Suzanne Cummings is community development outreach communications manager and Jessica Grant-Domond is a senior community development analyst, both in Regional & Community Outreach at the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.

A “shared long-term goal” (or shared result) “for economic and community well-being” is a commitment to a shared vision of how a community can and should grow and how all community members can benefit from that growth. Some communities may focus on building a strong, local workforce, while others may focus on offering high-quality education, helping small businesses thrive, or becoming a technology hub. Whatever the shared focus, achieving “the dream” depends on envisioning what success might look like 10–20 years from now and increasing the capacity of institutions and community members to work toward that common goal and vision of the future.

In the Boston Fed’s Working Places (WP) initiative, communities are asked to create goals that support the long-term vision of improving conditions and increasing prospects for historically marginalized and under-resourced populations. These goals should be larger than what any one organization or leader can accomplish on their own. While short-term goals and strategies may be debated, the overall shared result that everyone wants to achieve is the driver that keeps people focused and committed to the work.

In this Invested Interprets, we hear from two WP community leaders in Connecticut. Tomas Olivo is the initiative director for Working Cities Challenge of Waterbury, and Kevin Taylor is a key partner and executive director at Neighborhood Housing Services of Waterbury.

The views expressed are not necessarily those of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston or the Federal Reserve System. Information about organizations, programs, and events is strictly informational and not an endorsement.