FORT MITCHELL, KY (November 23, 2022) – The new Northern Kentucky Atlas, atlas.northernkentuckyusa.com, will officially launch at BE NKY’s Annual Forum on Nov. 30 at Turfway Park Event Center. The theme of the Forum is “Building a Data-Informed Path to Prosperity.”

“In 2021, we met with dozens of community and business leaders to align on the four initiatives of the Build + Elevate NKY investor campaign,” said BE NKY CEO Lee Crume. “One idea that rose to the top of the list was a data dashboard that anyone in the community can access and use to inform decision-making. We’re excited to share the Atlas with the community and dig into key data points that we believe will impact the region’s prosperity over the next five years.”

More than 200 unique data variables for Boone, Kenton, and Campbell counties are available, including statistics about internet access, food insecurity, per capita income, travel time to work and much more. Data measurements can be seen at the county, city and town, zip code, and census tract levels on the Atlas.

At the Annual Forum, David McAleese, research director at BE NKY, will highlight key data points from the Atlas that BE NKY believes the community can celebrate, as well as potential focus areas that may present challenges to the future economic well-being of our region. By having important discussions now, and using the Atlas as a tool, the goal is to be better positioned to address some of the challenges going forward.

A Data-Informed Advisory Council was formed earlier this year to provide guidance on the development of the Atlas. Members of the Council and the region’s data stakeholders have had the opportunity to preview the Atlas and believe it will be an impactful resource for organizations ranging from county library systems to elected officials and non-profits such as the Brighton Center.

“I’ve already used it and have passed it on to our team,” said Josh Wice, Community Development Manager at Planning and Development Services of Kenton County. “I know these are not easy things to design and implement, but the Atlas will be an incredible resource for decision-makers in our region to make pragmatic decisions and measure actual outcomes.”

BE NKY worked with Metopio, an analytics startup based in Chicago, to create the Atlas, which is curated from publicly available data sources.

“Data-informed community decision-making” is one of four key initiatives developed by BE NKY, with public and private sector input, as part of its Build + Elevate NKY campaign. In August, BE NKY announced the company exceeded its $4.5 million investor campaign goal, which funds these four initiatives.

The Atlas dashboard can be found at atlas.northernkentuckyusa.com. To get more information about the dashboard, or to ask a question or share a suggestion, visit atlas.northernkentuckyusa.com/contact.

About BE NKY

BE NKY serves as the primary economic development company for Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties, providing marketing and business retention and expansion services for the region. For more information, visit BE-NKY.com.

BE NKY’s vision is opportunity and prosperity for all Northern Kentuckians.

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