NMSDP Project Application/Action Plan Worksheet
All projects receiving funds from NMSDP must acknowledge the participation with signage, printed or electronic information, or any format that makes sense for the project, by using the NMSDP logo and/or "Paid for in part by a grant from Northeast Minnesota Sustainable Development Partnership.”
By completing this application, you agree to meet this requirement if the proposed project is funded. Please do not use acronyms in the completion of this form as the reviewers will not likely be familiar with them.
Today’s Date 10 January 2013
Applicant Name: (Contact person) Mary Somnis
Organization/Affiliation (if any): Heart of the Continent Partnership (HOCP)
Local unit of government
Nonprofit organization
Committee appointed by local unit of government
XVolunteer citizens working together on a project
XOther, please identify: HOCP is made up of volunteer citizens, public land managers, local units of government, business and community leaders, non-profit organizations - all are welcome. Participants come from northeastern Minnesota and Ontario; this is a bi-national organization. HOCP is a neutral forum, focusing on gateway communities and five public lands that share a “sister site” relationship: Grand Portage National Monument, Superior National Forest, Voyageurs National Park, Quetico and La Verendrye Provincial Park.
Address: c/o IRRRB, PO Box 441, Eveleth MN 55731
Phone: 218-735-3040 Email:
Project Title: HOCP Geotourism Partnership with National Geographic Society
Start Date: 1/1/13 End Date: 7/1/14 with ongoing website presence
Short Description of Project: (2 or 3 sentences)
We will partner with National Geographic Society to create a regional geotourism map and website. Drawing input and involvement from a wide spectrum of local stakeholders, this product will highlight the outstanding natural, cultural and historical resources in the Heart of the Continent, a binational region of more than 5 million acres of public lands, along with its historic gateway communities. HOCP will become a part of a network of related geotourism websites and will gain great visibility for our region by doing so. (Note: this project is a direct offshoot of HOCP’s highly successful 2011 International Community Congress, of which NMSDP was one of the generous funders.)
Work Area/Focus: XCommunity Vitality
(Check all that apply) XEnergy
XFood and Agriculture
XForestry/Natural Resources
XRecreation and Tourism
(NOTE: If your group has more than one project, complete the following for each one.)
Description
Goals: What is the project designed to achieve?
Build awareness of the wealth of resources, assets, and opportunities in the cross-border region along the Minnesota/Ontario border, expand the use of public lands and visits to the communities and assets of this region, specifically reaching a wider set of the population, including international geotourism. Ultimately, bringing tourist dollars into the economy.
· Develop a design team, made up of members from across the region, to design and implement the map and web site.
· Invite participants within HOCP (Federal, State and Provincial Parks Forests, Tribes, Cities, Counties, Tourist destinations, etc) to identify important landmarks, activities, and resources to be included in the initiative.
· Create map and website, partnering with National Geographic Society, and following the proven process developed by them
· Use this effort to build a stronger regional identity and to act as a connector amongst the parties.
Approach: What are the steps or actions to be taken to achieve these goals?
The Heart of the Continent Partnership, working in partnership with National Geographic Society (NGS) will coordinate and develop a collaborative effort to map and connect cultural, historic, and natural tourism destinations in the border lakes region of
Minnesota and Ontario. This effort will encourage land managers, tourism officials, county/city/provincial and state officials, local businesses and other stakeholders to work together promote the cross-border region and its amazing resources.
Outcomes: What tangible results do you expect to attain?
· National Geographic will publish and promote a paper map of the Heart of the Continent.
· An interactive map and web site of the Heart of the Continent will be online, easily accessible, interactive and well used by people around the country and the world.
· Links between all the National Geographic geotourism sites will dramatically extend the reach and impact of tourism efforts within the HOCP region.
· Tourism sites, parks, and communities will note increased use of sites promoted on the map and web site
Timeline: List specific activities to occur in 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th quarters of the relevant year(s).
1/1/13: Sign Contract with National Geographic
2/1/13: Raise resources necessary to proceed
3/1/13: Design team will begin work
3/1/13: Design and Development (16 months)
7/1/14: Public unveiling of project
7/1/14 and beyond: Ongoing active management of website
Evaluation
How will you know if this project is successful? How will you measure success?
Website traffic will be monitored for all entities represented on the geotourism map. Success will be achieved as we measure incremental growth in website visits. The brand of the National Geographic Society will grow the international audience for travel and tourism. The Heart of the Continent will experience growth in visits from around the globe.
Sustainable Development
How will this project enhance (or relate to) environmental sustainability?
The map and website, by highlighting the region’s key assets and drawing tourists, including new users, to the area, will build support for preserving these assets for the benefit of both present and future generations. A key element of this program is that it will promote local opportunities and destinations (grassroots input process).
How will this project enhance (or relate to) social sustainability?
The process of creating content for the map/website will be structured to draw in the vast spectrum of stakeholders, for them to talk about what they value in the area. This process will build a sense of place that can both empower the participants as well as build content for the map/website. The Nat Geo process, using regional Stewardship councils, also includes an ongoing interactive process for continually requesting new points of interest and placing these on the website.
How will this project enhance (or relate to) economic sustainability?
The National Geographic brand will expand the region’s draw, taking advantage of Nat Geo’s level of international stature, thereby expanding the number of tourist dollars flowing into the area, increasing the length of stay (by offering more options), spreading the tourism into more nooks and crannies of the region, as visitors become aware of additional opportunities and unique experiences
University Involvement
How will the project enhance the relationship between the local citizens/community, the University of Minnesota and other partners?
This project will involve a wide spectrum of stakeholders. The role of the University of Minnesota will be determined by considering the resources that can be brought to the project. HOCP looks to the University of Minnesota for guidance in this regard. Lakehead University in Thunder Bay has been actively involved with HOCP and will continue throughout this project. There is potential for international collaboration and partnership between the two. Other fruitful areas of cooperation would be involving the U’s tourism institute, Geographic Information Science Lab at UMD, and also engaging U personnel in tracking results longitudinally.
List U of M partners.
There are a lot of ways the U of M might partner with us in this effort, including the following ideas:
· U of M Tourism Center—tapping into their resources
· Grad students—opportunity for one or more to participate
· Facilitating a partnership with Lakehead University in Thunder Bay
· Tap into networks and knowledge of the NMSDP’s tourism committee in identifying the region’s key cultural and natural assets, and also identifying stakeholders to participate in this project
· Participation of the UM Duluth GIS lab in map development
Active Citizenship
How will local citizens/communities be actively involved in planning, implementing and evaluating this project?
Planning:
· HOCP meetings,--open and encouraging diverse and broad participation
· Project Design Team – recruited by HOCP Steering Committee, to be composed of local stakeholders: citizens and organization representatives from the broad spectrum of sectors. For duties/roles, see “Implementation” below.
· Geotourism Stewardship Council. For duties/roles, see “Implementation” below.
Implementing
· Project Design Team duties:
o Design and implement project
o Raise necessary funds
o Serving as liaison to the National Geographic Maps Division,
o Convening and facilitating the work of the state and regional Geotourism Stewardship Councils,
o Organizing and managing relationships with local stakeholders and partner organizations,
o Conducting primary appraisal in the geotourism process.
o Executing all organizational and outreach activities to insure participatory planning of local communities in all phases of the MapGuide creation process
o Collaborate with HOCP Steering Committee to perform these duties
· Geotourism Stewardship Council responsibilities as outlined in Nat Geo template:
o Supporting, embracing, and promoting a set of self-identified Geotourism Principles when creating policies and processes for tourism development and management,
o Serving as a catalyst and guide for local communities to discover, plan for, celebrate, promote, and sustain their distinctive geotourism assets,
o Educating local stakeholders about the value of and opportunities for developing and sustaining geotourism assets,
o Educating visitors about the value of and opportunities for engaging in geotourism experiences,
o Working with NGS to solicit site nominations and select those that best present diverse and distinctive aspects of the area’s character,
o Editing and approving site nominations,
o Supporting local communities in representing these assets to local, state, regional, and federal organizations and agencies,
o Monitoring these assets to help ensure that they are protected and sustained,
o Encouraging and facilitating partnerships and networks for performing the above functions,
o Fundraising support,
o Providing support and guidance to NGS to accomplish the above functions by attending quarterly meetings in-person or via teleconference and responding to inquiries.
Evaluating
All entities represented on the map will provide feedback on website activity
How will the project enhance the capacity for active citizenship in the community and among participants?
This project, from design to implementation to evaluation, requires broad-based active citizen support and participation throughout the international region. Human and financial resources are essential to complete this project. Opportunities will exist to create travel itineraries – the participating entities will implement this component. There is potential to include information for volunteers to contribute and get involved with projects to be conducted on the respective public lands.
List community partners. (Some confirmed, some yet to be invited.)
· National Geographic Society Maps Division
· University of Minnesota and UMD
· Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation Board
· Superior National Forest
· National Park Service
o Grand Portage National Monument
o Voyageurs National Park
o Rivers and Trails Conservation Assistance Program
· Minnesota Department of Natural Resources—Parks and Trails
· Ontario Ministry of Tourism
· Ontario Provincial Parks
· Thunder Bay Tourism
· Fort William Historical Park
· Grand Portage Band of the Lake Superior Chippewa
· Fond du Lac Band of Chippewa
· Bois Forte Band of Chippewa
· Minnesota Arrowhead Association
· Destination Voyageurs National Park
· North Shore Scenic Drive Council
· Arrowhead Regional Development Commission
· Lakehead University
· Club Mesabi
· Local, County Governments
· Nonprofits: Friends of the Boundary Waters, Voyageurs National Park Association, and others
Communication and Reach
Please indicate how many people are expected to be reached by this project, in each of these categories for each fiscal year, including project partners, direct participants, volunteers, and others you would communicate with about this project.
Fiscal year / Student / Faculty / University Departments / CommunityMembers / Organizations / Target Audience
FY13 / 25 / 6 / 4 / 500 / 80 / World-wide geotourists
FY14 / 25 / 6 / 4 / 700 / 80 / World-wide geotourists
How will you communicate with stakeholders about this project?
· HOCP representatives will attend meetings of organizations and present the project and solicit participation and input.
· Media alerts will be broadly distributed throughout the region at project roll-out and throughout the process to invite public participation.
· An opt-in email list will receive regular updates regarding action steps.
· Word of mouth, personal and professional networking, all avenues will be pursued.
· The Design Team will report progress at all HOCP quarterly meetings, which rotate to various gateway community locations, thereby allowing wider participation to folks without the need to travel great distances
· An electronic quarterly newsletter will keep people informed, using HOCP’s opt-in mailing list.
Who are they?
Local residents, volunteer citizens, public land managers, local units of government, business and community leaders, non-profit organizations - all are welcome. Participants come from northeastern Minnesota and Ontario; this is a bi-national effort offered by a bi-national organization.
What is the message or story?
The Heart of the Continent Partnership is partnering with the National Geographic Society Maps Division to designate the Heart of the Continent as a Geotourism destination. Citizen engagement is critical to the project; volunteers are needed for the Stewardship Council, which will oversee project development and implementation. There will be opportunities for financial investment in the project, with the return being exposure to the global travel audience with the National Geographic Society brand over the region and the local travel experience.
Will they be able to respond or react?
Contact information will be provided for those who wish to volunteer, contribute, get engaged in any appropriate manner.
(We expect that there would be different methods and messages with the different groups of stakeholders. Please be thorough in your response.)
Proposed Project Budget (Attach a separate sheet if more space is needed.)
$200,000
Sources of Funds:
Requested Anticipated or Confirmed
Funds from NMSDP $20,000 x
Other Sources:
Ontario and Thunder Bay Tourism $80,000 x
Arrowhead Regional Dev.Com. $5,000 x
Other $95,000 x
TOTAL FUNDING$200,000
Uses of NMSDP Funds: (List project expenses by type/partner/vendor)