Management Planning
​Focus area planning committee
(FAPC) resources
This webpage is your Focus Area Planning Committee member resource.
Here, you'll find information about the Calumet National Heritage Area management planning process, the Heritage Area itself, and draft of
​"white papers" related to each FAPC goal/priority area. ​
Working Assumptions
  1. Build from and flesh out Goals and Priorities identified in the Calumet NHA Feasibility Study. 
  2. Try not to re-invent the wheel. Coordinate what was set forth in the Feasibility Study and find the sweet spot with existing plans, but with less text and more spreadsheets/diagrams.
  3. Use existing NPS management plan structure and guidelines, while also letting the work take it where is appropriate for this region and its plans.
  4. Work with partners across the region to inform planning processes and to inform advocacy. 
  5. The management plan should be mutually beneficial and integrate well into existing plans. Work with regional partners to review current plans and how the Calumet NHA could plug in and help reach goals.
  6. ​The management plan will have an eye toward regional impact, heritage development, economic impact, and better connectivity within and outside of the region.
Library of Resources
White Papers
Calumet Heritage Area Identity & Branding Report (for Wayfinding FAPC)

Meeting Presentations
Calumet National Heritage Area Feasibility Study
Management Plan Timeline
-September 2019
-Focus Area Planning Committees’ first meeting on the 18th and 23rd
-Materials shared on Website; public input sought
-October 2019
-Focus Area Planning Committees’ second meeting  on the 21st, 23rd, and 24th
-Progress report shared at Calumet Heritage Conference on the 19
-November 2019
-Drafts distributed to FAPCs for input and  review
-December 2019
-Focus Area Planning Committees’ third and final meeting on the 9th
-Drafts distributed to FAPCs for input and review
-Layout and design finalized
-Final draft submitted to Calumet NHA Coordinating Committee
-Final draft shared with National Park Service 
Management Planning Process: Partnership Structure
These partners have come together to create a management plan that will turn the potential captured in the Calumet NHA Feasibility Study into a set of defined, prioritized projects that the CNHA can focus on in the next five years.
- Calumet NHA Coordinating Committee
Charged with forwarding the creation of the Calumet National Heritage Area, the Coordinating Committee works on management planning, as well as communications, programming, fundraising, and advocacy. 
- Management Plan Working Group
Under the oversight of the Calumet NHA Coordinating Committee, the Management Plan Working Group, led by the Field Museum in partnership with the Calumet Heritage Partnership and the Calumet Collaborative, guides and manages the management planning process, including producing the planning document.
- Focus Area Planning Committees
Local and regional experts in one of the seven goal/priority areas identified in the Calumet NHA Feasibility Study, each committee will work to collaboratively identify the existing and potential scope of activities the CNHA should support and pursue, workshop a draft plan, and help to finalize this plan as a chapter in the management plan.
- Liaisons and Consultants
The Management Plan Working Group consults with Heritage Area experts and National Park Service staff as needed throughout the process.
​CNHA Management Plan Update 2020 

​Focus groups of regional experts gathered in the Fall of 2019 to develop and then prioritize a list of actionable projects where the Calumet National Heritage Area (CNHA) could best be leveraged to make a difference in the region. The starting point for this conversation was the set of regional goals articulated for each content area after the extensive community engagement process undertaken for the CNHA Feasibility Study. Focus Group members also had access to a systematic review of regional plans as well as case examples from other NHAs around the country. Thirteen focus group meetings, with approximately 85 participants in total, were held to address each of the identified regional goals.

Members from all the focus groups then met for a cumulative focus group in December, 2019. There, they reviewed the prioritized lists of projects in order to keep a special eye on synergies, overlaps, and opportunities for further discussion. The result was a compelling set of projects aimed at strengthening partnerships, forging new ways of working across the region, enriching capacity for community efforts, regional identity and connectivity, and shining a national spotlight on local stories. The resulting draft Management Plan chapters are set to be available for review in June 2020.