Strategic Spartanburg

Strategic Spartanburg is a nonprofit research organization that leverages data and evidence to improve the quality of life in Spartanburg County by conducting research that informs policy and practice. Strategic Spartanburg, Inc. evolved from a community collaborative known as the Spartanburg Community Indicators Project to a standalone 501(c)3 nonprofit in May 2023. Based on four pillars of impact, Strategic Spartanburg, Inc., envisions organizations and individuals across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors in Spartanburg County actively promoting civic prosperity by utilizing data and evidence to inform and guide their progress. The Community Indicators Project remains one of those four pillars and presents data and engages the community in dialogue and strategy around seven domains or Indicator Areas: civic health, cultural vitality, economy, natural environment, public health, and social environment.

These data will inform, not only on single areas of need, but on the complex web of factors contributing to those needs. They will highlight how multiple sectors of the community, working together, can change the data, and most importantly, the individual lives of our residents reflected in each data point.

Under various leadership dynamics, this effort has provided actionable data to the community, most recently through the Racial Equity Index, published in 2018. Post-pandemic, data streams available are even more robust. Community partnerships are stronger than ever.

In 2022, the effort became Strategic Spartanburg, now its own 501(c)(3) organization, working with partners to unite accessible data streams related to the issues that impact the people of Spartanburg County – our families, our neighbors, our health and our opportunities. Midas Hampton, is Founding Executive Director for Strategic Spartanburg carrying forward this vital work.