Columnist David MartinSimple questions rarely have simple answers. Just ask the crew over at the Metro Ideas Project, Chattanooga’s newest think tank.
First, a little background in case you’re unfamiliar with the organization. The Metro Ideas Project is the brainchild of Joda Thongnopnua (pronounced tong-nawp-new-uh), a young yet well-versed, civic-minded policy wonk.
The UTC grad sold partners at the Lamp Post Group on the value of creating a nonpartisan research and policy startup aimed at tackling major issues facing mid-sized towns. Why? He says that in larger cities, there are typically sufficient amounts of resources and organizations dedicated to exploring possible remedies to metropolitan ailments. In places like the Scenic City? Meh, not really.
So, with two years of runway funding in his nonprofit bank account, Joda recruited former government reporter David Morton and policy analyst Jacqueline Homann to his team. The three will now try to identify, present easy-to-understand analysis, and offer solutions to the problematic variables existing within the Chattanooga equation. The hope is that whatever gains they are able to stimulate here, their work will prove to be a valuable roadmap for other like-sized cities across the country.
Now, back to those “simple” questions.