ALLEN COUNTY, Ind. (WOWO): A program designed to foster a coordinated effort in community and economic development for East Allen County is receiving national recognition.

The NewAllen Alliance’s Strategic Investment Plan will receive the 2017 John Keller Award for Outstanding Planning Initiative by the American Planning Association in May. The awards committee says in a statement they were “particularly impressed” with the economic development approach that they called “refreshing and innovative.”

The initiative was rolled out last October and is aimed at developing a strategy to keep and attract “high quality” jobs to towns like New Haven, Woodburn, Leo-Cedarville, Grabill, and others in the eastern part of the county.

The plan is being paid for by a grant from the Allen County Capital Improvement Board, and you can see the plan in the main lobby of Citizens Square in Fort Wayne.