Vermont Futures Project

Change is inevitable; without a plan, it will happen to us, rather than by us.

The state of Vermont is facing a unique constellation of interconnected challenges, including a rapidly shrinking working population, limited housing availability, rising affordability pressures, and concerns about the state’s long-term economic viability and future.

Vermonters know that sustainably addressing these issues requires collective action: communities, businesses, policymakers, and residents working together toward a clear North Star. This challenge is what the Vermont Futures Project (VFP) has set out to accomplish.

Relying on insights from Vermont citizens and local organizations, Vermont Futures Project developed the Vermont Economic Action Plan (EAP), a strategic, non-partisan vision informed by data to help communities better understand these challenges and identify opportunities for action. At the center of the EAP is a People + Places framework that defines two long-term outcomes for Vermont: growing the working-age population and increasing the supply of non-seasonal housing. These outcomes provide a clear way to measure progress toward a more affordable, abundant, and thriving Vermont while connecting broader economic strategies to tangible changes in communities.

The plan offers a shared vision and strategic roadmap towards a more affordable, abundant, and thriving Vermont. However, there was a gap: despite the positive reception to the Economic Action Plan, awareness did not necessarily yield aligned action. Over the next year, our grant to the Vermont Futures project will attempt to close that gap.

Over the next six months, the Vermont Futures Project will work to activate the Economic Action Plan, to move from a shared vision to shared action. Utilizing a planning-policy-action framework, VFP will leverage the EAP to provide the data, tools, messaging and advocacy structures that inform public dialogue and resource decisions while centering shared outcomes and data in the conversation. By providing data, communication and storytelling assets that empower stakeholders—residents, business policy makers, local chambers, ambassadors and media partners—VFP hopes to encourage electoral agency and active participation in the upcoming legislative session.

This project goes beyond executing on a communications plan. It provides an actionable and transferable framework for helping stakeholders understand a shared vision and plan, communicate its relevance, and use it as a common reference point for decisions that affect housing, workforce, affordability, and long-term economic vitality. As the Vermont Board of Directors state in the Economic Action Plan, “change is inevitable; without a plan, it will happen to us, rather than by us.”

FCP is supporting Vermont Futures Project as it connects the People + Places framework embedded in the Economic Action plan with broader public engagement and coordinated action. The project creates an opportunity to strengthen how data is shared, how partners communicate, and how communities participate in conversations about Vermont’s economic future.

Looking ahead, this project can inform similar organizations considering how to use accessible data and shared communication tools to support action across different communities.

Explore the Vermont Futures Project and the work behind the Economic Action Plan.

Vermont Futures Project: vtfuturesproject.org

Vermont Economic Action Plan: https://vtfuturesproject.org/vermont-economic-action-plan/

“Vermont’s demographics and housing scarcity exacerbate affordability challenges here in our state. The data are clear and there’s strong consensus among Vermonters that the path forward should be intentional growth towards shared prosperity. We are excited to partner with Finding Common Purpose….to deliver better outcomes that expand economic opportunity."

Vermont

Vermont

Change is inevitable; without a plan, it will happen to us, rather than by us.

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