TACTICAL REVITALIZATION PLAN FOR DOWNTOWN ALBANY NY

Section 2
B. STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
Helping Albany to Tell Its Unique Story...
NBBJ has proposed a series of activities that will actively engage the stakeholders and
champions to be a fully participative part of the process. The engagement model includes the
following concepts described at length in their respective sections:
• The Albany Visual Essay
• Pecha Kucha Albany
• #ShowMe (TedX format presentation)
• Beta-testing Action Teams
Our process is designed to engage a broader group of participants than is typical through a
standard public meeting process. The objective of this effort is to create the story of Albany as
described by its residents and businesses which makes it more authentic and creates a rallying
point for the city. Moreover, these approaches utilize means of communication that the creative
class are most comfortable with, in order to insure that the plan developed accommodates
these new trends and anticipates those that are likely to grow stronger in the future. The team
proposes to engage the students in the university community and other interested participants
Our intent is to fully engage the action teams/working groups to jump start and “beta test”
initial ideas that can be implemented quickly, ideally, during the design process.
It is important during the planning process to cultivate “action teams” who will assist in the
implementation of the overall plan or on key components of it. Action teams can be groups
or individuals who are sufficiently passionate to pursue the goals of the project once the team
has completed the Plan. Ideally members of the action groups are groups, organizations or
stakeholders that have the ability to assist in the realization of the Plan with influence and/or
financial resources, but occasionally, sheer doggedness is sufficient to carry a project forward.
An important Plan objective is to create enough buy-in from the public and stakeholders,
through structured and meaningful opportunities early in the process, which ultimately provides
a sense of ownership of the plan during implementation.
Specific Processes and Deliverables:
• Stakeholder interviews - both group and individual - provide an opportunity for the team
to ask a series of questions about hopes and concerns for the Downtown and identify
important issues that must be resolved in the plan. Our task is to not only ask the right
questions and listen, but to provide guidance and facilitate understanding to these
important constituents. We will conduct stakeholder interviews over a multi-day period
in Albany. It is assumed that these stakeholders – identified by the City of Albany - will
represent:
• local community leaders,
• business owners,