Entrepreneurship Strategies for
Community, Native-Serving and
Tribal Colleges
Mary Emery, North Central Regional Center for Rural Development
Vicky Leibbrandt, Mid Plains Community College -- McCook Community
College
Aaron Kelson, Mesabi Range Community and Technical College
Team Member from Turtle Mountain Tribal College
Agenda
What is entrepreneurship and why is it important to rural community
development?
What community colleges can do to foster entrepreneurship:
The 2+2 Youth Entrepreneurship Project at McCook Community
College
Mesabi Range Community and Technical College:
Proposed Certificate in Community Development Program
Encouraging Entrepreneurship at Turtle Mountain
Entrepreneurship is to economic
development as yeast is to bread…
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What is entrepreneurship and why is it important to rural
community development?
What is Entrepreneurship?
“Any attempt to create an enterprise or to expand an
established one.”
Jay Kayne, EMKF
“Entrepreneurship is the transformation of an idea into an
opportunity.”
Jeff Timmons, Babson College
Why is it Important?
“Entrepreneurship is a primary driver of regional
economic competitiveness.”
Chuck Fluharty
GEM 2000:
Entrepreneurship is strongly associated with economic
growth!
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The level of entrepreneurial activity explains 70 percent of the
difference in economic growth among nations.
All nations with high levels of entrepreneurial activity have above
average rates of economic growth.
Only a few nations that have above average rates of economic
growth have low levels of entrepreneurship.
NCOE Report:
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High-growth companies are truly extraordinary in the economy;
fewer than one in 20 U.S. businesses achieve high-growth rates.
High-growth companies are found in all regions of the country,
often concentrated in the most surprising areas.
Most fast-growing, entrepreneurial companies are not in “high-tech”
industries.
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The Entrepreneur
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Pursues Opportunity
Lives Proactively
Leverages Resources
Builds Networks
Creates Value
Five Myths About Entrepreneurs
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Entrepreneurs are gamblers
Entrepreneurs inhabit the high tech world
Entrepreneurs are experts
Entrepreneurs are motivated by a strategic vision
All entrepreneurs need venture capital
Energizing Entrepreneurs as a Rural Economic
Development Strategy
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Entrepreneurship can be learned
Entrepreneurial environments can be nurtured
Focus on what is in your backyard versus chasing call centers or
micro chop factories
Strategic focus of resources on job development and asset building
Developing Entrepreneurial Economies in Rural
Regions (Heartland Center)
 Vision for entrepreneurship, leadership and culture
 Techniques that create a supportive infrastructure
 Education
 Spaces, services and information
 Access to financing
 Networks and mentoring
 Supportive environment that provides public recognition of business achievement and
values and supports people staring new businesses
Developing Entrepreneurial Economies in Rural
Regions (Aspen Institute)
Create a positive environment
Provide educational system that stimulates and prepares
entrepreneurs
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Maintain a culture that values and celebrates entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurial Support League
(Appalachian Regional Commission)
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Entrepreneurial success hinges upon a set of skills that can be
learned
Opportunities for coaching to build skills and engage talent that is
appropriate in the type and level of intensity
Current low level of performance reflects that region or communitybased enterprise development is neither strategic or systemic
Supporting Rural Entrepreneurs
Importance of informal programs
One-on-one coaching versus business planning classes
Overcoming privacy concerns
Manufacturers: a hidden economic asset
Energizing Entrepreneurship
Enabling Communities
To Nurture Entrepreneurial Activity
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Assess what you have
Build on the best of what is
Recruit support from all segments of the community
Foster awareness
Support opportunities for education and training
Helping Businesses Grow and Prosper
Discover entrepreneurs!
Understand entrepreneurs!
Be Strategic!
Invest in Entrepreneurs!
Overcome fragmented delivery systems and discard the turf
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Discover Entrepreneurs
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Inventory all the businesses
Implement business expansion and retention strategies
Assess potential for growth
Identify potential losses
Focus on a Continuum of Care
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Education and Awareness
Support for start-up/self employment
Business planning and marketing help
Access to capital
Workforce development
Support for Business expansion
Creating and nurturing networks/clusters
Emerging Insights into Supporting Business
Growth
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The importance of one-on-one through enterprise facilitation,
coaching, mentoring, etc.
Successful businesses understand they exist in a global market,
participate in a local community, and learn and grow in a regional
economy
Networks and industry clusters provide competitive edge
Creating Opportunities for Youth
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Entrepreneurship from cradle to grave education
Offer mentors, role models, and opportunities to try it on for size
Business development creates a tie between youth and the
community
Succession planning offers great opportunities
Long-Term Outcomes of Successful
Entrepreneurship Efforts
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Wealth Creation
Sustainability
Smart Growth
Constituency
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Mesabi Range Community and Technical College
Proposed Certificate in Community Development
Program
During the Spring 2004 semester, Dr. Aaron R. Kelson and Rebecca Gawboy
began drafting a proposal for a certificate in community development program. Since the
beginning efforts, administrators, faculty, and staff have added ideas and support. The
impetus for the new certificate program is directly related to the mission and goals of the
Rural Community College Initiative (RCCI). Our objective is to involve our community
college directly and broadly in the welfare of the communities we serve.
In designing the program, budget realities and other constraints have limited
changes we can make to our existing curricula. However, it has not been our intention to
eliminate or drastically reduce the importance of preparing students to transfer to other
institutions of higher education. Rather, we hope to augment our transfer mission with a
new focus on creating and sustaining strong communities. This will be done by
modifying how some of the courses are taught; such as by adding locally focused
material. By doing so, we hope that some of our transfer students will choose to gain
additional skills that would enable them to return to our community and make a positive
difference and that those who intend to stay in the community will have a better
foundation for improving the community they value so highly.
For a successful program we do believe that at least three new courses must be
added to our curricula. First, we feel strongly about adding a course in community
organizing and development. After some discussion, this course has been approved and
will soon be placed on our schedule. A challenge we faced in gaining approval for the
course is that it has not traditionally been taught at the community college level and,
therefore, the credits may not transfer to as many higher educational institutions as we
would like. Community organization and development is often taught at the graduate
level but is not often taught at the undergraduate level. It is hoped that national attention,
perhaps through RCCI, can be focused on this issue. Community development courses
certainly belong at the community college level. Even though many students who will
take our course will have no intention of transferring the credits elsewhere, those who
have the desire to transfer the credits should be able to do so in a number or programs.
Another course we feel is necessary for a strong certificate program is one for
which students can earn credit by participating in work study that emphasizes community
welfare. Work study could be earned in a number of areas such as human services,
economic development (including cooperation with the Northeast Higher Education
District’s “True North” initiative), environmental planning, emergency preparedness and
response, and more. Finally, we feel that a seminar class should be included. The
seminar class will provide a structure for bringing community leaders and activists to the
college on a regular basis. Speakers with expertise in rural affairs from outside the area
will also be invited. Area residents will be invited to attend as well as those who are
participating for credit. The seminar class will help initiate broader dialogue in our
community about our welfare and future.
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Faculty and staff at our college were surveyed regarding their interest in
promoting the welfare of our community through their positions at the college. The
results of the survey are included. The conclusion of the survey is that we are committed
to doing more to help our community. An appropriate mechanism, such as the certificate
in community development program, would help move our desires to action.
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Certificate in Community Development Program [Summary]
A Draft Proposal by Aaron Kelson, Ph.D. and Rebecca Gawboy
Mesabi Range Community and Technical College
1001 W. Chestnut Street, Virginia, Minnesota
55792
(Member of the Northeast Higher Education District)
Summary of Proposal: To empower community college students, rural economic
development professionals, extension agents, community leaders, community planners,
and community volunteers to participate more effectively in the welfare of the
communities in which they reside, it is proposed that we initiate a certificate in
community development program. [A more detailed vision statement is included at the
end of this proposal.]
Certificate Overview: A certificate in community development would be earned upon
completion of 19 credits including seven credits for completing capstone courses and at
least six credits from a specific concentration. Areas of concentration will include:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Community Organization and Government
Sustainable Rural Economic Development
Local Land Use and Environmental Planning
Community Health
Emergency Management and Planning
Required Capstone Courses:
Introduction to Community Organizing and Development*
Ethics and Issues in Regional Development
Community Development Seminar*
3 credits
3 credits
1 credit
Required Courses for Community Organization and Government
State and Local Government
3 credits
Community Work Credit
3 credits
Optional Courses for Community Organization and Government
Introduction to Sociology
3 credits
Social Problems
3 credits
Crime and Delinquency
3 credits
Human Relations
3 credits
The Helping Process
3 credits
Group Dynamics
3 credits
Rural Economic Development*
3 credits
Public Speaking
3 credits
Intercultural Communications
3 credits
Applied Survey Research*
2 credits
Grant Proposals*
1 credit
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* Classes in development
Guidelines for Including Courses in the Certificate Program
For a course to be approved as part of the community development certificate
program, the instructor must submit a description of the course content
documenting that at least 10% of course content is directly focused on the welfare
the community served by the college. Documentation may include local case
studies, local contemporary issues and demographics trends, international versus
local concerns, local examples built into problem sets or other assignments,
creating and sustaining contacts with other rural communities, local
entrepreneurial opportunities, grass roots organization and participation, and
more.
Vision Statement
Rural communities all over the world are struggling to survive in the face of
economic and political pressures largely caused by the acceleration of
globalization. Many dedicated researchers are working to provide rural
communities with the needed tools to succeed in the rapidly changing
environment. However, the emerging knowledge base is not normally
incorporated in standard college curricula, especially at the community college
level where it is needed most. If rural communities are to survive in the global
economy, rural community colleges will need to help by adapting their curricula
so that students are not just educated for employment but are also educated in the
skills necessary to sustain and building strong communities. Local economic
survival does not just depend on building entrepreneurial skills. It also involves
creating a culture that values strong, sustainable communities.
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Mesabi Range Community and Technical College
Involvement in Community and Economic Development
(Results: May 3, 2004; 22 responses)
Thank you for participating in this college-wide effort! Every member
of our college community can make a valuable contribution to our
involvement in community development. Please return the completed
questionnaire to Aaron Kelson (M212 or mailbox) as soon as possible.
Name: ________________________________ (optional but appreciated!)
Department: ____________________________
1.
In your official capacity at MRCTC, how would you describe your
responsibility to develop and promote the betterment of our community?
a. I have no institutional responsibility. = 1
b. I have only limited responsibility. = 0
c. I have some responsibility. = 5
d. I have significant responsibility. = 10
e. It is my primary responsibility. = 6
2.
How would you describe your desire to better our community through your
position at MRCTC?
a. I have no desire to better the community through my position at MRCTC.
=0
b. As an MRCTC employee, I am satisfied with my current opportunities and
efforts in this area. = 4
c. I would like to do more to better our community through my position at
MRCTC. = 18
3.
Community development is about more than starting new businesses. It is
also about building, identifying, and organizing capacity in the community.
On the 0-to-10 scale below, circle the number that best describes your opinion
about the appropriateness of community college involvement in organized
community development efforts given the broader definition. (Ave. = 8.54)
Not an Objective
0
4.
1
Middle Importance
2
3
4
5
Essential Objective
6
7
8
9
10
Are you currently teaching, advising, or counseling students about their
opportunities to participate in bettering our community?
a. not applicable = 3
b. no = 2
c. sometimes = 8
d. often = 4
e. nearly every day = 5
10
5.
To promote college involvement in community development, including
movement toward a community development certificate program, a committee
may be formed. Would you be willing to serve on this committee?
a. No, I have no interest in the effort at all. = 0
b. No, but I would like to be kept informed about committee efforts. = 6
c. Yes, but I would only want to serve in a limited capacity. = 11
d. Yes, and I would consider taking a leadership role. = 5
6.
Efforts are currently beginning to attract grant funding for MRCTC
involvement in community development. The initial grant proposal will be
based on the goals of formalizing, organizing, and managing MRCTC efforts
to teach and otherwise promote community development. What level of
participation described below best matches your desire to participate in the
grant process.
a. I do not want to be involved. = 5
b. For the grant proposal, I would be willing to summarize efforts I am
currently making to promote community development, but I do not want
to make any changes to my program. = 4
c. I would be willing to make additions and/or changes to my program so
that the focus on community development is improved. I would be willing
to describe these in the grant proposal. = 6
d. I would be willing to participate in designing entirely new courses and/or
programs to promote MRCTC community development efforts pending
available funding. (If this option is selected, it will be assumed that option
C also applies.) = 7
Finally, please answer the open-ended questions below.
Do you have any ideas now about how you could help promote college involvement in
community development? If so, please describe them below. Many options are available
such as revising class assignments, using new examples to explain material, designing a
community development web site for the college, providing students with more
information about local work opportunities, partnering with more people and
organizations in our community, working on grants, improving communication and
partnerships across departments and between the Virginia and Eveleth campuses, and
more.
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