Designing Inclusive Investment Strategies: Future of the Seattle Economy

How Do You Align Community Priorities to Shape Equitable Economic Growth?

Client: City of Seattle Office of Economic Development (OED)
Services: Strategic Planning, Community Engagement, Research and Analytics, Meeting and Retreat Facilitation
Focus Areas: Workforce Development, Project Management, Economoic Development

Synthesis, Stakeholder Engagement & Strategy Development

As Seattle emerged from the pandemic, the City recognized the need to invest differently—to rebuild the economy in a way that’s more inclusive and community-driven. But with so many stakeholders already doing deep work in the economic development space, how do you unify diverse voices into a shared investment agenda? In 2022, the Office of Economic Development (OED) partnered with Kinetic West to do just that: co-create a community-informed roadmap for economic growth that centers those historically excluded from opportunity.

We began by acknowledging that the community already had ideas. Our job was to elevate them. Over six months, we built a process to listen deeply, synthesize insights, and turn shared priorities into a clear investment framework.

► Review of Existing Insights: We analyzed over a dozen Seattle-based economic development reports from community-based organizations to identify recurring priorities and ideas.

► Broad-Based Community Input: We gathered feedback from 39 survey respondents across local economic development, nonprofit, and business organizations to validate and expand our understanding of community priorities.

► Facilitated Investment Workgroups: With over 80 individuals from philanthropy, government, business, and community-based organizations, we ran six facilitated workgroups—five based on strategic pillars and one focused on public / private investment alignment—to co-develop and refine investment strategies.

► Strategic Pillar Creation: Through this process, we identified five clear investment areas with a combined 42 community-driven economic development priorities:

  • Investing in Talent and Building Our Workforce

  • Supporting Small Businesses and Women- and Minority-Owned Business Enterprises (WMBEs)

  • Building Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) Community Wealth

  • Investing in Neighborhood Business Districts

  • Growing Businesses and Key Industries

The image represents the interconnectedness of strategic pillars to achieve an inclusive eocnomy for Seattle.

The Result: A Plan to Guide Equitable Investment

Our work culminated in the creation of The Future of the Seattle Economy, a guiding report for the City of Seattle’s economic investments. But we didn’t stop at the plan—we stayed involved to bring it to life:

✔ Facilitated and managed ongoing workgroups to translate strategy into implementation
✔ Created protocols and tools for efficient collaboration, including agendas, calendars, facilitation templates, and outcome tracking
✔ Supported OED in synthesizing final recommendations and launching the plan publicly

The strategy was officially adopted through a City Council resolution, guiding how the City allocates JumpStart funding investments “to make Seattle economically diverse, just, and resilient.”

Why It Matters

This project wasn’t about starting from scratch—it was about connecting the dots. Community voices shaped the vision. Kinetic West helped build the bridge from ideas to action. The result: a grounded, community-centered investment strategy for Seattle’s future.

Let’s Talk

Are you navigating complex stakeholder ecosystems and looking to build an inclusive investment or policy plan? We’d love to help you turn community input and insights into a strategy for impact. Email theresa.kouo@kineticwest.com to connect.