April 1, 2025
Future Plans’ GRIT Project and Move Up Ohio showcase how regional cooperation is transforming workforce development and education across Ohio.
Future Plans’ GRIT Project and Move Up Ohio are community-driven initiatives that highlight the important power of collaboration. What began as individual counties feeling unheard and under-resourced has evolved into powerful, unified voices and counties working together toward shared goals for the mutual benefit of Ohio residents.
Regional Collaboration
Historically, individual counties lacked influence in Ohio due to small populations and isolated efforts. Today, however, when neighboring counties unite under a single banner with aligned priorities, they gain significant political and economic influence equal in scale to major urban centers like Columbus, Cleveland, or Cincinnati. This regional collaboration now allows them to compete more effectively for resources, affect state-level policy, and achieve more together than any county could alone.
Project GRIT Success
One of Future Plans’ most profound impacts of this collaborative model is Project GRIT’s success. For decades, students in Appalachia were underserved in high-level STEM courses due to staffing limitations. Now, through shared resources and cross-county planning, schools are ensuring equitable access to STEM education, better preparing students for future careers that will strongly support the state’s workforce development and economic initiatives.
Resource Sharing in Rural Counties
Appalachia and other rural counties in Ohio where Future Plans operates are not necessarily resource-poor but resource-isolated. By fostering a mindset of collaboration, communities have begun pooling their financial, human, and educational resources—unlocking abundance where there was once scarcity. For example, when one school system lacks a STEM teacher, nearby districts now share instructors and, through the use of technology, can extend access to STEM curriculums, ensuring no student is left behind.
This shift from competition to cooperation means 1 + 1 = 5
In other words, $1 from one county plus $1 from an adjacent county can have the impact of $5 for both counties. The effect illustrates how collaboration multiplies impact beyond what’s possible alone.
On behalf of the staff, I want to extend my appreciation to all of our partners who help us make Ohio better each and every day, including:
- The State of Ohio, for its continued support through the biennial budget process.
- Ohio Means Jobs, the region’s largest funding partner.
- School Districts, for sharing their Navigators and partnering across systems.
- Educational Service Centers, treatment providers, and community agencies, who’ve shown up consistently to share ideas and support services.
