2008.01.22 EDA Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

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BR & E ,er o � ,�-,-a&k 1. The development of a Jack Nicklaus golf course focusing on industrial attraction operate on a where an ugly hazardous waste site had been countywide basis,most BR&E Visitation programs do. located at the entrance to the community. This enables communities of varying sizes to pool their 2. The retention of a state hospital,saving five resources to help their existing firms compete. hundred jobs. 3. The development of business start-up educational programs that resulted in forming eleven new WHAT ARE THE COSTS OF businesses and expanding seventeen home-based A BR&E VISITATION PROGRAM? businesses.' • Build Community Capacity for BR&E So much for the benefits, what are the costs of doing a BR&E Visitation program? Let's take a look at these. The most important long-term benefit of this action- Compared with many economic development programs,the based approach to BR&E Visitation is that it builds the BR&E Visitation Program is an extremely low-cost option. capacity of the community to do BR&E. Four important aspects of this improved capacity are: Volunteer Time: COSI or Value? 1. Stronger collaboration between local development If you have a home flower garden and enjoy working in it agencies,local governments,citizens,educators, yourself,how do you estimate the cost of your time? Do and local businesses. you simply take your average hourly wage times the hours 2. A better understanding by local leaders of the you work? Or,since you are having fun, do you assume strengths and weaknesses of their community's your time is either free or that you would need to charge local business climate. yourself an entertainment fee? It's not clear cut,is it? 3. Better communication among businesses and leaders. We run into the same problem when estimating the cost of 4. Better linkages to state and federal development volunteer time for the BR&E Visitation program. Because assistance. most people consider it fun to visit firms,it might be incorrect to estimate the value of their time as a cost. If you A study of an Ohio BR&E Visitation program found do count this time as a cost,citizens and local leaders stronger collaboration among a wide variety of local collectively contribute about$25,000 in time to an average leaders—due largely to the process used by the Task BR&E Visitation program. Force to deal with immediate individual concerns10(for more information see The Local Leadership Team Manual p.9). If you want to attract new firms,you How Long Does It Take? must understand your community's strengths and weaknesses—from the perspective of the business A BR&E Visitation program takes two to three years to world. No group is in a better position to tell you what complete. Organizing the local Leadership Team usually these are than your existing firms. Prospective firms takes one to two months. The firm visits and action-based considering your area as a location will send a team to strategic planning efforts take from four to nine months. visit them. The rest of the time is devoted to implementing the plans. Local economic development takes time and effort. It You will have more success in attracting new firms if would be a mistake to recruit the Leadership Team and Task you talk with your local firms first and understand your Force members on the promise that the program commit- community's strengths and weaknesses. For example, ments would be completed in six months. That promise Fayette County,Ohio,had a long-standing reputation as would forecast a program that develops a strategic plan that having a poor labor climate as a result of strikes over sits on the shelf and never gets implemented. twenty years earlier. However,the BR&E Visitation survey found that labor/management relations at the time of the survey were very good. The local Task Force used this information to successfully market their community to several new industrial prospects." Although very few economic development programs Is It for Our Community? -- 13