‘Our chance to restart and reinvent’

Charlottesville Chamber releases regional recovery blueprint

Published June 25, 2020 by Sydney Lake

As part of its COVID-19 economic recovery initiative Project Rebound, the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce on Thursday released a blueprint outlining recovery action steps for the business community.

Produced by Big Four accounting firm KPMG LLP, the “Blueprint for Economic Resiliency and Reinvention in the Greater Charlottesville Region” maps out recovery action steps based on data from stakeholder meetings and interviews with more than 300 local participants.

“This blueprint can be a starting point on the road to economic recovery,” Chamber President and CEO Elizabeth Cromwell said in a statement. “Project Rebound will continue bringing the business community together to build partnerships around the most promising solutions.”

Blueprint recommendations are based on topics brought up by survey respondents, including rebuilding consumer, business and workforce confidence and addressing health and safety concerns.

The blueprint suggests actions in the following areas:

authoritative safety protocols
trustworthy information sharing and ways to access resources
facilitating access to testing
working with government on emergency policies
continued inclusive conversation
a buy-local initiative

The blueprint also addresses creating a more inclusive business community.

“As Project Rebound convened multiple conversations in May, it became clear that voices were missing,” Cromwell said in a statement. “Our business community needs to work harder to build trust with communities of color and foster equity in everything we do.”

The chamber plans to develop an equity council to inform programming, governance and staffing of the organization.

“This is our chance to restart and reinvent,” the blueprint reads.