In the weeks following Mayor Levine Cava’s installation in November 2020, the Mayor’s Office and The Miami Foundation (TMF) collaborated to define the structure of Thrive305 and the key issue areas that the effort would focus on, including initial ideas for topics that would be included in a countywide survey – the first public component of Thrive305.
These discussions took place against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic and the immediate need to protect lives and livelihoods. Newly-installed Mayor Levine Cava’s emphasis on responding to the crisis at hand was matched by a focus on also getting to work on the many other urgent, overlapping issues facing residents – especially where County government could have the power to take action to improve people’s lives.
In December 2020, the Thrive305 team agreed on six themes that would guide resident engagement:
- Combatting COVID-19 and Creating a Healthier Community
- Keeping Miami-Dade County Safe
- Growing an Inclusive and Prosperous Economy
- Housing All Residents
- Building for Sustainability
- Reforming County Hall
Once these themes were identified, discussions expanded to include other senior leaders across County government, including all 13 members of the Miami-Dade Board of County Commissioners. These conversations helped to shape the focus of the initiative and helped identify ways to coordinate Thrive305 activities with other parallel government initiatives. For example, Thrive305 organizers worked closely with the County’s Office of Management and Budget to time engagement efforts in ways that would maximize the extent to which resident priorities identified through Thrive305 could inform the Fiscal Year 2021-2022 budget, which was already being defined internally.
The Mayor’s Office of Innovation and Performance has acted as the primary government lead and has led engagement of County government leaders and staff across all 26 departments. The Miami Foundation has acted as the project’s primary civic lead and local convenor, overseeing the growing network of Thrive305 Civic Partners described above. TMF also oversees the work of HR&A Advisors, which has provided technical assistance in the design of this initiative using an engagement methodology called “Talking Transition” and support in implementing Thrive305.