READ THE FULL COLORADO BLUEPRINT
The plan has taken more than six months worth of work sessions and a grassroots connection to put together.
"We've been able to connect with 5,000 direct participants, over 50 work sessions and another 8,500 responses online and through surveys," Dwayne Romero, executive director of the Colorado Office of Economic Development said.
What he says he heard over and over again was frustration surrounding "excessive red tape and a lack of urgency and empathy" from state government.
The blueprint is a new economic plan that involves six themes - creating a business-friendly environment, recruiting and retaining and growing businesses, increasing access to money to grow those businesses, marketing a strong Colorado brand, training the workforce of the future and boosting innovation and technology.
Beneath each of the six themes lie four actions.
"The themes are all a consensus input from all the participants," Romero said. "They anchor around regulatory reform, how to accelerate business incentives and business recruitment to grow and expand our business base here. And most importantly, there's this effort of trying to re-brand - kind of refocus - an envision of the state itself, and how we export our message across the union."
Because of the state's diversity, Romero and his team have divided Colorado into 14 regions.
"We've got this broad array of varying economic engines that exist across the state, and that's the magic about Colorado," Romero said.
One of the more prominent issues that was taken on while coming up with the blueprint was cutting the red tape.
"Time and time again through the work sessions we conducted that was without a doubt the number one piece of feedback we received," Romero said. "If we cut that red tape, it would be better."
"The Colorado Blueprint" is unlike any strategic plan the state's ever attempted to revamp its economy.
"This is geared toward 24 specific tactical steps that all have measurable outcomes, timelines and responsibilities pinned to them," Romero said. "It's a start not a completion; it's supposed to live, not sit on the shelf."
Within each target are deadlines and benchmarks to gauge success.
"If we start wandering away [from them] and not paying attention...do you think anybody in the media won't point it out?" Governor Hickenlooper said at a news conference at the TAXI development/community in the city's emerging River North (or RiNo) neighborhood.
He pointed out that the effort represents a much more grounded approach to economic recovery.
"In most states, the governor gets elected [and] assembles the smartest people from the business community, and they spend eight months in meetings. They then produce an economic development plan that they roll out to the rest of the state. This is almost the opposite."
Xavier Walton contributed to this report.
(KUSA-TV © 2011 Multimedia Holdings Corporation)