesses. In that spirit, Project Rebound is more than just an
The challenge going forward is twofold: to return effort to “bounce back". It is about taking control to
the economy to a vibrant state after so much change the long term direction of the game.
disruption and amidst public health uncertainty and The ideas are presented here as an iterative, work-
to use this moment of adversity to nurture a more in-progress meant to spark action and discussion
resilient and inclusive community. to support the economic well-being of the City of
Charlottesville, Albemarle County and Central Virginia.
• Will our community be the first to rise to the
challenge?
• Will we be the first to anticipate what comes next?
What we do from here is up to our collective team —
and that includes you.
Can we safely restart
local business
and also use the
adversity of this
moment to nurture
a more resilient and
inclusive economy?
6
This is just the beginning:
Five things to know about Project Rebound
Succesful implementation of the ideas in the
Blueprint will occur over time in order to nurture
How you can help the team
1
consumer, business and workforce confidence
Among the many ideas that were proposed, this Join the effort
document recommends starting with a limited This will be an iterative
subset of six ideas that addresses the need for: process. Please join our
(1) authoritative safety protocols, (2) trustworthy mailing list at
information sharing and ways to access resources, bit.ly/ReboundSubscribe for
(3) facilitating access to testing, (4) working with future conversations and
government on emergency policies (5) continued community actions
inclusive conversation and (6) a buy-local initiative.
Know the guidelines
The full index of ideas is a list of tangible actitivies Start by downloading the
that businesses, individuals and organizations should safety toolkit from
www.cvillechamber.com
2
take on in partnership or collaboration with peers
Designated as "Opportunity Index" solutions, all of Buy Local
the concepts discussed by the workshop participants Participate in the Buy Local
have been memorialized in order to assist in future campaigns described on
planning by community, institutional, and private page 78
sector organizations.
Ask for help
The online portal envisioned
This Project Rebound Blueprint document represents on page 80 will be your
the participation of hundreds of Charlottesville connection
region residents — but more need to be involved
Over the course of four weeks, 300 members of the Leverage your strengths
3
community participated in virtual, online workshops Let us know if you have
to discuss the challenges businesses and institutions a skill that could aid the
are facing due to the pandemic and share ideas on cause by emailing connect@
how to adjust to a new environment where consumer, cvillechamber.com
workforce and business confidence is low. More
voices will be invited to participate in the weeks and
months ahead.
A focus on equity and inclusivity will be an ongoing part
of future conversations and execution
4 To ensure the full spectrum of perspectives is part of the process, Project Rebound
will continue to refine the ideas based on input from a broader cross section of the
business community and has embedded each of the proposed solutions with action
items designed to ensure that the economic rebound occurs for as many businesses
and business owners as possible.
5
The Chamber proposes to serve as a steward, convener and enabler for the ideas
represented in the document
As a small organization, the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce will position
its staff as the stewards and a central point of contact for the Project Rebound effort on
behalf of community partners and organizations who are engaged in implementing ideas.
7
How we started A virtual process to develop a community response to a unique crisis 8
To build a strategic and aspirational response to the pandemic,
community members came together virtually to connect, share
information and discuss actionable strategies to move forward.
9
How we started
In the midst of an unprecedented public health emergency, Project
Rebound brought together technology and tested facilitation
techniques to start a conversation on how Central Virginia might
recover and renew itself from the economic downturn.
In May 2020, the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce and partners convened a series of
community online workshops to explore the path forward for businesses, institutions and organizations when
the statewide shelter-in-place order was lifted and for the recovery efforts in the coming months and years.
Designated as "Project Rebound", the organizing committee solicited feedback from residents, business
owners and community leaders from across Charlottesville, Albemarle County and the region. We opened
topical workgroups to the community and to specific economic sectors. Tapping the expertise within our
community, Project Rebound asked the University of Virginia's Office of Organizational Excellence to design
and facilitate the industry-specific teams and three community conversations in partnership with the Project
Rebound Steering Committee and Team co-leads.
TEAM CO-LEADS
Protecting the Arts and Creative Economy Subgroup Co-Leads for IT, Financial, Defense:
Chris Eure, The Paramount Theater Adrian Felts, Signature Science
Justin Reid, Virginia Humanities Rod Gentry, Albemarle County Economic
Development Authority
Restarting the Hospitality & Tourism Engine
Courtney Cacatian, Charlottesville Albemarle Convention & Rebuilding Nonprofit & Community Organizations
Visitors Bureau (Self-facilitated)
Russ Cronberg, The Boar's Head Resort Charlene Green, Piedmont Housing Alliance
Ryan Jacoby, Center for Nonprofit Excellence
Reviving Small Businesses
Yolunda Harrell, New Hill Development Corp. Subgroup Co-Leads for Biotechnology, Manufacturing,
Rebecca Haydock, Central Virginia SBDC Food & Beverage Manufacturing:
Nikki Hastings, CvilleBioHub
Assessing Key Industry Clusters Hunter Smith, Champion Hospitality Group
Helen Cauthen, Central Virginia Partnership
for Economic Development Leveraging Strengths of Anchor Institutions
Chris Engel, City of Charlottesville Office Jonathan Davis, Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital
of Economic Development Frank Friedman, Piedmont Virginia Community College
Preparing Vital Infrastructure
Chip Boyles, Thomas Jefferson
Planning District Commission
When being recruited to co-lead one of the Project Rebound
teams, it was promised that I would be in good hands with the
pros at UVA. Wow! Was that the truth! Sarah Collie and her
team made the virtual engagements simple, lively, productive
and fun. In particular, Sarah’s expert facilitation skills, casual
confidence and easy-going demeanor were all the key to the
success of the sessions.
- Doug Walker, Deputy County Executive for Albemarle County
10Four critical components of the Project Rebound facilitation process were essential to eliciting valuable
insights from a diverse group of participants who did not necessarily know each other.
Adherence to Key Design Consistent Meetings
Principles
All team meetings and community sessions were There was a foundational, consistent design of all
grounded in the following design principles. team meetings, and the Nonprofit & Community
Organization team self-facilitated.
• Engage all in every • Design similar
meeting sessions, and tailor as The purpose of the first meeting was
• Provide opportunities needed for a specific to glean relevant insights and learnings
to build upon ideas and sector to-date that may be transferrable and
tap into the collective • Acknowledge that applicable to re-starting the economy
wisdom of groups there are constraints and to generate initial ideas about how
(e.g. timeline, to successfully and safely re-open the
• Promote cross-
participation of Charlottesville region's economy.
pollination of thinking
and ideas members, etc.) and
have a bias for action
• Focus on positives, The purpose of the second meeting was
opportunities and to build upon and synthesize the inputs
innovations from the first meeting, website input, and
community forums and define actionable
steps to address sector needs, as well
as to identify potential new approaches,
partnerships, and collaborations.
Guided Facilitation Accurately Captured
Data
Several "Liberating Structures" (www. All meetings were conducted through Zoom video
liberatingstructures.com) were adapted for this conferencing.
project by the facilitators: Data were recorded through three ways: (1)
Impromptu Networking participants typing responses in Chat, (2)
A tactic to rapidly share summaries from small group breakout room
challenges and expectations and discussions entered into Chat by one person per
build new connections in pairs group, and (3) an assigned scribe in small group
breakout room discussions who captured input on
Conversation Cafe a template
A tactic to cross-pollinate small
groups and rounds of dialogue
All qualitative data were recorded verbatim and
1-2-4-all provided to KPMG for data analysis and synthesis
A tactic to rapidly generate ideas and build for development of this report.
upon each other's ideas for better ideas
"Mad Tea"
A tactic to provoke a set of individual
reflections and insights and set the
context for action 11Team Participants
More than 300 people contributed to the Project Rebound effort through focused industry workshops
and broader community engagement in May 2020. Going forward, Project Rebound's intent is to
expand the conversation with increasingly inclusive input and participation.
Protecting the Arts Team:
Alan Yost Greene, County Economic Development
Ellen Joy, Alakazam Toys
James Newman, Witherspoon Analytics
and Creative Community Alison Dickie, albemarle Magazine James Watson, jm watson group
Andre Xavier, Cville Travel Janet Driscoll Miller, Marketing Mojo
Co-Leads: Andrew Centofante, North American Sake Brewery Jeanne McCusker, Home Instead Senior Care
Chris Eure, The Paramount Theater Anton Dagner, Ambassador Limosine Joan Fenton, Downtown Business Association of
Justin Reid, Virginia Humanities Brian Schornberg, Keswick Vineyards Charlottesville
Brooke McCauley, Fairfield Inn Downtown Joyce Robbins, Robbins Staffing
Team: Collean Laney, Three Notch'd Brewery Keith Wilson, UVA
Alan Goffinski, The Bridge PAI Cynthia Chiles, Crown Orchard Lee Elberson, Clayborne Education
Anne Hunter, Live Arts Deb Manzari, Century 21 Leigh Townsend, JW Townsend Landscapes
Boomie Pedersen, The Hamner Theater Debbie Kaplan, The Graduate Hotel Lexi Hutchins, Greenthumb Consulting
Charlotte Cole, Orange Downtown Alliance Derek Bond, The Melting Pot Libby Edwards-Allbaugh, The Tax Ladies
David Perry, Oratorio Society Ellen Christie, Easton Porter Group Megan Hillary, My Dance Shoppe
Deborah White, Batten Institute George Hodson, Veritas Winery Michael King, Redline Construction
at UVA Darden School of Business Greg MacDonald, Michie Tavern Mike Bender, Elevate Data
Jamal Millner, Music Resource Center Heather Hill, City of Charlottesville Paul Beyer, Tom Tom Foundation
Jane Goodman, Yellow Cardinal Studio Ian Glomski, Vitae Spirits Distillery Quinton Beckham, Keller Williams/ CAAR
Jane Kulow, VA Festival of the Book James King, King Family Vineyard Quinton Harrell, HUB Cville
Jody Kielbasa, Virginia Film Festival Jason Ness, City of Charlottesville Office of Economic Ralph Salierno, Monticello Media
Jon Lohman, Virginia Folklife Program Development Robert Chisholm, BB&T
Kevin McFadden, Poet & Book Artist/Virginia Jay Stafford, Staybridge Suites Rose Deal, Culpeper County Economic Development
Humanities Jeanne McCusker, Home Instead Senior Care Rudy Lee Garcia, Fluvanna Chamber
Kevin McRoberts, McBob Productions Jennifer Bryerton, Ivy Life & Style Media Sarah Mendoza, PVCC Workforce Services
Kristen Chiacchia, second street gallery Jennifer Mayo, Omni Hotel Sarah North, Federal Realty Investment
Lauren Francis, With Good Reason Radio Show Jimmy Kinane, Staybridge Suites Sober Pierre, Pearl Island
Leonda Williams-Keniston, PVCC Julia Rupp, Resilience Education Stephen Davis, Community Investment Collaborative
Linda Monahan, Cville Chamber Orchestra Julie Arbelaez, Peace Frogs Travel Outfit (CIC)
Lindsey Leahy, New City Arts Kerry Woolard, Trump Winery Travis Wilburn
Maran Garland, The Paramount Theater Kevin Badke, Fitzroy/Boylan Heights Ty Cooper, Lifeview Marketing
Michael Slon, Oratorio Society Kirby Hutto, Sprint Pavilion Wendy Brown, CNE, CIC
Olivia Branch, Keswick Hall and Golf Club Malcolm Dyson, Paramount Theater Zhongwen Luo, UVA
Robert Dunnenberger, Virginia Film Festival Mark White, Boar's Head Resort Zoie Smith, City of Charlottesville Office of Economic
Sara Clayborne, Charlottesville Ballet Mary Blair Zakaib, Monticello Development
Sharon Tolczyk, Crozet Arts Maureen Kelley, Nelson County Economic
Development Facilitator: Sarah Collie, UVA
Facilitator: Mary Brackett, UVA Megan Howerton, Monticello, Thomas Jefferson Scribe: Aleese Eatmon, Albemarle County
Scribe: Aleese Eatmon, Albemarle County Foundation
Myles Wood, Tom Tom Foundation
Nancy Stahon, James Monroe's Highland
Preparing Vital Infrastructure
Peter Castiglione, Maya Restaurant
Leveraging Strengths of Anchor Phyllis Case, The Clifton
Co-Leads:
Chip Boyles, Thomas Jefferson Planning District
Institutions Regina Dodd, Residence Inn Marriott
Commission (TJPDC)
Roy van Dorn, City Select
Doug Walker, Albemarle County
Co-Leads: Sara Bishop, Hyatt Place
Jonathan Davis, Sentara Martha Jefferson Hospital Scott Taylor, Monroe Institute
Team:
Frank Friedman, Piedmont Virginia Community College Sue Moretz, Keswick Hall
Amanda Poncy, City of Charlottesville
Tim Burgess, Bizou
Arlene Lee, R.E. Lee Companies
Team: Tim Fitzgerald, Homewood Suites
Blair Williamson, S.L. Williamson Company
Carolyn Rainey, Bank of America Tracey Gardner, Madison County Economic
Brad Sheffield, JAUNT
Christy Phillips, WillowTree Development
Chris Meyer, Local Energy Alliance Program
Erika Robinson, Pepsi Cola Bottling Co. Tyler Chartier, Common House
Colleen Keller, Charlottesville Free Clinic
Felix Sarfo-Kantanka, Dominion Energy Diantha McKeel, Albemarle County
Gary Driskill, State Farm Facilitator: Reid Thompson, UVA
Dominique Lavorata, Thomas Jefferson Planning
Gordon Sutton, Tiger Fuel Scribe: Amanda Vierrether, Albemarle County
District Commission (TJPDC)
Jen Alvarez, State Farm Ed Stelter, Faulconer Construction
Kimberly Link, Albemarle County Public Schools Emily Pelliccia, Charlottesville Fire Department
Louis Nelson, UVA
Michael Corrigan, Northrop Grumman
Reviving Small Businesses Fran Burke, Draper Aden Associates
Frank Squillace, Network2Work
Phil Wendel, acac Co-Leads: Garland Williams, Charlottesville Area Transit
Quin Lunsford, Albemarle County Service Authority Yolunda Harrell, New Hill Development Corp. Heather Hill,City of Charlottesville
Richard Spurzem, Neighborhood Properties Rebecca Haydock, Central Virginia SBDC James Barton, Vault Virginia, Studio Ix
S. Lisa Herndon, Keller Williams Jennifer Atkins, Strategic Compensation Solutions
Steve Horan, CFA Institute Team: Joe Powers, City of Charlottesville Fire Department
Tim Longo, UVA Alan Yost, Greene County Economic Development Kara Chandeysson, Ting
Anastasiya Kulygin, Anahata, LLC Keith Smith
Facilitators: Denise Herndon and Rachael Hobbs, UVA Andy Wade, Louisa County Economic Development Liz Palmer, Albemarle County
Scribe: Tara Yoder, Albemarle County Anne Burroughs, Nest Realty Maribel Street McNutt, Emergency Management
Ben Morris Mark Graham
Restarting the Hospitality Bryan Thomas, First Citizens Bank Marty Silman, Charlottesville Public Works
Carl Garrett, Movement Mortgage Matt Lawless, Town of Scottsville
and Tourism Engine Catherine Emanuel, Creatures Great and Small Melinda Crawford, Charlottesville Albemarle Airport
Christina Monfalcone, Monfalcone & Garris Michael Culp, County of Albemarle
Co-Leads: Claire Habel, Community Climate Collaborative (C3) Neil Williamson, Free Enterprise Forum
Courtney Cacatian, Charlottesville Albemarle David Touve, UVA Darden School of Business Paul Perrone, Perrone Robotics
Convention & Visitors Bureau Dickie Morris Rex Linville, Piedmont Environmental Council
Russ Cronberg, The Boar's Head Resort
12Rick Siebert, City of Charlottesville
Susan Kruse, Community Climate Collaborative
Team:
Adam Hastings, Charlottesville City Schools
Community Conversations
Alex Dudley, Wells Fargo Advisors Abby Tammen, Charlottesville Area Association of
Facilitator: Sarah Collie, UVA Allison DeTuncq, UVA Community Credit Union REALTORS
Scribe: Tim Padalino, Albemarle County Andy Page, HackCville Alex Urpi, Emergent Financial Services, LLC.
Ann Mallek, Albemarle County Alex Inman, The Entrepreneur's Source
Ben Ledford, Eiden Systems Alex Hernandez, University of Virginia
Bill Carden, Carden Jennings Allison Linney, Allison Partners
Brendan Richardson, Astraea Alyssa Cattell-Gordon
Brian Cole, LexisNexis Anna Kelleher, UVA
Bryan Thomas, First Citizens Bank
Rebuilding Nonprofit and Chuck Hancher, Thomas M. Hancher Co
Anna Murphy, Creative Office Environments
Anne Cleveland, The McClung Companies
Community Organizations Craig Redinger, Munich Investments Anne Herring, USDA/Rural Development
Daniel Willson, HackCville Anson Parker, Claude Moore Health Science Library
Co-Leads: David Bush, Tamblyn Computer Consulting Betsy Kraft, The Clifton
Charlene Green, Piedmont Housing Alliance David Deaton, Deaton Group Bri Warner, Virginia Tourism Corporation
Ryan Jacoby, Center for Nonprofit Excellence David Mellon Carrie Ellwood
David Pettit, Flora Pettit PC Cecilia Mills, Calmingpoints
Team: Deborah van Eersel, UVA Foundation Clay Eure, Eure Consulting
Alex Bryant, Tom Tom Foundation Donnie Wyatt, Co-Construct Colette Sheehy, University of Virginia
Allison Scholl, Acorn Group Eric B. Wagner, Merrill Lynch Cynthia Hash, Find Homes Team @ KW Realty
Amy Sarah Marshall, Cville Pride Eric Keathley, Zel Technologies Daniela Pretzer, The Bridge Line
Andrea Douglas, Jefferson School African American Grant Tate, Bridge Business Transformations David McCormick, Early Music Access Project
Heritage Center Jason Daniel, TechDynamism Doris Oliphant, Hampton Inn
Barbara Kessler Jim Atkinson Elizabeth Bolin
Ben Allen, Equity Center Joan Bienvenue, Applied Research Institute, UVA Elizabeth Johnson
Beth Solak, Virginia Discovery Museum Joe Jenkins, Hanckel-Citizens Elizabeth Smith, Afton Mountain Vineyards
Bill Brent, American Red Cross Joe Raichel, Wells Fargo Emily Martin, UVA
Brian Greenwald, Generate Impact John Watson, Hanckel-Citizens Gary LeFeuvre, NEST Furnished Living Solutions
Caitlin Riopel, Habitat for Humanity John Young, Atlantic Union Bank Gigi Davis, Piedmont Virginia Community College
Carolyn Mitchell Dillard, UVA Provost Office Jonathan Velasquez, Eiden Systems Glenn Rust, Virginia National Bank
Carolyn Schuyler, Wildrock Kara Chandeysson, Ting Helen Kimble, Charlottesville DSS
Catherine von Storch, The Paramount Theater Kaye Monroe, Dept. of Aging and Rehabilitative Hilton Tilley, CDSS
Chuck McElroy, WorkSource Enterprises Services Jacki Bryant, ReadyKids
Don Gathers, Public Housing Association of Residents Kevin Leibl, Advanced Network Systems James Burton, Gig Strategic
(PHAR) Larry Martin, Hantzmon Wiebel James Phillips, Stanley Steemer of Charlottesville &
Erika Viccellio, The Fountain Fund Lettie Bien Harrisonburg
Erin Tucker, On Our Own Michael Balazs, AMITRE Janet Chisholm, JustTech, LLC
Ethan Long, Virginia Institute of Autism Michael Reichard, Eiden Systems Jeremy Rudin
Freddie Jackson, Love No Ego Foundation Misty Parsons, UVA Foundation Jodi Mills, Stony Point Development Group
Gayle White, Thomas Jefferson Foundation Pam Fitzgerald, The Ivy Group John Neal, Great Eastern Mgt
Georgia Lindsay, Nest Realty Pete Caramanis, Royer Caramanis John McGraw, Stanley Steemer of Charlottesville &
Grey McLean, Adiuvans Foundation Phil Sheridan, Culpeper County Economic Harrisonburg
Harriet Kuhr, International Rescue Committee Development Joseph Usher, Region Ten CSB
Jane Foy, BeHeardCVA Phil Shiflett, Hantzmon Wiebel Judy DiVita, Lumineo
Jane Hammel, Hospice of the Piedmont Ralph Rush, Davenport Julie Weaver, Find Homes Team @ KW Realty
Janine Dozier, Virginia Discovery Museum Rob Jones, Applied Research Institute, UVA Kara Stutzman, The Clifton
Jeanette Abi-Nadeer, Cultivate Charlottesville Sara Szmania, Signature Science Karen Weiner, Charlottesville Fashion Square
Jessica Maslaney, Piedmont Family YMCA Steven Yates, NSPYR Technologies Kate Ellwood ,Charlottesville Restaurant Community
Joe Powers, City of Charlottesville Fire Department Sue Rowell, Zel Technologies Fund
John Piper, Mutual Choices Tracey Greene, CBIC, Charlottesville Angel Network Kelly Dye, First Citizens Bank
John Santoski, Arc of the Piedmont Whit Douglas, First Heritage Mortgage Kelly Myers, Senior Care Authority
Kala Somerville, Computers4Kids Facilitator: Reid Thompson, UVA Kelly Logan
Karen Osterhaus, Region Ten Scribe: JT Newberry, Albemarle County Kristen Hallam, S&P Global Market Intelligence
Karina Munroy, Creciendo Juntos Lisa Draine, Cville Community Cares
Leigh Ann Carver, UVA Women's Center Subgroup for Biotechnology, Manufacturing, Lorna Gerome, Albemarle County
Marta Keane, Jefferson Area Board for Aging Food & Beverage Manufacturing Melissa Fogleman, Kelly Services
Mary Coleman, City of Promise Melvin Burruss, MILLER LAW GROUP, P.C.
Michael Cheuck, Clergy Collective Co-Leads: Michael Nafziger, The Bridge Line
Peter Thompson, The Center Nikki Hastings, CvilleBioHub Millie Winstead,, Blue Ridge Area Food Bank
Randi Carr, R Carr Consulting Hunter Smith, Champion Hospitality Group Nancy Hicks, Monticello Media LLC
Rebecca Kendall Nichole Matthews, ACFR
Sue Friedman, Jefferson School Foundation Team: Rahul Keshap, Shuru Law
Susan Thomas, Loaves & Fishes Bob Creeden, UVA Licensing & Ventures Group Robert Gray, Dreamin' Diamonds, LLC
Tamara Dias, African American Teaching Fellows Bradley Kipp, Random Row Brewing Co Robin Kaczka, Rodan+Fields
Teri Kent, Community Climate Collaborative Bryan Berger, UVA Rochelle DeBaun, Peace Frogs Travel Outfitters
Tina LaRoche, Camp Holiday Trails Cassie Estes, American Office Roger Johnson
Trisha Costello, Innisfree Village Chris Ackerman, Microaire Sally Hudson, Va. General Assembly
Chris Jessee, Cardboard Safari Samantha Bean, Staybridge Suites Charlottesville
Scribe: Tyler Howerton, Albemarle County Connor Crook, Diamondback Tool Co Airport
Ed Rogers, Bonumose LLC Scott Hamler, Forezee Marketing Solutions
Evan Eckersley, Lytos Technologies Shelby Edwards, Live Arts
Joe Kilroy, SoundPipe
Assessing Key Industry Clusters Joel Selzer, ArchMedX
Spencer Coyle, UVA
Steve Sless, Charlottesville Fashion Square
Kevin Combs Steven Sless, The Woodmont Company
Co-Leads:
Kirby Farrell, Locus Steven Knudson, CBIZ Payroll
Helen Cauthen, Central VA Partnership for Economic
Lianne Landers, MicroGEM Stewart Key, Charlottesville-Albemarle Airport
Development
Nathan Evans, Woods Rogers Sue Moffett, Charlottesville DSS
Chris Engel, City of Charlottesville Office of Economic
Taylor Cope, Indoor Biotechnologies Suzanne Brooks, Pepsi-Cola Bottling Co of Central VA
Development
Victoria Tremaglio, Shops at Stonefield Tammy Wilt, Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group
Facilitator: Mary Brackett, UVA Terry Woodworth
Subgroup for IT, Financial, Defense Scribe: Ayana Braxton, Albemarle Countyy Tiffany Zambrana, Humana
Tom Chapman, Albemarle Charlottesville Historical
Co-Leads:
Society
Adrian Felts, Signature Science
Tonia Alexander, City of Charlottesville
Rod Gentry, Albemarle County EDA
Veronica Dumas, Holiday Inn - University Area
Virginia Newton, AAA Travel
13Where we are now The challenge of nurturing confidence amidst public health uncertainty A common thread identified by the participants was the role of "confidence" across customers, employees and business owners. 14
15
Where we are now
Until the virus has been controlled, many workshop participants
recognized that the chance of flareups, social distancing policies
and the lack of consistent information would hurt the level of
confidence that community members have on a day-to-day basis.
Pre-Pandemic Context: A region with the fundamentals for success
Prior to the start of the pandemic, the Charlottesville regional economy was in an enviable position. State
government, anchored by the University of Virginia and its affiliated hospital, had powered recent job gains and
cemented the region's status as a top performer. Low unemployment and a high quality of life had fueled a
seven year stretch of economic expansion.
The Pandemic Shock
The sudden March 2020 closures prompted by the pandemic put an immediate halt to the region's economic
progress. Initial drops of demand for restaurants, bars and hotels combined with the transition to online
instruction at major education institutions had echo effects that led to business closures, furloughs, layoffs,
and declining tax revenue. Key economic sectors in the Charlottesville region have not been affected equally
by COVID-19. Industries such as manufacturing, finance, business and professional services, and information
technology have seen less-severe declines in employment, whereas the tourism, leisure and hospitality
industry has experienced a significant negative impact.
Uneven Impacts
As the massive public health toll of COVID-19 continues to come into focus, it has also become clear that
the pandemic has not affected all communities the same, particularly with respect to the African-American
community. Despite making up just 14% of the overall population of the Charlottesville region, African-
American residents represent 19% of confirmed positive COVID-19 cases through June 10, 2020, 51% of
hospitalizations and 21% of COVID-related deaths. This reflects a significant disparity in risk of exposure and
severe health outcomes, which need to be accounted for in reopening solutions going forward.
DISTRIBUTION OF COVID-19 OUTCOMES BY RACE VS. POPULATION IN THE CHARLOTTESVILLE REGION
Confirmed positive cases not distributed equally
80%
74%
68%
70%
60% Source: Data Source: Virginia
51% Department of Health, data by
50%
50% reported Race/Ethnicity for Thomas
Jefferson Health District as of June
42% 10, 2020.
40%
Note: There have been a total of 19
30% deaths in the Thomas Jefferson
Health District; therefore, percentage
21% distributions are based on small
19% 19%
20% sample size and may not be
14%
12% 11% 12% representative of broader trends.
10% 8% As previously noted, the Thomas
Jefferson Health District does not
include Buckingham County, which
0% has a high prevalence of cases.
White Black or African Other Not Reported
American
% of Population (2018) % of Positive COVID Cases
% of COVID Hospitalizations % of COVID Deaths
16Across the country, African-American owned businesses were also hit hardest in the early stages of the
pandemic. According to the National Bureau of Economic Research, from February to April, the number of
African-American owners of small businesses dropped by 41% nationwide, followed by immigrant owners at
36%. That study, which did not reflect the most recent federal aid to small businesses, cited an unprecedented
decline of 22% among operators overall in the early stages of the contagion. The impact on Charlottesville's
minority-owned businesses has also been significant and is potentially driven by disparities in access to
capital for African-American owned small businesses.
The Reopening Dilemma: Business, Customer and Workforce Confidence
Given the hit taken by businesses over the past two months, the reopening of the economy is occurring within
a dramatically changed landscape.
From new social norms on how to interact to newly limited consumer spending budgets, the assurance that
there will be a rapid return to a pre-COVID-19 environment was not considered to be an automatic outcome by
the workshop groups. The uncertainty as to "when this will end" and the potential for resurgent outbreaks has
shaped the behavior of consumers, businesses and employees.
Questions regarding proper protocols, access to Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), in addition to changes
to workforce patterns and school closures have made the interconnected nature of the economy apparent and
has highlighted the overarching challenge of restoring confidence to shop, work and invest. This is especially
challenging for those working in industry sectors most directly and severely impacted by COVID-19, such as
food services and drinking establishments, accommodations, personal laundry, arts and entertainment, etc. As
of 2018, the Charlottesville region had roughly 20% of its overall workforce working in these “vulnerable jobs”,
including 6,000 in the food services and drinking establishments sector.
NUMBER OF VULNERABLE JOBS BY INDUSTRY IN THE CHARLOTTESVILLE REGION
Food service jobs in Greene, Albemarle, Nelson, Buckingham, Fluvanna were the most vulnerable sector
- 1,000 2,000 3,000 4,000 5,000 6,000
Food services and drinking places
Personal and laundry services
Accommodation
Amusement, gambling, and recreation
General merchandise stores
Performing arts and spectator sports
Religious organizations
Miscellaneous store retailers
Building material and garden supply stores
Sporting goods, hobby, book and music…
Child day care services
Electronics and appliance stores Data Source: American
Motor vehicle and parts dealers… Community Survey, 2018
Microdata for Charlottesville
Clothing and clothing accessories stores MSA & Brookings Research
Transit and ground passenger transportation (https://www.brookings.edu/
research/who-are-the-workers-
Travel arrangements and reservation services already-impacted-by-the-covid-
Mining 19-recession/).
Direct selling establishments Note: Excludes jobs with
Museums, historical sites, zoos, and parks less than 200 workers in
Charlottesville MSA as of 2018.
Furniture and home furnishings stores
Total Workers
17Tracking Confidence
The five counties in the Charlottesville Metropolitan Statistical Area (Greene, Albemarle, Nelson, Buckingham,
Fluvanna) reduced consumption in-line with the state-of-emergency declaration, even prior to restrictions or
stay-at-home orders. Consumption is defined as change in visits to select consumption-related establishments
compared to the 5-week period from January 3 to February 6, 2020. Furthermore, changes in consumption
were not uniform across all counties, with the city of Charlottesville especially experiencing a drastic decrease
in consumption measured by trips out — a proxy for consumer confidence.
The data suggests that consumer confidence is gradually starting to return to baseline levels, albeit in
an environment that is anything but a “return to normal." Going forward, it will be important to monitor
shifting patterns in behavior and consumption in order to get the “pulse” of public confidence in the region
as businesses start to reopen. This can be accomplished by analyzing movement-based data over time,
or via direct confidence polling of Charlottesville region residents. For example, when polled recently by
BeHeardCVA, (beheardcva.org) Central Virginia residents stated that their personal doctors were their most
trusted source for guidance related to safe practices for COVID-19.
PERCENTAGE CHANGE IN CONSUMPTION FROM PRE-PANDEMIC BASELINE BY COUNTY
20%
March 23: temporary restrictions on March 30: stay-at-
restaurants, entertainment venues, June 5: enter into
home order issued
large gatherings; school closure Phase 2 reopening
10%
Albemarle
0%
Buckingham
Charlottesville
City
-10% Fluvanna
Greene
Nelson
-20% March 12: VA
declares state-of- May 15: enter into
emergency Phase 1 reopening
-30%
Data Source: University of Maryland COVID-19 Impact Analysis Platform, https://data.covid.umd.edu
KEY IMMEDIATE THEMES OF
CONCERN RAISED DURING
WORKSHOPS
• Health and safety
• Liability and legal clarity
• Lack of consistent protocols for
safety and ways of working
• Access to personal protective
equipment
• Disruption to supply chain
• Access to workforce enablers
such as child care, elder care and
broadband
18Project Rebound Reopening Business Toolkit is available online
As a first step, Project Rebound has released voluntary tools, signage and checklists to assist businesses in
organizing their physical space and practices, safeguarding employees, and protecting customers. The kits
include hand sanitizer from the CvilleBioHub courtesy of local business Indoor Biotechnologies. Visit www.
cvillechamber.com/reopen to learn more about the toolkit and download the Reopening Checklist for safety
guidelines.
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COVID-19 toolkits are being distributed to local businesses. Funding for the toolkit was made possible by:
Albemarle County Office of Economic Development; S&P Global; City of Charlottesville Office of Economic
Development; and CvilleBiohub.
19
19A crisis in confidence in the Charlottesville region
was identified by workshop participants
The traditional notion of economic confidence typically focuses on issues such as a consumer optimism and
macro-economic conditions.
In this context, the health-tinged confidence barriers that workshop participants identified cover broad
categories of business, customer and workforce confidence.Taken together, workshop participants identified
the issues below as primary concerns that may hinder economic rebound.
The "tags" below are used later in this document to tie confidence barriers to solutions in the Opportunity
Index (p. 76).
Business Confidence
Health & Safety Concern for employees and customers Broadband Access Ability to work remotely
Liability Legal and regulatory uncertainty Especially in work-from-home environments
IT Security and in new content distribution models
Access to capital Particularly concerning for minority-
owned businesses and those who did not Privacy Protection Protection of sensitive info
get PPP loan access
Concern that reactions to pandemic do not
Product/Service
PPP Access
Access to funds and post-PPP loan Inclusivity
exacerbate preexisting divisions over ability,
resources language, race, etc
Long-term Economic
Business Operations Norms have been challenged, such as Fallout Uncertainty on how deep this will go
Norms hours, environment, revenue streams, etc
Buying Local Concern of buying Amazon vs. local
Information Distrust Distrust and confusion on statistics
Changing Cost New costs to take on additional
PPE Access Where to get, how to afford, and vendor Structures responsibilities — e.g. new structures,
reliability for personal protective equipment redesigned buildings, liquidity, etc
Interconnected Because businesses depend on each Some businesses lack tech infrastructure,
Economy Going Digital
other, disruption impacts everyone other models simply won't work online
Customer
Confidence Will they be confident enough to return? Employee Impacts on employee engagement over time
Engagement
Product/Service
Needs new product/service line ideas Potential start/stop due to the pandemic, and
Viability
and access to the market in new ways Unpredictability resulting loss of productivity
Supply Chain
Standards
Disruption Disruption can grind business to a halt Enforcement
Businesses must decide how strict they are
going to be with employees and customers
on enforcement
20Customer Confidence
The desire may be to support local, but
Health & Safety Confidence that I will be safe in public Ease of Local
not as easy as they might hope, especially
online
Inclusivity Balancing safety while also protecting
privacy, Inclusiveness and accessibility Economic Economic uncertainty impacts purchasing
Uncertainty decisions
Reliability Knowing what to expect
Social Equity Distrust and confusion from low-income
New Social Norms The new social expectations & norms communities and communities of color
establishment and adjustments
Workforce Confidence
Finding Work
Health & Safety Safely return to work Unemployment due to the pandemic
Child / Elder Care Impacting worker availability Upskilling/Reskilling The skills needed in the new economy
Unemployment
K-12 School Status Impacting worker availability Benefits
Benefits are starting to run out
Broadband Access Impacting work-from-home availability, Worker/Business Confusing options to return to work,
economic growth, vitality, distance Tension employer communication transparency,
learning, and more quality, frequency
Privacy Privacy when working from home Recent Grads Finding jobs as a new graduate
Enforcement
Empowerment Employees may not feel comfortable with
the mandates within the workplace, or
enforcing standards on customers
21Where are you on the confidence matrix?
One way to illustrate confidence and barriers to rebound is a citizen confidence matrix. By considering the
realities of the public health situation, the motivations of individuals and the range of factors that are within
our control, we can gauge which tactics to adopt.
Everyone participating in Project Rebound – and further, everyone in the Charlottesville region falls
somewhere on this matrix at any given moment.
Confidence Matrix
Pandemic is not an issue
ZONE OF COMFORT
Pandemic status perception
(strong variability, out of our control)
VIABILITY THRESHOLD
Pandemic is out of control
Environment is dangerous Response is appropriate
Local response & environment perception
(less
(lessvariability,
variability, more under
under our
ourcollective
collectivecontrol)
control)
ZONE OF COMFORT
What we can reasonably control
The zone where customers
It is important to remember when developing an action plan is that are confident to increase
not everything is within our control. There are levers that can be used economic activity
to help move people in certain directions, however it is more difficult
to move people along the vertical axis of the matrix (pandemic status
perception) than the horizontal axis (local response confidence).
By understanding where people may be in relation to the volatility VIABILITY THRESHOLD
of the pandemic and the drivers of their behavior, we can focus on The zone where very
solutions that move people towards confidence. A potential local little can be done
other than shelter and
resource for tracking progress includes the local regional survey tool,
wait it out.
BeHeardCVA, led by UVA's Center for Survey Research.
22Elements of these citizen "Personas" were represented among workshop participants
Personas are an empathy tool to promote understanding of the motivations and behaviors
of a group of people. By examining motivations and behaviors, we can take actions that will
be beneficial to them.
Our hypothesis is that the following personas reflect clusters on the matrix:
The Nervous CONFIDENCE OPPORTUNITIES
• When the pandemic status is above
Sees that things are opening
the viability threshold, bolstering their
back up, but is still too
confidence locally will move them from
concerned for their health or
inaction to action
the health of people around
them to venture out • Will respond to experts telling them
measures being taken are keeping
them safe
The Cautious CONFIDENCE OPPORTUNITIES
Is beginning to venture out, but • Is beginning to respond to the actions
still does not feel comfortable being taken by the community
making major purchase • Will hold back until they are confident
decisions the economy is in full rebound
• Will respond as they see businesses
further thrive
The Overconfident CONFIDENCE OPPORTUNITIES
Tends to think this is all • Their social behavior can be perceived
overblown, perhaps a as dangerous to those around them,
conspiracy. Does not want thereby reducing customer confidence
their rights infringed upon. • Must convince them to care for the
community by participating in safety
measures
The Sheltered CONFIDENCE OPPORTUNITIES
Because the pandemic • There is not much we can do to
is objectively a public increase confidence to a point of
health danger, and all comfort
recommendations are to shelter, • We should rely on online service
they are sheltered in place until offerings as much as possible
advised otherwise
The New Normal CONFIDENCE OPPORTUNITIES
(Aspirational) • While we are not here yet, this is where
we hope to move all citizens
While remaining cognizant of
the health and well being of • Ongoing efforts should target keeping
oneself and the surrounding people in this region, preparing for
community, the individual has future uncertainty.
rebounded to the new normal
and fully participates in social
and economic life.
23What we will do Our community generated hundreds of ideas as potential ways to enable economic recovery 24
The following is an
overview of proposed
action steps.
25What we will do:
Primary Near-Term Opportunities
During the course of the workshops, participants proposed
hundreds of ideas. Some are immediately executable, while others
will require additional thought and partnership.
Participants identified the following opportunties as high priorities
for near term implementation or expansion.
If you would like to get involved with any
of these initiatives, please send an email to
connect@cvillechamber.com or call (434) 295-3141
GUID ELINE S M ESSAGI N G & C O M M U N I C AT IO N S RE S O U RC E S
Guidelines task force Key Campaigns Unified Resource Portal
WHAT: Identify guidelines WHAT: Amplify the message WHAT: Provide one-stop
and practices to support that local businesses are access to key community,
key confidence needs committed to reopening business, customer and
(business, customer and safely. workforce resources, such
workforce) as access to capital
NOW: Launch the Project
NOW: Start with Protocols Rebound "Badge" campaign NOW: Launch the basics of
for safety (1.1.1 in the (2.1 in Opportunity Index) the portal (3.1 in Opportunity
Opportunity Index), practices Index), mobile responsive, with
NEXT: Work towards creating
for accessing capital (1.1.4), privatized content areas
and launching the buy local
approaches for dealing with
campaign (2.2 in Opportunity NEXT: Work towards
customer disruption (1.1.2)
Index) completion in each category,
and practices for new ways of
keeping it updated and adding
working (1.1.3) POTENTIAL PARTNERS:
more ways to find, filter and
Charlottesville Albemarle
NEXT: Quickly move to explore
Convention & Visitors Bureau
high-priority areas like "non-
(CACVB); Downtown Business POTENTIAL PARTNERS:
compliant customers" and
Association of Charlottesville; Central Virginia Small
"new ways of working"
Virginia Tourism; Work with Business Development
POTENTIAL PARTNERS: Project Rebound participants Center; Charlottesville
Thomas Jefferson Health in marketing and advertising Business Innovation Council;
District; Identify other Rebound to develop a Charlottesville Community Investment
participants to contribute per region influencers campaign Collaborative; Cville Cares and
area of expertise many more (see 3.1 in the
Opportunity Index)
26You can also read
