In 2023, RideshareKC debuted a new name, WAY TO GO, and new strategic goals, including employer programming and services with mobility partners. MARC also promoted the Guaranteed Ride Home program and ride-matching services for regional commuters.

Ray County and its cities are now part of the Kansas City metropolitan planning area. Ray County is a founding member of MARC and participates in many other regional programs including aging services, emergency services and solid waste management. Ray County officials asked to join the planning area in May 2023 and the MARC Board of Directors approved the request in August. Missouri Gov. Mike Parson gave the final approval in October.

Residents and leaders in the Kansas City region are shaping the future of transportation by participating in the update to the Connected KC 2050 metropolitan transportation plan. As the metropolitan planning agency for the Kansas City region, MARC updates the region’s transportation plan every five years. The plan serves as a blueprint for managing the transportation system to help achive a vision of vibrant, connected and green places and successful, engaged and healthy people supported by strong communities. To involve communities, MARC worked with organizations and governments to hold outreach activities at public locations and cultural events in all nine MARC counties. The update is due by 2025.

MARC launched a focused effort to strengthen the public sector workforce development pipeline. The annual Greater Kansas City Workforce and Education Summit focused on attracting and retaining talent in public sector organizations.

In 2023, MARC supported three organizations in providing training and technical assistance to small businesses in Wyandotte County, Kansas, reaching over 500 businesses. In coordination with the Wyandotte Economic Development Council, two partners — the Toolbox and Entrepreneurial Business Basics — expanded training and technical assistance to disadvantaged entrepreneurs and small businesses in Wyandotte County. Through a partnership with the UMKC Innovation Center, small businesses received training and technical assistance.

Work also began on a Talent-to-Industry Exchange report about the transportation sector. This report will provide a detailed economic and labor analysis of the transportation sector in the Kansas City region.

In partnership with KC Rising and the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, MARC developed a Kansas City Regional Digital Equity Action Plan. MARC shared the report with community members and assisted state agencies by hosting meetings to collect input on broadband and digital equity plans.

As part of the update to the region’s long-range transportation plan, MARC forecasted how the metro will grow and develop by 2050. The draft forecasts predict the region’s population and employment growth rate will be healthy, but is projected to slow over the next 25 years, compared to previous projections. This forecast will impact expected economic growth as the population grows older and more people age out of the

Safe, quality and affordable housing is critical to the Kansas City region because it impacts access to jobs and education, economic development, and our quality of life. In partnership with LISC Greater Kansas City, MARC convenes and coordinates the Regional Housing Partnership to build an effective housing system that expands and sustains access to affordable housing and promotes regional prosperity to result in better economic and health outcomes. 

In 2023, the partnership mobilized individuals and organizations to enact systems-level change around the goal of creating and preserving more homes of greater variety and at different price points across the region. The regional Housing Data Hub underpins all the work undertaken by the Regional Housing Partnership, which elevates data to spur discussion and action. 

As part of regional efforts to strengthen the public sector workforce pipeline, MARC worked with local governments to hold the region’s fifth Public Service Career Expo. This free, in-person event allowed middle and high school students to explore high-demand and rewarding career opportunities in local government. Numerous cities and counties across the bistate region
co-sponsored the expo, featuring hands-on, interactive sessions on public sector jobs and information on internships, job shadowing and volunteer opportunities.

MARC's Government Training Institute (GTI) provides quality professional development at an affordable cost to local governments. In 2023, GTI offered specialized trainings for planning commissioners and elected officials. MARC also increased its catalog of on-demand professional development trainings available online, such as the active shooter response. 

In 2023, MARC continued to support and promote 988, the national suicide and crisis lifeline. MARC administered a $3 million federal grant to advance equitable mobile crisis response for 988 calls in partnership with five Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics in Missouri serving Clay, Jackson, Platte and Ray counties and in coordination with providers in Kansas.

MARC also began efforts to develop an education campaign to direct residents to 988. 

Cybersecurity incidents are a reality that today’s organizations must address. MARC supports the region through pre-planning and relationship building to strengthen the capacity of local governments to address cybersecurity threats. 

As part of this work, in 2023, MARC launched the development of a Cybersecurity Toolkit for Local Governments. The toolkit, expected in 2024, will provide an overview of how to handle cybersecurity risks, from initial mitigation to response and recovery following a breach.

Work continued in 2023 to strengthen and expand the regional 911 system. MARC completed the upgrade of a router to facilitate the region’s transition to Next Generation 911, a new technology that will allow the public to share videos, images and texts with emergency call centers. Across the region, MARC replaced 60 workstations for 911 dispatchers and completed the implementation of GeoComm maps to increase location accuracy for dispatchers. MARC also responded to requests from the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department to provide the agency with automatic abandoned callback and auto-attendant features. MARC also led a study in partnership with agencies in Jackson County, Missouri, to evaluate the possibility of a regional approach to dispatch services or other solutions to workforce needs.

As part of MARC’s efforts to create communities where all residents can thrive, the Age Positive Conference brought together more than 150 attendees to enhance older adult programming and supports. The annual event was held in collaboration with partner agencies and celebrated the 50th anniversary of MARC’s role as the local Area Agency on Aging. 

Also in 2023, MARC launched the volunteer-matching Give 5 program with 24 participants. The initiative was met with enthusiasm by participants and involved nonprofits. The program plans to expand in 2024. 

MARC also led efforts to encourage vulnerable residents to receive flu and COVID-19 vaccines by hosting 25 vaccination events around the region.

Double Up Food Bucks helps families afford fresh produce at grocery stores and farmers markets in Kansas and Missouri. Launched in 2015, the program provides a dollar-for-dollar match for Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients, up to $25 a day, for fresh produce purchases at participating grocery stores, farmers markets and farmstands. In 2023, the program reached 168 locations across the two states, reaching nearly 73,500 households and an estimated 150,000 individuals. 

MARC also continued to ensure older adults and people with disabilities had access to healthy food through the home-delivered meal program, providing more than 12,000 meals weekly in 2023. Efforts also began in 2023 to purchase a meal repackaging facility.

Since 2015, MARC has supported the KC Regional Community Health Worker Collaborative, which encourages the use of community health workers (CHWs) to meet patient needs. CHWs are trusted members of the community who serve as a link between patients and health organizations. In 2023, MARC provided professional development trainings to CHWs across Kansas and Missouri in core competencies, supervisory skills, continuing education and career pathways. MARC supported training and technical assistance on reimbursement strategies for employers through Medicare and Medicaid for CHWs as part of a health care team.

MARC is supporting the region in creating, expanding and deploying strategies to strengthen the regional early care and education workforce, including offering stackable credentials through a partnership with the University of Central Missouri and implementing a retention pay plan to mitigate staff turnover for MARC Head Start direct service providers.

In 2023, the Educare program transformed into the Child Care Collaborative Network and expanded its footprint to 15 counties in Missouri. The program offers resources, training and technical assistance to improve the quality of care and education provided within family child care and center-based early learning programs. MARC partnered with The Family Conservancy, the Local Investment Commission, Youth Alliance of St. Joseph and the University of Missouri to administer the program. MARC also prepared to develop and distribute reports on a variety of metrics related to the network, including on-site consultation visits.

In partnership with the Civic Council of Greater Kansas City, Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce, Kids Win Missouri, Kansas Action for Children and others, MARC began collaborating with community leaders throughout the Kansas City region to build an actionable road map toward a sustainable and high-quality early learning system. In 2023, MARC secured funding for the project, conducted research on early childhood systems-building frameworks and led the recruitment of members for a steering committee. The planning effort will be led by the steering committee, consisting of families and professionals from early care and education, including members from Partners in Quality, public schools, higher education, area nonprofits, and business and civic leaders. The plan will include specific goals and metrics for measuring progress.

MARC works with partners to keep our watersheds clean and improve water quality.
In 2023, MARC coordinated with local and national partners to begin updating the regional
stormwater engineering standards, last revised in 2003. 

MARC worked with seven communities and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to continue the development of a Little Blue River Watershed Feasibility Study to reduce flood risks and restore ecosystems. 

Also in 2023, more than 300 attendees participated in the KC Urban Stormwater Conference, hosted by MARC and the Water Environment Federation, to gain professional development and education opportunities. MARC also supported the Kansas City, Missouri, Parks and Recreation Department in securing $4.6 million for Blue River Watershed restoration work, benefiting up to 270 riparian areas.

The MARC Solid Waste Management District works with partners and governments to divert waste from area landfills. In 2023, efforts included the upgrade and launch of RecycleSpot.org to help residents easily locate recycling options; the development and launch of Kansas City Food Wise, a regional effort to reduce food waste; and initiatives to reduce illegal dumping. 

The district awarded 14 grants totaling $698,855 and included the expansion of food waste composting, glass recycling and a reuse program to support local teachers. The district also facilitated a landfill capacity study and worked to bring to Missouri a state-wide paint recycling program.

The region experienced an active ozone season in 2023. From March to October each year, MARC issues a daily SkyCast forecast to alert residents in the region of potentially high levels of ozone pollution. The 2023 ozone season was the most active since 2012 with 14 alerts. MARC also issued one particulate matter alert due to wildfire smoke.