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Original Date: 04/07/1997
Revision Date: 04/14/2003
Best Practice : Winning Strategies
In late 1995, the Army’s Industrial Operations Command, under base realignment directives, requested proposals for site locations for regional Civilian Personal Operations Centers. This provided an opportunity for Rock Island Arsenal (RIA) to increase the tenant population and distribute overhead costs which were critical to the Arsenal while it operated in a period of reduced manufacturing activities.
A strategic planning exercise was initiated to establish a proposal to locate the Center at the Arsenal. This plan was extremely critical since locating the Center elsewhere would have resulted in a loss of the local Civilian Personnel Advisory Center and 60 jobs at RIA.
A first step of the planning process was to establish a partnership among the local Army Corps of Engineers at Rock Island and Savanna, Illinois, the Corps Headquarters in Chicago, and the Quad Cities Development Corporation to help leverage consideration for an Arsenal location. This combined group represented 32% of the population to be serviced by the new regional Center. The group also benchmarked successful proposals from an installation in Germany and at Fort Riley, Kansas. This team approach worked to vie against competitors from Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, the Tank Automotive Command in Detroit, and the St. Paul Corps of Engineers office.
The second step of the plan was to host a site visit to demonstrate Arsenal capabilities. A proactive approach was utilized to promote facilities, support units, and quality of life at the Arsenal. Supporting presentations by local mayors and community support organizations enhanced the overall presentation. Post award critiques of the visit indicated that this proactive attitude, the spirit of Arsenal and Community personnel, and its support capabilities were keys in providing a successful proposal.
The importance of establishing a partnership and developing a proactive approach were confirmed when the new regional Center was awarded to RIA and the local Civilian Personnel Advisory Center site was retained. As a result, 120 new positions have been created with an expected growth to 186 in 1999, 25 positions were retained, and overhead cost distribution was increased.
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Point of Contact for this survey.
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