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How You Are Scored

For every Proposal or Plan that complies with all of the related instruction requirements, five (5) Judges will review, comment and score your content. A copy of the Scoring Tool is provided here. Please take time to review it. There are three (3) distinct traits that Judges are asked to assess. You must present solutions that are LOCAL, FEASIBLE and INNOVATIVE. To further define those criteria, please test drive the Scoring Tool. Here, you can see the questions to prompt each judge, so that they may better understand how to explore the criterion and definitions for each scoring range. Feel free to toggle back and forth by moving the scoring ball from 0.0-5.0. And, just as a Judge is required to justify a score for each trait with a minimum comment of 50 characters, you can see exactly how they will enter their feedback to you.

JUDGING CRITERION #

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LOCAL
(0 - 5)

Does the Proposal/Plan take into account local economic conditions, focusing on existing and potential competitive advantages, in its recommended solutions? Is the Proposal/Plan expected to result in direct economic benefits to the city and its surrounding area? Does the Proposal/Plan identify local assets, economic strengths and weaknesses, and describe how the city can leverage assets and strengths to result in economic benefits?

DISENGAGED

Failed to recognize any unique conditions in the City; recommendations could have applied to anywhere...	Paid basic attention to general conditions but not based on any specific City need.	Recognized local conditions and demonstrated an understanding of the economic climate.	Paid attention to specific City needs and focused on targeted economic issues.	Grounded by a detailed understanding of the needs of the City and its people.
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INFORMED

JUDGING CRITERION #

:
FEASIBLE
(0 - 5)

Can the Proposal/Plan yield practical and concrete results in a realistic timeframe that justify the level of required investment, addressing likely obstacles, such as resources available to the city? Does the Proposal/Plan identify economic development strategies that are achievable using existing city resources, or propose ways in which the city can utilize nonexisting/currently unidentified resources to implement these economic development strategies? Does the Proposal/Plan outline a timeline by which the city can develop actionable strategies to implement the ideal contained in the Proposal/Plan?

UNREALISTIC

Misguided by an optimistic understanding of obstacles and underestimated the effort required to deliver results.	Addressed basic obstacles to general recommendations but not with specific or realistic tasks.	Demonstrated a realistic and efficient level of effort and attention to detail.	Addressed specific obstacles with recommendations tied to detailed, measurable and cost effective tasks.	Guided by practical and concrete recommendations; considered timing, funding, return on investment and measureable outcomes.
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PRACTICAL

JUDGING CRITERION #

:
INNOVATIVE
(0 - 5)

Is the Proposal/Plan offering a fresh and forward-looking approach that will lead to a clear set of strategically-aligned goals that other economic development initiatives have failed to deliver? Are the ideas and strategies submitted in the Proposal/Plan duplicative of existing plans or strategies being utilized by the city? Does the Proposal/Plan outlay strategies that propose to utilize city resources in more effective and efficient ways to realize the city's economic development goals?

ORDINARY

Promoted style over substance or lacked new and original methods with not enough practical thinking.	Raised novel and interesting concepts but failed to tie approach to clear outcomes.	Delivered new and different methods with focus on concrete goals and improving outcomes.	Raised creative and new ideas that offer a clear roadmap to improved conditions.	Introduced ground breaking and advanced thinking that exceeds the promise of any previous approach.
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INSPIRED