Retrospective Evaluation
of the Great Northern Corridor Collaborative
Sparc
2007
Contact: Jennifer
Valorose
The Great Northern Corridor project was a collaborative of four St. Paul organizations. From 1997 to 2006, they worked to create a new urban industrial park adjoined by areas of new and rehabilitated housing and served by nearby commercial centers and key community services such as schools, child care centers, parks and recreation facilities. Rainbow was hired to conduct a retrospective evaluation to determine the degree they reached their goals and what can be learned from their collaborative experience. Rainbow reviewed organization documents, conducted interviews with local residents, elected officials and business owners in the area, and facilitated a discussion with steering committee members. The research documented the economic and physical impact of GNC’s work, and led to the development of nine key lessons for collaborations of this type.