Archive for the ‘Economic Development’ Category

Maroney Commons: “Uncommon innovation” made common

December 28th, 2011

It’s old news now, but worth repeating. The Maroney Commons, a conference and training center in Howard, SD, recently received the 2011 Rural Smart Growth Award from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Smart Growth is a set of community design and transportation principles that govern the sustainable development of communities. In many ways, these principles are the vanguard against the urban sprawl that plagues our country. But the principles have impact in many other areas; hence the reason it makes sense to honor a rural project, where sprawl isn’t as much of an issue.

The Maroney Commons, a project developed by the Rural Learning Center, received this recognition for numerous reasons: First, it was built on Howard’s Main Street, rather than on undeveloped land outside of the town’s center. Second, it was designed through a process that engaged local citizens; community members provided input through a series of meetings on what they thought the project should look like and be like. And third, the Commons was built to LEED Platinum standards, making use of building materials from old, dilapidated buildings and state-of-the-art renewable energy.

To learn more about the project, I would encourage you to check out the facility’s website and watch the EPA video embedded below.

 

I’d also encourage readers to watch the Keloland television news story about the award. Titled “Uncommon Innovation,” it highlights the potential of innovative thinking as an economic development strategy. As reporter Perry Groten states:

So many small towns struggle to keep jobs. But by going green, the Maroney Commons could become a high-tech hub that employs a strategy of recycling to revitalize the rural economy.”

 

The economies of urban and rural economies alike are being driven by innovation. As we’ve talked about previously, rural communities need to reimagine and reinvent themselves. They need to develop and tap into new competitive advantages — or they won’t have a reason to exist.

That doesn’t mean that every rural community needs a conference center like the Maroney Commons. But Rural America would be a stronger place today if more communities made “uncommon innovation” more common.

 

 

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My Return and “Rewriting the Rural Narrative”

December 21st, 2011

My return to Reimagine Rural as a guest blogger is finally at hand.  And fittingly, the subject of my post is a Lakeland Public Television interview with Minnesota Extension Researcher Ben Winchester.

Titled “Rewriting the Rural Narrative,” the interview focuses on how many of the messages we hear about Rural America – and assume to be true – are often incomplete.  For instance, Ben’s research shows that while young people do move away from their hometowns following high school, there is a movement of college educated adults age 30-45 year olds who are moving to small towns.  In that context, saying Rural America struggles from “brain drain” is not completely accurate.

Regular readers of Reimagine Rural know that story; we’ve shared Ben’s research numerous times.  What I enjoy about this interview, however, is that Ben fleshes out additional advice for rural communities.   For instance:

I could go on and on with pieces of information like the above.  Most 30 minute interviews are long for my tastes.  But this one is a gem and is worth watching more than once. I wasn’t able to embed it in this post, so you will need to click on the link to watch it.  I’m thankful Ben sent me an e-mail with a link to the interview.  If you find it as valuable as I did, you will share it with others.

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The Great Wide Open – Revisited

October 13th, 2011

I have a love-hate relationship with urban reporters who write about the demise of rural South Dakota.  I love that they care enough about the problems we deal with on a daily basis to write about them.  But hate that these stories often perpetuate stereotypes and myths created by a lack of familiarity and understanding with the subject.

For instance, Maureen Callahan recently wrote an article about the demise of Rural South Dakota in the New York Post. 

Callahan appears to be a talented writer who flew into Rapid City, drove out to small towns in Western South Dakota like Belvidere (pop: 49), Cottonwood (pop. 6), and Scenic (pop. 1), and interviewed anyone she could find.  She also contacted both local officials and subject matter experts.  It’s hard to find fault with her research.

Insightful or Substandard?

Throughout her work, she produces some interesting insights.  For example, she compares the depopulation problems of Rural America to the decline of Detroit. 

In many ways, what’s happening here mirrors what’s happening in Detroit, on the decline for so many decades but now in critical condition, with the population declining 25% in the past 10 years. The city is planning to raze 10,000 empty residential structures, with the goal of moving those holdouts who live in deserted areas closer to the centralized, functioning part of town, with its hospitals and grocery stores and taken-for-granted goods and services. America on the whole, it seems, is downsizing.”  (Source:  Maureen Callahan, “Great wide open:  How rural America has become a vanishing way of life,” New York Post, Oct. 8, 2011)

I recognize the similarities.  For me, the major difference is that people are generally concerned about Detroit’s future and don’t assume that the city’s decline is inevitable.  I wish the same were truer for Rural America.

Mixed with those insights are occasional sour notes.  Callahan hits one of them when she quotes state demographer, Mike McCurry, who describes the people who want to stay:

Our small communities lack the threshold of people to keep kids doing their best. I grew up learning that I was an export commodity — that there were going to be no jobs for me. The young people here have basically disappeared. If you want to keep a kid in South Dakota, you want him to be a dropout.

There’s much truth in the statement.  It stings, and I hate to admit it.  The problem, however, is that the statement is not the whole truth.  I know of two residents of a nearby town of approximately 1000 who have built successful careers in the field of technology (one of whom helps produce the infamous TED Conference).   Why not include people like them in the story?

There are other opportunities that she misses.  For instance, she quotes Pierre, SD’s community development coordinator, Scott Carbonneau, about his belief that Pierre has an opportunity to attract young professionals who want to return after seeing the world.  Instead of supporting his statement with “brain gain” research, she focuses on the negative aspects of attracting young people to rural communities. 

To be fair, however, I can’t blame Callahan for not highlighting those who seek to return.  After all, those of us who live here do a poor job of lifting up successful entrepreneurs and talented rural residents.  We’re also guilty of focusing on the negative, thereby reinforcing the image that our towns hold no future for young people. 

What does this mean for us?

There are many ways to react to stories like this.  Many rural South Dakotans will ridicule the erroneous, stereotypical elements of the story.  In fact, I first learned of the article from Cory Heidelberger at Madville Times who falls into this camp: 

Callahan’s article smells of condescension and superficiality: for example, she deems Rapid City “ridiculously clean” and “almost entirely white.  Hmm… did she go anywhere other than the airport before heading out to find a few colorful rural characters to reinforce her readers’ big-city stereotypes of South Dakotans?  (source:  Cory Heidelberger, “NY Post Finds Rural South Dakota in Decline; What to Do?” Madville Times, Oct. 11, 2011)

Other people will simply dismiss the article altogether because they don’t want to hear outsiders point out our blemishes. 

Another approach is to figure out how we can use the article to better our rural communities. According to Bernie Hunhoff at the South Dakota Magazine, that’s how residents of Gregory, SD responded a few years ago when the Chicago Sunday Tribune published an article describing Gregory as a dying community.  According to one resident, the negative story spurred the community to action.   As Bernie writes, “So right or wrong, a critique can be a kick in the butt.”  (Source:  Bernie Hunhoff, “Diane Sawyer on the Rez,” South Dakota Magazine, Oct. 11, 2011)

With that in mind, I hope everyone read Callahan’s article.  Agree or disagree, my guess is that reading it will spark strong emotions.   It’s then up to you to decide how to spend the energy this emotion creates. 

You can expend it by grumbling about big city folks who don’t understand rural folks.  Or you can use it to reflect and act on what needs to change in your hometown.  I hope you’ll do the latter.

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What’s the role of advertising in rural economic development

September 30th, 2011

What is the role of advertising in your community’s economic development strategy?  That question came to mind awhile back when I read a post titled “Is Advertising a Waste of Money?”

Ed Burghard, the post’s author, heads up the Strengthening Brand America Project, an effort targeted at “helping economic development professionals in every state better understand how to leverage the power of place branding as a strategy to become more globally competitive for foreign direct investment.”  The blog he has helped create maintains a clear focus on recruiting businesses and investments as a form of economic development.

In this post, Burghard admits that he regularly hears complaints from economic development professionals who say advertising is a failure because it doesn’t lead companies to relocate to their community. 

He goes on to say that measuring business relocation is the wrong measure:

The most appropriate measure of success is a positive impact on the perception of your community and an increased willingness to learn more. You need to determine if that outcome is worth the investment given the resources you have available to attract capital investment.” (source:  “Is Advertising a Waste of Money?” Ed Burghard, Strengthening Brand America blog,  Sept. 5, 2011.)

In other words, advertising should help build the brand awareness that opens the door to a conversation about a business relocating to your community.

The post sparked a great conversation among economic development professionals on the value of advertising.  Both the post and the comments are definitely worth the read.

Although I think Burghardt offers great advice in this post, it feels like the subject is less relevant to small, rural communities.  It’s been my experience that most small towns simply don’t have the finances necessary to significantly change peoples’ perceptions. 

That is why I think investing in the product (i.e. – the community itself) will often achieve a greater impact than advertising.  Do great things and offer great value and then word-of-mouth will help build the brand awareness in lieu of the advertising. 

Of course, this advice is not universal.  Some rural communities probably benefit from advertising. 

And that’s why I ask “What’s the role of advertising in your rural community’s economic development strategy?”  If your community has had a good or bad experience, we’d love to hear about it.

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Training the next generation of farmers

September 22nd, 2011

I hear a lot of talk among my farmer friends about how tough it is for young people to become farmers.  My wife and I have a nephew who was born to be a farmer.  Luckily, his father and grandfather both farm.  Over time, they will provide access to land.  In the meantime, and equally important, they will help him learn the ropes of farming. 

Not everyone, however, is so fortunate. If you don’t have access to land and/or mentors, what do you do? Going back to college for a degree in agriculture might be an answer.  But not everyone can afford (in either time or money) to take that option.  

That’s why I appreciate the efforts of Dakota Rural Action.  For the last three years, they have offered a new farmer course called Farm Beginnings. It’s geared toward newcomers to the field of sustainable agriculture, and their classes are held on Saturdays during the winter months. 

I’ll let you check out the details of the class on the Dakota Rural Action website.  I’d point out that class size is limited and scholarships are available.  The deadline is September 30th. 

I’d also recommend that people check out profiles of people who have graduated from the program.  It’s always nice to hear about the impact training programs have on people’s lives. 

The Farm Beginnings class is a great opportunity for people who live in eastern South Dakota, northwest Iowa, and southwest Minnesota – but not so great for people in other parts of the country. It’s made me wonder what other options are available around the country to train the next generation of farmers?  Whether traditional or sustainable agriculture, I’d be interested in learning about what other people are doing.

 

Photo:  Aaron (program graduate) & Kirstin Johnson.  Photo by Kirstin Johnson.

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Population Decline: a “Main Event”

September 7th, 2011

Population decline is the “main event” and just not a symptom of another problem (i.e. – the lack of jobs).  That’s the message shared by Caleb Pollard in a recent blog post titled “Solving Population Decline in Rural Nebraska.”

Caleb is the Executive Director at the Ord Area Chamber of Commerce.  He makes this point while advocating that Nebraskans support a legislative resolution authorizing an interim study on rural population decline. 

For some people, this argument may seem like semantics.  After all, economic opportunities and population growth or decline are tightly connected. 

I for one agree with Caleb.  It is time that we look at the health of our communities through the lens of why people move to and from rural communities. 

Luckily, I see good resources beginning to be developed in this area.  For instance the Center for Applied Rural Innovations has created a section on their website called the Buffalo Commons.  Similarly, the University of Minnesota Extension has begun sharing similar resources on their website in a section titled Brain Gain in Minnesota. 

I’m not sure what a legislative study on rural population decline will accomplish, but I think it’s a significant step that Nebraska’s policy makers are begining to see rural population decline as the “main event.”

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Rural Education: Get your questions ready

August 31st, 2011

As a former teacher turned rural economic development professional, I have some questions about education in rural schools. Top on my list is “Do rural schools have a responsibility to help build rural economies?”

Today, I have an opportunity to pose that question in a Twitter chat to the U.S. Department of Education’s point person for rural outreach, John White. According to information on the ED.gov blog, here’s how it works.

Deputy Assistant Secretary White will host the forum today between 3:00 – 3:30 EDT on Twitter. You can begin submitting your questions right now using the #EDRuralChat hashtag. Others have already started. In fact, I was pleased to see Dakota State University President Doug Knowlton ask:

#EDRuralChat How might partnerships with regional universities improve college access for students from rural settings?” (source)

From what I understand, White will begin addressing these questions at 3:00 EDT. I hope we also see some follow-up on the ED.gov blog because 140 characters simply doesn’t facilitate serious conversation.

If you are looking for a little inspiration before participating, I highly encourage you to read Zach Wilson’s “Speak Your Piece: Rural Education Reform” blog post from yesterday’s Daily Yonder. It is one of the best succinct essays on rural education that I have read!

And if you are looking for a crash course in how a “Twitter chat” works, here are some resources:

Hope to see you there.

Note: Thanks to John McChesneyl from the Rural West Initiative for making me aware of this opportunity. And yes, I learned about it from Twitter.

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Enterprise Facilitation: Another Strategy for supporting entrepreneurs

July 13th, 2011

I’ve advocated previously for economic gardening, as a key strategy for supporting entrepreneurs in rural communities.  Another strategy worth consideration is enterprise facilitation.

Developed by Ernesto Sirroli, enterprise facilitation offers one-on-one support to business owners who are trying to start or build a business. Enterprise facilitation programs typically differ from economic gardening programs in a number of ways:

I was reminded of enterprise facilitation while watching the video embedded below titled “Interview with Jeff Deiss – USDA Rural Development.”  Deiss is the Business & Cooperative Program Director for USDA Rural Development in Oregon, and he explains how they have helped launch several enterprise facilitation programs in rural Oregon.  It’s great to USDA Rural Development engaged in supporting entrepreneurs in this way.

(source: “Interview with Jeff Deiss – USDA Rural Development,” Sirolli Institute, YouTube, Feb. 3, 2009)

I’m aware of only one enterprise facilitation program in South Dakota.  Led by Nancy Larsen, the Southeast Enterprise Facilitation Project serves Turner and McCook Counties along with the town of Menno.  Nancy has a real passion for helping people. You can learn more about their program and some of the businesses they have helped on their website. 

If your community is looking to support early stage businesses, you should look into enterprise facilitation.  It might be just what you need.

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Rural Economic Development Comes from Within

July 8th, 2011

While researching online yesterday, I stumbled across a video produced by the Alberta Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.  The video’s title, “Rural Economic Development Comes from Within,” immediately drew me in because it is a founding principle of our work at the Rural Learning Center.

The video provides an overview of two Alberta communities who used a process called the Business Vitality Initiative (BVI) to develop action plans for their community development efforts. 

Started in 2009 as a pilot project, the initiative was designed to help communities assess their capacity to work with and support entrepreneurship.  I like that the process helps communities build on existing assets within the community. 

I was also particularly impressed by Project Coordinator Patricia Macklin’s closing comment, “The future of our rural Alberta communities will involve harnessing the passion, imagination, and resources of community people.”

I couldn’t agree more.


(Source:  “Rural Econmomic Development Comes from Within,”  AlbertaAgriculture, YouTube, March 3, 2010)

If you watch the video and want to learn a bit more, I’d recommend checking out the Ministry’s website.  The page provides links to each community’s BVI assessment report as well as an evaluation of the program conducted by an outside firm. 

I also discovered that the Centre for Innovation & Entrepreneurial Leadership, which facilitates the BVI process, offers a thorough description of the initiative on their website.  I’ve embedded a video they produced below.  As I listened to it, I was struck by some of the similarities to the Community Vision Meetings that helped launch our efforts in Miner County back in the late 1990s. 

(“Community Vitality Initiative,” CIEL, Viddler, )

I wish I had more time right now to dig deeper into the BVI process; hopefully, that comes in the future.  But for today, it serves as a good reminder — Rural Economic Development Comes from Within.

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Reflections: Strategies to attract & retain newcomers in West Central MN

June 15th, 2011

If your rural community is serious about growing its population, then you need to develop a people attraction and retention plan. And that plan has to be something more than hiring a person to manage your community’s business recruitment strategy.   

A few weeks ago, I recommended that communities begin the process of developing an attraction and retention plan by asking newcomers, “Why did you move here?”  Both projects I highlight in that post – the West Central Minnesota project and the Gogebic Next Generation Initiative – began with this approach. 

But then what?  What does a community do after it discovers the motivations of people moving to the region?  How can they use this information to create a plan? 

Ben Winchester, Research Fellow with University of Minnesota Extension, has some thoughts. 

What does Ben recommend?

Ben is the guy who coordinated the research for the West Central Minnesota project.  He published the research in a paper titled “Regional Recruitment:  Strategies to Attract and Retain Newcomers.”  At the end of the report, he offers eight strategies for communities to consider as they develop a people attraction and retention effort.

The strategies Ben recommends fit into three broad categories:

1) Putting the region on the map strategies;
2) Employment strategies; and
3) Newcomer support strategies.

Rather than summarize each strategy, I want to highlight a few of my reflections on Ben’s recommendations.

Five thoughts I want to share

1)      Putting the region on the map is more than advertising. Rather than “selling” their communities to outsiders, Ben recommends that rural community leaders would be better served by focusing on how they can help individuals who are trying to decide if they can and should move to a small town.  In other words, give them the information that helps them make their decision.  Ben offers some advice on what information potential newcomers to West Central Minnesota are seeking.  And while you should use this as a starting point, I highly recommend that you start with your own research.  In the end, your effort will be more successful because of it.  

2)      Share stories about people who have recently moved to the region.  We talk a lot about the power of stories here at Reimagine Rural.  Potential newcomers will see themselves in the stories you share and will say, “I want what that person (who just moved to your town) has.” As Ben notes, this can be accomplished most effectively through social media tools.  But if your community is not ready to take that step, stories can be shared on traditional websites as well.

3)      Think regionally.  People live in or near towns, but towns are a part of a larger eco-system.  A person may live in one town, work in another, go to the movies in third, enjoy friends in a fourth, and go shopping in still other communities.  If your effort focuses solely on your town, potential newcomers will develop a limited impression of what life will be like for them in your town.  

4)      Business recruitment is not the only way to help create employment opportunities. Of the four “employment strategies” Ben offers, none involve recruiting businesses.  I appreciate that because I believe there are many other ways for rural communities to help create economic opportunities.  Now, if your community already has a successful business recruitment strategy, then you should continue.  If not, consider one of the more personalized approaches Ben describes.  Even if you are unsuccessful at helping each newcomer to your community discover or develop an economic opportunity, they will appreciate and remember your efforts to help.  

5)      Don’t overlook the importance of helping newcomers connect with the community.  If I had to select only one retention strategy, it would be to develop a process for helping newcomers connect.  We often assume that it is easy for new residents to make new friends and get involved in our rural communities.  But research in West Central Minnesota reflects the opposite; newcomers actually had difficulty connecting in the region.  Don’t make the mistake of assuming your community is any different. 

To be honest, we haven’t formulated a people attraction and retention effort in Miner County.  We’ve dabbled in many of the strategies Ben recommends in his report, but attraction and retention hasn’t been a clear focus.  Hopefully, that changes in the future. 

And when it does, one of the first places I’ll recommend we start is with this report.  We can learn a lot from our friends in West Central Minnesota.

Photo Credit:  DonkeyHotey – Flickr

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