Since 2020, thousands of Ward 8 residents have worked side-by-side with community, nonprofit, faith, philanthropic, and business leaders to do community economic development differently – and better.
Planning for Ward 8 has always been driven by outside experts, focused on the community’s problems, not its strengths, and done in silos that ignored the critical connections between issues like health, jobs, transportation, and housing. The Ward 8 Community Economic Development Planning Process (W8CED) turned that failed model on its head to develop a report that’s resident-driven and comprehensive. The initiative:
- Engaged Ward 8 residents to map the area’s social, cultural, and economic assets and collect data on the community’s challenges.
- Articulated goals aimed at building wealth and health, promoting equity, and creating social and economic assets Ward 8 residents can benefit from and own.
- Developed a set of priorities encompassing health, housing, education, job creation, transportation, public safety, and other factors contributing to economic vitality and community well-being.
The final report, released in February, serves as a roadmap to leverage Ward 8 assets, align and maximize the impact of public and private sector investments, and generate economic activity.
To access the report, click one of the buttons below, take a brief moment to tell us who you are, and we’ll send the report your way!
A Digital Collective to Drive Progress
The W8CED report lays the groundwork for a “digital collective” to help residents continue the collaboration begin through the planning process. The Ward 8 Digital Collective will serve as a forum for Ward 8 residents to:
- Communicate with each other
- Educate themselves and their neighbors on key issues facing our community
- Coordinate their work to improve the community, collaborate on solutions, and
- Advocate for reforms that make Ward 8 a better place to live, work, and do business
Through the Ward 8 Digital Collective’s free, easy-to-use online platform, residents will hold policymakers, business leaders, foundations, and other stakeholders accountable for progress.
OUR VISION
The vision for the outcome of a community economic development strategy is a progressive proactive community.
our mission
The mission of the strategy is to promote Ward 8’s social and economic assets and build the capacity to ensure that existing residents.
Community First
The philosophy of the process in developing the strategy must focus on keeping the confidence of Ward 8 residents and other community stake holders.
innovation
On-going capacity building and out-of-the-box thinking, fueled by regular evaluation, will lead to community’s sustained effectiveness.
W8CED Subcommittees
The resident-led subcommittees that drove the initial planning process will continue to lead W8CED’s work through the Ward 8 Digital Collective. With a focus on the specific priorities identified in the W8CED report, subcommittees will identify steps necessary to move individuals and families from crisis to thriving. And subcommittees will coordinate outreach to government, business, philanthropic, and nonprofit leaders and hold those leaders accountable for progress toward a healthier, safer, more prosperous Ward 8. W8CED subcommittees include:
Economic Justice
Economic growth and wealth creation, small business and cooperative development, access to capital, procurement, and workforce
Education, Workforce Development and Employment
Building a pre-K to workforce pipeline, culturally-relevant education, engaging employers in shaping school and career prep curricula
Environmental Justice
Sustainability and the green economy, safe water and clean air, nutritious local food, affordable and renewable energy
Family Support
Improve social services coordination, promote family success centers, advocate for universal guaranteed income, and facilitate resident communication
Health, Wellness and Safety
Mitigate trauma through improved health care access, advocate for universal guaranteed income, youth engagement, and policing reform
Housing Justice
Prioritize Ward 8 residents for affordable housing, support current homeowners and expand homeownership in Ward 8
ward 8 official video
community developers
The vision for the outcome of a community economic development strategy is a progressive proactive community, providing a variety of opportunities from education, employment, public safety, business, housing, etc.
economic developers
There is a critical need to create a “bottom-up” ownership in the creation of a community economic development plan in Ward 8.
stakeholders
The philosophy of the process in developing the strategy must focus on keeping the confidence of Ward 8 residents and other community stake holders.
government folks
W8CED is engaging Ward 8 residents to lead the development of an economic development plan for the community we call home.
Residents & stakeholders will work together
endorsements
I have been engaged in and supportive of the W8CED since its earliest development over 10 years ago, before I became the Councilman of Ward 8. I am proud of what the residents have achieved in creating this unique bottom-up process that has produced this significant report. The community is excited about the opportunity to develop a data-driven plan that the Digital Collective will implement.
Ward 8 has a critical need to create ownership and develop a community economic development plan. W8CED has worked tirelessly to develop a plan. I’m truly excited about what this portends for the future of Ward 8.
The power of the W8CED work lies in both the vision and the intentionality for Ward 8 residents to lead and inform planning efforts. Enterprise is committed to working with W8CED members on the implementation of recommendations.
The Ward 8 Community Economic Development initiative is a true community-centered, community-led effort. The collective power, expertise and vision of the community were evident and inspiring throughout this comprehensive process. As a foundation, we were honored to have been asked to come alongside W8CED to create lasting change for the well-being of this vital community. We are energized by the road ahead — confident that implementation of the identified priorities will benefit Ward 8 children and families for generations to come.
Twelve years ago, the White House Domestic Policy Council asked us to design an innovation hub to promote economic opportunity and urban revitalization in Ward 8 — and specifically, to take advantage of the expected Homeland Security headquarters consolidation at the St. Elizabeths site. Through all that has happened since that early work was completed, the W8CED community and its partners have come together, stayed together, and sustained an impressive focus on what they know will be most needed for urban economic revitalization. This W8CED plan reflects this broad community consensus, and we believe its implementation offers great promise for future prosperity.
I observed the patience, realism and resolvency that this process utilized to ensure the highest level of community engagement as one of the best I’ve witnessed in my over 40 years of experience. This effort was well-conceived, well-led and sustained in ways which should inspire confidence of future investors and participants.
Articulating residents’ voices and priorities for a more inclusive, vibrant and prosperous community is the first step toward economic development that works for Ward 8. That’s exactly what the W8CED report does.
As a lifetime resident and community activist, I commend W8CED for its dedication in motivating the residents of Ward 8 to take a hard look at their community and articulate what the community needs to grow and thrive. This analysis was built by the people with the deepest understanding of the community and the most at stake in its future. That’s why this report is different and why it will make a difference.
Planning efforts traditionally looked at Ward 8 as a collection of problems for external ‘experts’ to solve. The W8CED initiative engaged the real experts — residents and stakeholders — to identify priorities based on assessing the community’s strengths and needs and identify priorities for a healthier, stronger Ward 8.
Involvement in a bonafide grassroots planning effort has helped UDC build relationships that will further our work in Ward 8 and strengthen our partnerships with residents and organizations, key among which is the W8CED. We look forward to working with W8CED to ensure that Ward 8 residents make the decisions that build their community’s prosperity.
As a community-minded developer and long-term holder of real estate, Redbrick LMD looks at its partnership with Ward 8 CED as an opportunity to learn more about community needs and aspirations so that we develop projects that honor what matters most to Ward 8 residents.
The Anacostia Coordinating Council (ACC) has been honored to be included in W8CED planning process. Presentations on the process have been staples of the ACC monthly meetings. The W8CED outreach that has been and is being done demonstrates that it is structurally, substantively, strategically and stylistically a grassroots effort that operates from the ground up. This innovative approach is best for the community and empowering for the residents.
At Whitman-Walker, we have always been responsive to feedback from our patients and clients so we can ensure care and services that meet their needs. So, when I was asked to serve on W8CED, I was elated. A community-driven strategy for growth and planning is not only the best way to create meaningful outcomes, but it also allows all of the organizations working on W8CED to gain crucial knowledge to better reflect community need in our own services and offerings.
We applaud and fully support the W8CED community-led and grassroots-focused economic development and resident well-being improvement strategy. Our team at DCPCA endorses the outstanding work done to date and supports the establishment of the Digital Collective as a viable means to further the economic development and community well-being improvement for Ward 8 residents. We have and will continue to serve as a community partner and ongoing supporter.
The United Planning Organization, the Community Action Agency for Washington, DC, endorses the W8CED community plan. As a Community Action Agency, UPO believes in the concept of the maximum feasible participation of residents defining, creating and living in communities and spaces that lead to a high quality of life and living. The W8CED, with its bottom-up approach, respects and elevates the collaboration of residents, businesses and community partners to give voice and a framework for community-directed growth with an emphasis on resident-directed, equitable economic development.
I am excited to give a ringing endorsement for the W8CED, which is truly a community-led effort toward building wealth in our families, businesses and community at large. It represents months of data-gathering, analysis and publication, and a resulting report that was developed from the bottom up and not the top down. A wide swath of the community weighed in, and so the voice of the community was heard. I look forward to the implementation phase which, I believe, will yield amazing results.
This is a momentous occasion as we witness the collective power of bringing together many voices of the Ward 8 community for the express purpose of charting a pathway forward toward economic mobility. With power recentered within the community, this has been a unique opportunity to bring together residents, community-based organizations, business leaders, the government and philanthropy to focus on strengthening work already in progress and building new roads that will lead to long-term, sustained community wealth.
I observed the patience, realism and resolvency that this process utilized to ensure the highest level of community engagement as one of the best I’ve witnessed in my over 40 years of experience. This effort was well-conceived, well-led and sustained in ways which should inspire confidence of future investors and participants.
Articulating residents’ voices and priorities for a more inclusive, vibrant and prosperous community is the first step toward economic development that works for Ward 8. That’s exactly what the W8CED report does.