What is a Community Readiness Plan?

A Community Readiness Plan (CRP) is a future-focused, action-oriented strategic plan designed to help a community improve its resilience. The plan will identify key drivers of change relevant to the Town of Apex and provide a variety of solutions that will inform the Town's strategic plans, capital improvement plans, comprehensive plans, and other governing documents.

Project Partnership

The Town of Apex was identified by the UNC School of Government Growing Practical Solutions (GPS) program as an ideal community to partner with to carry out the community readiness planning process. Through the partnership, the project team will leverage the UNC SOG methodology that is outlined in the briefing book, Managing Disruption in a Rapidly Changing World.

Identifying Drivers of Change

While considering the unique characteristics and challenges of the Town of Apex, the Community Readiness planning process analyzes emerging drivers of change within four categories: Social, Technological, Economic, and Environmental. The CRP also takes into consideration the collective impacts of the drivers of change and their varying stages of arrival and impact - influencing how Apex can most effectively prepare and respond. As drivers of change are identified and strategic solutions are formed, potential impacts are monitored on an ongoing basis to ensure the Town can continue to anticipate future challenges and opportunities.

 

Based on an issue scan for Apex, collaboration with Town leaders, input from Town Council, and engagement with the community through a public forum held in October 2025, the following drivers of change have been prioritized for the Community Readiness Plan:

  • Housing
  • Climate
  • Water
  • Artificial Intelligence

Other Planning Efforts

The Community Readiness Planning process will run concurrently with the Town's long-range comprehensive plan, Peak Plan 2055. Both the Community Readiness Plan and Peak Plan 2055 will serve as foundational planning documents to assist Town leadership in making informed short-term and long-term policy decisions.

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Step 1: Identify Drivers of Change

Work with key stakeholders and residents to identify and understand what are the drivers of change that apply to the Town of Apex and to the larger surrounding region.

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Step 2: Prioritize Drivers of Change

Through community engagement and data analysis, determine which drivers of change are most important to prioritize for the CRP.

The following drivers of change were prioritized:

  • Housing
  • Climate
  • Water
  • Artificial Intelligence 

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Step 3: Identify Effective Actions

Continue working with residents and subject matter experts to identify solutions for addressing the key drivers of change for Apex.

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Step 4: Adopt the Plan

Compile and consolidate the information gathered in previous steps and present the Community Readiness Plan to Town leadership for possible adoption.

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Step 5: Implement the Plan

Begin investing in short-term projects that utilize the implementation measures identified in the plan for addressing drivers of change.

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Step 6: Monitor & Track Progress

Continue evaluating and assessing the impact of implementation projects and their impact on the identified drivers of change.

Community Readiness Plan Contact

Shannon Cox

Long Range Planning Manager

Planning Department

Town of Apex

919-249-3505

Shannon.Cox@apexnc.org