The Town of Bremen has been added to Indiana’s Hometown Collaboration Initiative. It’s designed to help communities of 25,000 or fewer people develop local leaders, promote small businesses, and enhance their natural and physical assets.
The program is a partnership involving the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs, Ball State University’s Indiana Communities Institute, and Purdue University’s Center for Regional Development. Those groups work with the selected communities to study their local economies and residents, and evaluate past and current planning efforts. Community forums and surveys are typically part of the process, according to OCRA.
Based on those results, the town will then choose whether to focus on economy, leadership, or placemaking. In Bremen’s case, the town hopes the program will help develop relationships between its government, businesses, and residents.
Bremen and Crawford County were announced Wednesday as the fourth group of Hometown Collaboration Initiative communities. They join 12 other cities, towns, and counties from the first three phases.
