Downtown Management Board, East Lansing, MI

Written By Candy Isabel

Project: DMB 5 Year Strategic Priorities Plan

Service: Strategic Planning

Khamai Strategies was engaged by the East Lansing Downtown Management Board (DMB) to lead the development of a Strategic Priorities Plan that would guide its work through 2030. This project came at a critical moment as the Board sought to redefine its mission, reconnect with stakeholders, and refocus its efforts toward revitalizing downtown East Lansing. Through a series of board interviews, community engagement sessions, and structured planning workshops, Khamai facilitated a collaborative process to surface community needs, build alignment, and develop a clear, actionable strategy.

Key Deliverables

  • Stakeholder Engagement Design & Facilitation: Led a multi-modal engagement strategy including listening sessions, one-on-one interviews, real-time feedback tools, and surveys. This process captured insights from board members, business owners, city staff, and other stakeholders to ground the plan in real-world perspectives.

  • Strategic Visioning & North Star Development: Facilitated the creation of a refreshed vision statement and a “North Star” future-state narrative for the DMB. These were co-developed with stakeholders and validated through multiple rounds of feedback to ensure alignment and shared ownership.

  • Qualitative Data Analysis & Theming: Synthesized hundreds of data points across interviews, sessions, and open-ended feedback. Developed a coded data framework and identified key themes that directly informed the plan’s priorities, goals, and tactics.

  • Strategic Priorities Framework: Defined four strategic priorities, each with a clear goal statement, focus areas, and actionable tactics. These priorities reflect stakeholder input and align with DMB's capacity and mandate.

  • Performance Metrics & Outcome Benchmarks: Designed measurable outcome benchmarks and key performance indicators (KPIs) for each priority to allow the Board to track progress and make data-informed adjustments.

  • Monitoring & Evaluation Strategy: Provided a structure for ongoing evaluation, including an annual work planning cycle, accountability checkpoints, and a plan for integrating data into decision-making.

  • Final Strategic Plan Document: Developed a full written report that captured the strategy, stakeholder engagement findings, implementation considerations, and appendices with source data. The plan was designed to be both functional and visually polished.

  • Executive Presentation for Public Use: Created a slide deck summarizing the strategic plan for presentations to City Council, business owners, and other stakeholders, making the strategy easy to communicate and build momentum around.

  • Appendix with Engagement Data & Analysis: Included detailed engagement notes, coded data summaries, and feedback results from all stages of the process to ensure transparency and institutional memory.

Follow the links below to learn more the East Lansing DMB

https://www.cityofeastlansing.com/371/Downtown-Management-Board

https://www.facebook.com/DowntownEastLansing/

Candy Isabel
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