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 3year lifespan
“Continuous”
• Operated by ED or • May involve
Chamber offices
partnerships with
• Involves one or more other ED
organizations
paid staff
• Focuses on a limited
• Does not involve
“volunteers” to assist number of businesses
annually
paid staff
“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 socioeconomic 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 Background
4. 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 forward
2. 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 Process
7. 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 Cothran
Commdev@ufl.edu
352-392-1845 x 409