A summary of the key issues from the community research are as follows:

• Asians and Blacks report significantly lower scores on openness and inclusion questions than other groups
• Single people report significantly lower scores on openness and inclusion questions than Married people
• Everyone is neutral on cost of living issues in the county; increasing housing prices are costing Brevard County one of its competitive advantages
• Single people and people 30 and under give Fun very low marks (this is the second most important factor when choosing a community); they are taking their disposable income to Orlando
• Single people and New Hires rate Learning and Growing as third most important factor in choosing a community—local universities and professional associations get very low marks in terms of helping advance careers of respondents
• Brevard County’s geography and lack of vibrant downtown areas diminish the perception of the amount and quality of entertainment/restaurants
• Communication needs to be improved to keep residents informed of activities, community service opportunities

As businesses continue to expand in the county, employees will have to recruit staff from other parts of the county. In order to increase the appeal of the county, action needs to be taken to improve the fun and learning that is available locally. This has become even more important as Brevard County has lost its advantage in cost due to rapidly rising home prices.

Given this situation, some ideas to consider are:

• Develop a clear growth plan for the county—housing developments are taxing the infrastructure (roads and schools, in particular).
• Encourage redevelopment of downtown and economically depressed areas with mixed use retail/residential buildings to create interesting, affordable housing for new hires.
• Develop “entertainment destinations” within the county—concentrate theater, visual arts, music, restaurants/bars in selected locations to improve the ease of access and vibrancy of fun in the community and keep more disposable income in Brevard County.
• Improve quality of local universities to meet continuing professional education needs of employees and create a pipeline of new talent. Explore feasibility of building a fully accredited state university in the county.
• Develop website to consolidate communication about community service activities and fun so that it is easy to find interesting activities. The Brevard Cultural Alliance’s calendARTS publication and website can serve as a model to build from.
• Incorporate cultural appreciation element into Friday Festivals; improve advance communication about cultural festivals.
• Introduce diversity training into public schools to increase awareness and respect for cultural differences.