A Systematic Approach to Project Portfolio Selection for Economic Development in Municipalities: A Case Study in Vienna, Missouri

Economic development is essential for the survival of all municipalities in the United States. Economic growth, created through project implementation, brings new capital into municipalities by increasing the tax base. Smaller municipalities often struggle to implement projects that promote economic growth. These municipalities run into problems because they lack resources to hire an economic consultant and capabilities to independently complete the strategic planning process. This paper describes an easy-to-use and easy-to-implement systematic ten-step approach to project portfolio selection for economic growth within smaller municipalities. Developed from considerable research in the areas of community development, economic analysis, and project portfolio selection, the ten-step approach takes into account the unique needs, limited subject knowledge, and technological constraints of these communities. The ten-step approach first utilizes the scoring method and Cost Benefit Analysis as preliminary project screening steps. Then the Analytical Hierarchy Process is implemented as the portfolio selection technique. By using these methods and taking into account the limited subject knowledge and technological constraints, this process makes it possible for smaller municipalities to independently develop a strategic planning process and successfully implement projects that will promote economic growth