The purpose of Knight Soul of the Community is to provide communities a roadmap for understanding what attaches residents to their community and why it matters – not to be prescriptive on what communities should do with the information. However, the findings do point to some general implications and suggestions, some of which the community may be already undertaking, or provide new opportunities for consideration. 

Like the other 25 communities studied in Soul of the Community, Grand Forks’ key attachment drivers are social offerings, aesthetics and openness. However, it is not as simple as identifying best practices in each of these areas and replicating them everywhere.  Instead, as the name implies, Soul of the Community encourages a conversation about a community’s soul or essential essence as a place around these key drivers. Some possible questions to ask are: What is it about our aesthetics/social offerings/welcomeness that is unique to our community? Where do we excel or struggle in those areas? Using that information to optimize those drivers to encourage resident attachment—and potentially local economic growth – is what Soul of the Community seeks to accomplish.

Attachment to Grand Forks increased in 2009 and maintained steady in 2010. This finding alone helps to demonstrate that attachment to place is about more than jobs and the economy.  The things that most attach residents to the area – social offerings, openness and aesthetics – and the general rating of these areas by residents have remained basically unchanged from 2009.

Grand Forks has many strengths that are unique to the community.  A consistent and growing strength of Grand Forks in the eyes of its residents is aesthetics, especially the parks, playgrounds and trails. Social offerings is another strength of the Grand Forks area.  A unique finding in Grand Forks is that residents’ care for one another is the highest rated aspect of social offerings.  All other aspects of social offerings are rated higher in 2010. The highest income earners are also the most attached income group to the Grand Forks area. Together these strengths provide powerful leverage to continue to build attachment to the community.

Despite these strengths, Grand Forks has challenges.  Chief among them is openness.  Perceived welcomeness to most groups declined in 2010 resulting in overall perceptions of openness decreasing from 2009.  Also troubling is the sharp difference between perceived welcomeness to families with young children and older residents and all other groups.  Young talent is perceived to the least welcome group in the community. Additionally, though resident caring is still the highest rated aspect of social offerings, it is rated significantly lower in 2010. Nightlife is the lowest rated aspect of social offerings.

In many ways the Grand Forks area is in an enviable position.  Two of the three top drivers for attachment – social offerings and aesthetics – are community strengths. Resident caring is perceived to be higher in the Grand Forks area than in the other 25 communities studied.  Lastly, the highest income earners are most attached to the area.  The area’s talent force clearly loves Grand Forks, which will undoubtedly serve the community well as it, like all other communities, attempt economic rebuilding. These strengths of Grand Forks, especially the resident caring component, should be used as a centerpiece in creating the Grand Forks brand through the chamber of commerce, local leadership, etc.  Also worth noting is the improving perception of nightlife and the community as a good place to meet people – very important community characteristics for attracting and retaining young talent.

Grand Forks should leverage all of these strengths to target the differences in perceptions of welcomeness between families with young children and older residents with all other groups in the community. For attachment to really grow and for people to want to come and stay in Grand Forks, all residents must feel welcomed there. This along with resident caring must become part of the community culture. The fact that it scores highly on resident caring, but lower in aspects of welcomeness to specific groups may indicate that the community is “tight knit” – it may appear closed to outsiders, but once you are part of the community and personal relationships develop, so does the generalized caring.  This process is something to deliberately foster.