Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) serve their communities across a spectrum of responsibilities: they advocate for complex urban policy changes, seek to activate public spaces and commercial corridors, and deliver fundamental city services such as waste removal and additional safety measures. In late July 2018, the International Downtown Association (IDA) convened the NYC Ideas Forum, bringing together more than 80 global BID directors, government officials, and thought leaders. The forum’s goal was to share experiences and ideas to co-create a set of best practices attendees could take back to their communities, identify practices in the field that no longer serve BIDs and must evolve, and develop a set of underlying principles for place making and management work. Karp Strategies was hired to facilitate a series of in-depth ideation sessions to help participants surface answers to questions about how government agencies and BIDs can work together more effectively, and what values and practices are critical to guide placemaking and management work. Karp Strategies designed and facilitated discussions that empowered participants to share insights and experiences in an inclusive manner, surfacing key trends that emerged across conversations.