iml preparing an ed strategy
DESCRIPTION
Simple steps to prepare a community economic development strategyTRANSCRIPT
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INTRODUCTION
Every local governmental official is now challenged with the
need to promote jobs and new investment in their community.
The question asked is “How does our community accomplish
this task?”
This question is often answered by chamber of commerce
members, government employed professional economic
developers, and/or an assembled group of academics. These
individuals usually work with a large group of interested
individuals offering their opinions of what programs and
activities should be undertaken by businesses and government
to stimulate the local economy.
The recommendations might include an improved effort to
retain existing businesses or an effort to attract new businesses.
Tasks could also include developing a business park or
improving education to provide more skilled employees. It may
also include efforts to improve our neighborhoods and
downtown business districts to attract young well-
educated adults who wish to live and work in an
attractive and exciting community.
The responses differ, typically having as many
variations as there are people discussing what should
be done. To the lay person, preparing the community
economic development strategy can be an
overwhelming and complex task; being something
“best left to the professionals.”
The truth is that strategic economic development planning is
rather simple. It is not rocket science. This article seeks to
demystify preparation of an economic development strategy,
simplifying the process into ten easy tasks. By answering
simple, easily understood questions, a group of people can
prepare a strategic plan organizing an economic development
program for their community.
QUESTION 1 - WHO ARE WE?
A simple question! Yes, we know we are a community of, for
example, 5,000 people. That’s correct, but what do we know
about ourselves? How many people do we have in the workforce
and what are their ages? What jobs do they do and how much
and what type of education do they have? How many are
unemployed or underemployed? How many kids are in school,
when will they graduate, how many will go on to college and
how many will obtain other advanced technical training?
Many of these questions can be answered by data obtained
primarily from the U.S. Census Bureau. This information can
provide a narrative and quantified description of who we are
and who makes up the workforce. It can also identity their
education and job skills. According to business site locators,
available workforce is one of the top criteria of any firm
seeking to expand or locate a new business operation.
QUESTION 2 - WHAT IS OUR ECONOMY?
It is usually simple to identify the major employers. This
typically includes school district and hospital. The city or
county government and a few major businesses are also
major employers. They account for a substantial number of
jobs located in the community. However, there is a large
segment (some estimate 80%) of jobs that is provided by
smaller business that often-times is overlooked in this simple
tabulation. Small businesses are the primary generator of
new jobs.
Data from the U.S. Census, U.S. Department of Commerce and
state employment agency can be useful in providing a narrative
and quantified description of the number and type of jobs in the
community. This data allows examination of the number of jobs
and wage scale of the current jobs in the community. It can also
help identify the growth (or decline) of these jobs over time,
which is important to know to determine what specific jobs the
community currently has and what types of jobs that the
community would like to attract.
QUESTION 3 - WHAT ARE OUR PROBLEMS ANDOPPORTUNITIES?
This is a more difficult question answered by a detached
unemotional critical evaluation of “community
competitiveness.”
PREPAR ING AN ECONOMIC DEVE LOPMENT S TRATEGY CONT INUES ON PAGE 8
Preparing an Economic DevelopmentStrategy in Ten Easy StepsB Y C H U C K E C K E N S T A H L E R A N D C R A I G H U L L I N G E R
Part of the City of Peoria’s Economic Development Plan, the Innovation Center on Main Street.
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PREPAR ING AN ECONOMIC DEVE LOPMENT S TRATEGY CONT INUES
One way to answer this question is to complete what
researchers call a “SWOT” analysis. To complete a SWOT
analysis, the community lists its economic Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats.
The completed list provides information identifying unique
opportunities for existing business expansion and opportunities
for recruiting new businesses. It also identifies weaknesses and
future threats which may discourage business expansion and
new business location, which may be remedied by specific
community action.
For example, the SWOT analysis might disclose that the
workforce has a concentration of skilled computer-operated
machine tool makers. This workforce can be offered to
prospective businesses needing such workers. It may also
disclose that the farmland designated for industrial
development has no water and sewer and is not “shovel ready”
for a business to immediately begin construction.
QUESTION 4 - WHAT ARE OUR STRENGTHS?
Like a well-trained prize fighter, who patiently waits to use his
“best punch” to win the fight, an economic development strategy
must identify the community’s economic development “best
punch.” Completing the SWOT analysis helps identify unique
economic strengths that can define the “economic development
knock-out punch” for use in the fight to create new employment
opportunities in the competitive global environment.
Identifying the “knock-out punch” is
sometimes easy. It might be a unique
geographic location affording superior
logistic transportation amenities. Or it
might be proximity to a nationally rated
university. Perhaps it might be a young
highly educated available workforce. It
could be an attractive recreational or
small town residential lifestyle that the
community offers to new residents.
Regardless of the type of strengths
identified, analysis of community
strengths is necessary to select those
specific opportunities that can be used to
create new jobs within the community.
QUESTION 5 - WHAT DO WE WANT TO BE - OURFUTURE VISION?
Of the ten questions, this question is the most difficult to
answer - what do we want to be?
This question is most often answered by a carefully worded
vision statement, prepared by the consensus of interests that
places into words a mental image of what the desired future
should be. The phrase “Our Future Vision is that our
community will be the premier regional location for
business investment in 2015” is an example of a vision
statement.
This statement tells a big story. It proposes that the community
will be the premier location for new business investment when
compared to surrounding areas. It also provides a means to
measure comparative success by measuring economic indicators
such as 1) increased jobs, 2) an increase in number of
businesses, and 3) an increase in business tax base within the
community. It also gives a time period to measure success.
QUESTION 6 - HOW DO WE GET THERE?
With an understanding of our strengths, weaknesses and
opportunities plus a vision of what the community wants to be
in the future, answering this question may become clear. The
answers become a list of specific actions that must be
completed to either eliminate defined weaknesses, or maximize
identified strengths to capitalize on identified opportunities.
The area just south of downtown Peoria is a mix ofold industrial lofts, one story industrial buildings, andvacant lots. This area will become a vibrant mixed -use residential and commercial neighborhood. Someof the old industrial lofts will become condominiumssimilar to the successful development of the buildingson Water Street. The street level space can becomeviable commercial and retail space.
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For example, the lack of “shovel ready” sites can be remedied by
investment in utilities, roads and governmental approvals
necessary to have the site ready for construction immediately
upon receipt of a building permit. Another action may be a Tax
Increment Financing District or a Business Development District
or a Special Service Area to provide incentives for business
investment. Other actions may include completion of community
appearance projects, securing worker skill training programs for
laid-off workers, or conducting a national marketing program to
recruit new businesses to locate in the community.
QUESTION 7 - WHAT RESOURCES DO WE HAVEAND NEED?
Every community has resources, typically scattered among a
large number of separate organizations. The key to answering
this question is identifying these resources and involving
them in developing the economic development strategic plan
with agreements to “take-on” and fund specific work tasks.
A chart can be prepared listing the specific work task identifying
the person or organization that is responsible for the task, when
the work is to be
completed and how
it will be funded.
Preparing this chart
early in the strategic
planning process
also identifies work
tasks that do not yet
have a sponsor or
funding.
In our example, a
work task to install
infrastructure for a “shovel ready site” may be assigned to the
city public works department. Obtaining necessary planning
and zoning approvals would be a task for the city planning
department. The city council could be assigned responsibility to
begin city council sponsorship of a TIF district for a future
business using tool making machinery equipment. The
community college could be asked to sponsor a workforce
retaining effort with the chamber of commerce assigned the
task of developing and implementing a marketing program.
The chart may also identify the need to involve other
organizations or recommend formation of new entities to carry
out specific work tasks. We might need a downtown
development organization to sponsor a downtown
redevelopment plan or a neighborhood redevelopment
organization to sponsor redevelopment programs.
QUESTION 8 - WHO IS RESPONSIBLE?
The key to successful implementation requires gaining
commitments from specific individuals to complete work tasks.
This “buy-in” of responsibility is critical to success.
In our model economic development strategy, the mayor, public
works director, city planner, economic development director,
president of the community college and chamber of commerce
director would be named as “responsible parties” and charged
with the duty to complete one or more specific work tasks.
QUESTION 9 - HOW MUCH DOES IT COST?
Undertaking an economic development program costs money,
typically more that any single organization has within its budget.
Answering this question establishes a budget for each work task
and identifies who is to provide the funding for the task.
QUESTION 10 - HOW DO WE KNOW WHEN WEGET THERE?
In every successful economic development program the progress
towards completion of each work task is periodically reported. It
gives the opportunity to celebrate success and to modify the tasks
if necessary to assure successful accomplishment.
Measurement tools to gauge progress are
critical. Useful milestones to measure
success should be included as part of the
Strategic Plan.
Some strategies break the process down into
a number of separate categories, such as
logistics, health care, energy, agri-business,
retail, etc. Other approaches include a much
quicker and simpler process, with the
development of a one-page strategy. This
approach can sometimes be used as an
interim until a full blown strategy can be developed.
ONLINE EXAMPLES
The following Web pages show examples of recent economic
development strategies. Each effort is somewhat different, but
most of them follow most of the ten items.
PREPAR ING AN ECONOMIC DEVE LOPMENT S TRATEGY CONT INUES ON PAGE 10
EXAMPLE OF S TRATEG IC P LAN WORK TASK CHART
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT S TRATEG IC P LANWORK TASKS
Work Task Description BudgetFundingSource
Responsible Party
CompletionDate
ProgressMeasurement
Tool
Part of the City of Peoria’s Economic Development Plan, construction begins on theMethodist Medical Center.