The McLean County Community Compact is a dynamic organization of dedicated community, education, and business leaders committed to unify and mobilize community and external resources by enhancing the culture of shared responsibility to maintain and enhance workforce development in McLean County.
Our mission is to grow a robust, diverse, and work-ready talent pipeline through an integrated network of employers, educators, and community resources.
The McLean County Community Compact was formed as a not-for-profit corporation in 1989 as an outgrowth of a local youth problem study group. Barbara F. Stuart spearheaded the organization’s founding and served as its first director. During the early ‘90s, the Compact affiliated with the McLean County Unit of the University of Illinois Extension.
In 2012 and 2013, through mutual agreement, the Compact formally ended its affiliation with the University of Illinois Extension. As a result of a strategic planning exercise held during the transition, the Compact established new vision and mission statements aimed at forming alliances and facilitating community efforts to improve college and career readiness. This changed the focus from developing programs to enhancing partnerships.
In 2015, BNAdvantage, an Economic Development Strategy for the Bloomington-Normal-McLean County region was unveiled, establishing a strategic framework to guide McLean County to a prosperous and sustainable economic future. A critical component of BNAdvantage was the development of a standing Workforce Development Committee, championed by the McLean County Chamber of Commerce, to fulfill workforce development goals. The efforts of the Workforce Development Committee and the mission of the McLean County Community Compact made for a natural partnership to share leadership, commitment, and resources to support community stakeholders from business, government, labor, education and the community to achieve BNAdvantage strategic goals. In March of 2018, the McLean County Community Compact Board of Directors voted to become a subsidiary of the McLean County Chamber of Commerce and rebrand the organization as COMPACT.
McLean County Community Compact
A subsidiary of the McLean County Chamber of Commerce
Charlie Moore, President & CEO
McLean County Chamber of Commerce
mcleancochamber.org
The Compact’s core values are collaboration, commitment, equity, innovation, and outcome-focused.
The McLean Compact brought on two AmeriCorps VISTA members in June, launched a new website at mcleancocompact.org and conducted the Becoming BN program virtually in July.
To support communities during COVID-19, the McLean Chamber of Commerce, which serves as the backbone organization for the McLean County Leadership Community, has developed a new, jointly-sponsored website with resources for community access.
2019 was a busy year in McLean County. They piloted Becoming BN, developed the Education to Employer Summit, launched the Essential Workplace Skills in partnership, and continued work with the College and Career Pathways Endorsements.
With grant funding assistance from EdSystems, committees are working to complete education and training pathways and stackable credentials in identified industry clusters.
Over the last several months the McLean County Compact action teams have developed a logic model that outlines resources, activities, products and outcomes related to joint goals, including the 60 by 25 goal.
The McLean County 60 by 25 Network leadership team has taken a big step to strengthen their efforts toward the 60 by 25 goal.
Fifteen collaborative entities are now formally involved in strategic planning regarding the 60 by 25 goal in McLean County.
In McLean County, over a dozen education, employer, and community entities adopted the 60 by 25 goal and have made it part of their strategic planning toward workforce development.
The McLean County Leadership Community effort is utilizing existing structures to promote the 60 by 25 goal, while embarking on a comprehensive strategic planning process that will help it to streamline and leverage its education to careers efforts more effectively.
