Blueprint Nebraska is passing the baton in its efforts to transform and stimulate the state’s economy.

The organization and its resulting plan, which followed in the footsteps of a similar effort in Mississippi, sought to provide “cross-sector, cross-industry, cross-party and cross-community” initiatives to further grow The Good Life.

In a news release last week, the organization announced it plans to wind down its operations and to transition implementation strategies for its 15-point plan to stimulate economic growth to three other organizations: the Nebraska Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the Aksarben Foundation and the Platte Institute.

The Blueprint Nebraska plans to transition its operational activities to those three alliance partners in the coming weeks.

“It is important that the implementation activities around the 15 signature initiatives continue,” Blueprint Nebraska President Jim Smith told The Daily Record in an email. “However, due to cost and talent and resource availability, it makes sense to partner with established organizations to improve opportunities for success.”

The Nebraska Chamber of Commerce will work on initiatives to broaden the state’s economic growth sectors and promote policy related to government efficiency and community revitalization, according to the release. The Aksarben Foundation will promote revitalization and workforce development, and the Platte Institute focuses on removing barriers to growth.

Smith said that support for Blueprint’s work has been strong, and “the timing for change and improving Nebraska’s economy has never been better” — in no small part due to the lessons learned in the past year during the pandemic.

The plan already had called for greater attention to be paid to supply chains, reshoring business and expanding the virtual workplace, all of which have received much more consideration since 2020.

“The Blueprint Nebraska plan was well conceived and many organizations and leaders across the state have supported and adopted the roadmap for economic growth and competitiveness since it was released in 2019,” Smith said in an email. “During and after a tough year with COVID, it became evident that the Blueprint plan was still as relevant — if not more so — in a post-COVID economy.”