community focus reports
the 2026 community focus report is here
Published every two years, the Community Focus Report is a community-authored look at the Springfield Ozarks region.
Steering committees of residents and local leaders name Blue Ribbons, the region's strengths, and Red Flags, its challenges, across topics from arts and culture to transportation. The 2026 report adds two new chapters, Food and Faith, along with a closer look at child welfare in Greene County.
Three themes run through this year's chapters: the pressures facing children and families, the need to widen the circle of civic engagement, and the collaboration that shapes how the region responds to change. Reports dating back to 2004 are available in the archive.
2004-2024 reports
Beginning in 2004, dozens of volunteers came together to write Springfield's Community Focus Report, a biennial assessment highlighting critical community areas and fueling local progress. This archive features two decades of work created and developed by a community of invested local leaders.
report archive
2023 white papers
2021 white papers
