Executive Summary

The tri-county Monterey Bay region of the Central Coast – Santa Cruz, Monterey, and San Benito Counties – stands at a significant crossroads. This vibrant region encompasses over 5,115 square miles and is home to 766,738 residents. Beautiful beaches, majestic hills with robust agricultural output, significant tourism, and emerging technology sectors distinguish the region from other parts of California. The region also is marked by significant socio-economic inequities, with many residents struggling to cover basic costs of living such as housing and child care. Those twin truths are at the heart of this Investment Plan Blueprint. With the right partners and investments, it is possible to forge a future that builds on the region’s assets while addressing its challenges.

The tri-county region is considered an early adopter of regional economic development planning and implementation that centers the principles of inclusivity, equity, and meaningful community engagement. Since February 2020, under the umbrella of Regions Rise Together (RRT), the region has been cultivating a collaborative ecosystem of cross-sector partners focused on identifying and resourcing implementable solutions that address the region’s most pressing socioeconomic challenges. An early outcome of the RRT Collaborative was the initial Investment Plan Blueprint, which provided an inventory of agreed upon priorities that should be resourced with tangible actions in the Salinas Valley.

While initial investments were secured to deploy strategies aligned with collective priorities, the scope of RRT in recent years has expanded to include: (1) a broader geography of the Monterey Bay defined by the three counties of Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito; (2) a wider set of stakeholders to participate and contribute; and (3) alignment with other complementary regional initiatives that have surfaced since the collaborative’s inception.

This document serves as the RRT Collaborative’s second edition of its Investment Plan Blueprint. Embedded are Collective priorities and strategies co-created with a more expansive set of regional stakeholders who represent the diversity of the tri-county region. It is rooted in the region's people, places, and cultures, and positions the tri-county region to forge a new path of prosperity for all. It presents a bold yet practical investment strategy to bring forth transformative change.

The document leverages the body of work generated from other important inclusive economic development initiatives in the region that surfaced as a result of RRT. These other initiatives are helping document baselines for regional challenges, identify metrics for monitoring progress and impact of interventions, and inform further solution-building. A goal of the RRT Collaborative is for its efforts to integrate into these other regional initiatives and vice versa. Alignment is key and should be supported by the entities whose participation overlaps across multiple initiatives.This updated version of the Investment Plan Blueprint is organized around four Priority Investment Areas. Each area identifies the necessary investments for implementation. Together they total $510.5 million.

1. Community Leadership and Power Building – $183 million
2. Child Care – $87.5 million
3. Housing – $103.25 million
4. Economic Opportunity Expansion – $136.75 million

The Investment Plan Blueprint is an actionable document intended to be referenced and cited by all who helped create it and all who can play a role in implementing it. The document represents an iterative exercise that will be updated as regional priorities change and shift, to be utilized as an asset, or tool, to build a broader coalition of supporters who can help resource solutions for priorities found within its pages. Perhaps most importantly, the document serves as a reminder of the importance of regional collaboration and alignment, and the greater impact that can occur when stakeholders work together in service to shared prosperity.

The RRT Collaborative is at a critical juncture. Our communities have come together and found common ground. The region’s attributes and assets are ripe for growth and advancement. The RRT Collaborative stands ready to move into collective implementation. Public and private partners will play a crucial role in supporting and ensuring that the strategies identified in this Investment Plan Blueprint come fully to life.

Sincerely and gratefully,
Regions Rise Together Collaborative
Monterey Bay Region - Monterey, San Benito, and Santa Cruz Counties