Establishing A Business Retention and Expansion Program

Some Questions to Guide the Process

TWO BR&E MODELS

TRADITIONAL/VOLUNTEER

CONTINUOUS/PAID

“Traditional”

• Developed by New Jersey Bell (Late 70s)

• Refined, expanded and popularized by Extension in WV, Ohio, Minnesota

• Widely used by Extension (30 + states)

• Booklets describing process published by NERCRD (1998)

• Many other “How to” manuals published (USDA, TX, WV, ND, UT, MN, etc.)

• Often thought of as a rural only program

“Traditional”

• Relies primarily on volunteers to manage program and collect data

• Relies primarily on Extension entities for training and technical assistance

• Important benefit is building community capacity (social capital)

• Generally has a 3-year lifespan

“Continuous”

• Operated by ED or Chamber offices

• Involves one or more paid staff

• Does not involve “volunteers” to assist paid staff

• May involve partnerships with other ED organizations

• Focuses on a limited number of businesses annually

“Continuous”

• Targets major employers

• Primary goal is to address immediate problems

• Rarely results in long range BR&E ED plan

• Does not attempt to build local capacity

• Usually does not involve non-ED folks in the “business” of economic development

So which approach is right?

Questions to Guide the Process

1. What is the actual or proposed service area?2. What is the community’s socio-economic

profile?3. Does the community have an economic

development plan?4. Who are the key actors in the community?5. Does the community have the capacity to

implement the program?

Questions to Guide the Process

6. Are there potential partners for economic development?

7. What programs and services will be offered?

8. Where will the program be housed?9. How will the program be staffed?10. How will the program be funded?

Establishing A Business Retention and Expansion Program

Three Phases (for discussion purposes) Community Background Initiating the Process Implementing the Program

Community Background

1. What is the actual or proposed service Area

• Political boundary• Geographic boundary• Other (e.g. labor shed)

Community Background

2. What is the community’s socio-economic profile?

• Where do you find this information?• What is relevant for your community?• How do you compile and present it?

Community Background

3. Does the community have an economic development plan?

• If yes, does it work?• Yes – How can we improve it?• No – why not?

• If no, who is responsible for developing one?

• Does it include a BRE component?

Community Background4. Who are the key actors in the community?

In the research literature, these people are called “influentials.” In 1965 Dr. Ronald Powers developed a working guideline that suggested the number that should be consulted varied with the size of the community. His recommendations ranged from as few as five people for communities of less than 1,000 to 15 people for communities over 10,000.

Ways to Identify Community Influentials?

• Position• Reputation• Decision-Making• Social Participation

Ways to Identify Community Influentials

• Position - Power rests in the important positions of formal organizations in the community– Local elected officials– Appointed civil servants– Elected leaders in voluntary associations– Key business & financial leaders

Ways to Identify Community Influentials

• Reputation - Power is present and involved in all social relationships– Power is intangible and thus can be

measured by the assumed amount of influence a person possesses.

– Some power is concealed and operates “behind the scenes.”

Ways to Identify Community Influentials

• Decision-making - Power to affect decisions is made through participation in the decision-making process– Investigate the history of how major

decisions have been made and identify those who actively participated (the citizen activists)

Ways to Identify Community Influentials

• Social Participation - Power is acquired through participation and holding office in the community’s voluntary associations.– Identify the civic and religious

organizations in the community– Identify past and present leaders

Community Background

5. Does the community have the human and institutional capacity to implement the program?

1. Yes – move forward2. No – what must be done to build

capacity?

Initiating the Process

6. Are there potential partners for economic development?

• Who must be involved?• Who may be involved?

Selecting Partners• What is the expected role of the partner?• Does the partner share the community

vision?• Will the partner work collaboratively?• What does the partner bring to the table?

• People• Money• Access

Initiating the Process7. What programs and services will be offered?• What kind of assistance does the community want

to offer businesses?– Technical– Educational– Financial

• What types of assistance can your community offer (i.e., the means exist within the community)?

• What types of assistance is available from outside the community (i.e., the means only exist outside the community)?

Assembling and Educate the Team

“The way a team plays as a whole determines its success. You may have the greatest bunch of individual stars in the world, but if they don’t play together, the club won’t be worth a dime.”

- Babe Ruth

Implementing the program

8. Where will the program be housed?9. How will the program be staffed?10. How will the program be funded?

There are only three options:• Public• Private• Partnership

What’s the Bottom Line?

The form that works best … is a function of many factors, including community size, economic circumstances, local development objectives, and the level of commitment of public and private sectors to economic improvement.”

Alan Gregerman (Research Director, CUED)

Questions?

Contact Information

Hank CothranCommdev@ufl.edu352-392-1845 x 409