1. Introduction

At OneSTL.org we are creating a “Sustainable Projects Marketplace” (The Marketplace). The Marketplace will be a tool for connecting people, projects and resources to implement sustainable programs in St. Louis. It might be thought of as a match-making program to further sustainable projects in the region. At The Marketplace you will be able to submit projects that need support and search for projects for which you may have resources to contribute. “Resources” or “support” may include financing, donations, technical assistance, volunteers, or research.

Submit a Project: Before we go live with The Marketplace, we need your project(s). What program(s) are you working on or are interested in working on that will help meet the goals of the OneSTL plan? Fill out the survey for as many projects as you like but start a new survey response for each initiative. In addition to considering if the project is a good fit for The Marketplace, we will use the initial responses we receive to determine if we need to change the questions we ask and to build The Marketplace webpage. We will follow up with you if we need more details on your project before including it on The Marketplace. If you have questions or would prefer to discuss, contact Aaron Young at 314-421-4220, 618-274-2750, or aaron@ewgateway.org .

Background: The Marketplace is being developed based on conversations that have been taking place among community and financial organizations in the region as well as follow-up to the OneSTL Linking Research and Practice Conference that took place on January 23, 2015. At the conference over 120 St. Louis researchers and practitioners came together to discuss how to move forward on two areas of the regional sustainable development plan, OneSTL – (1) Sustainable Water Infrastructure and (2) Equitable Economic & Community Development. To view a summary of the discussions, including ideas for moving forward, visit onestl.org/resources/past-events.

Feedback: The last question of the survey asks for your suggestions on making The Marketplace a useful tool. As you are answering the survey questions about your project, we encourage you to think about if there are any other questions we should be asking about projects, and how The Marketplace should be designed to most effectively connect people, projects and resources.

Note: Projects will be evaluated by OneSTL staff to determine if they are a good fit for the Sustainable Projects Marketplace based on how they further sustainability in the St. Louis region and tie to OneSTL.

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