MCCOG is one of fourteen Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) designated by the State of Indiana to identify and plan for transportation needs of urbanized areas with populations over 50,000. MPOs serve these roles nationally by working with their state departments of transportation, state divisions of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), and regional offices of the Federal Transit Administration (FTA); moreover, these agencies manage, prioritize, and award federal funding annually allocated to each MPO. MPO’s are federally required to conduct long-range planning activities through a continuous, comprehensive, cooperative process identifying the region’s shared vision for the future and planning for investments of their federal allocations.

MCCOG is also a cooperative Regional Planning Organization (RPO) that educates, leads, and supports communities within its defined region or Metropolitan Planning Area (MPA) to improve and maintain their qualities of life through various projects. These projects include future land use, economic development, pedestrian connectivity, parks and recreation, and sustainability, among others. MCCOG is advisory in nature, so it lacks the governmental powers of taxation, regulation, operation of public facilities, and implementation power of local decisions; however, MCCOG provides a forum for dialogue and encourages collaborative decision-making within a regional context.

The MPA has expanded since MCCOG’s charter agreement was signed in May 1969, because the contiguous urbanized area has been redefined per each decennial census. Today, MCCOG serves all of Madison County including the incorporated communities of the City of Alexandria, City of Anderson, City of Chesterfield, City of Elwood, Town of Edgewood, Town of Frankton, Town of Ingalls, Town of Lapel, Town of Markleville, Town of Orestes, Town of Pendleton, and Town of Summitville. MCCOG also serves the Town of Daleville in Salem Township in Delaware County and the Town of Fortville in Vernon Township in Hancock County.