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This blog is ECDI's newest forum for promoting economic prosperity and improved quality of life for communities throughout Alabama. Please join us as we explore new possibilties for our communities and economies.
Leaders in struggling rural communities and small towns often pin their hopes for economic prosperity on the recruitment of a large manufacturing plant to “save” their town. In Alabama, our success in attracting large automotive plants like Mercedes-Benz, Honda, and Hyundai has fueled such a lust for industrial recruitment. Many small towns are sure that their big break is just around the corner, if only they can come up with the right financial incentives and recruitment strategy.
An unfortunate consequence of relying on strategies that focus exclusively on industrial recruitment is that many communities undervalue, or don’t understand, the importance of other determinants of a strong local economy. Business retention and expansion, small business and entrepreneurial development, tourism and retiree attraction, for example, receive short shrift compared to industrial recruitment. More significantly, local leaders pay too little attention to building community and civic infrastructure. Put another way, many small towns overemphasize marketing and sales (industrial recruiting) without adequate attention to product development (improving the quality of life in the community). But prosperous small town economies are built upon the foundation of strong communities.
Strategies for Small Towns and Rural Communities
Successful development strategies in small towns will typically include the following elements: 1) Developing strong and diverse community leadership that is inclusive, collaborative, and connected; 2) Identifying local assets and creating and carrying out a strategic plan based upon these assets; and 3) Joining with other jurisdictions to maximize economic resources.
1. Community Leadership: Create leadership that is inclusive, collaborative, and connected.
“Leaderful” Communities.
Successful communities all over the United States understand the importance of an expansive view of community leadership. The traditional notion of the community leader – often a mayor or other powerful “position-holder” — as chief community problem-solver has given way to a new, more dynamic model of the community leader as catalyst, connector, and consensus-builder.
Dr. David Mathews, President of the Kettering Foundation, in summarizing the findings of the Foundation’s research on community politics, writes:
“What stands out in the high-achieving community is not so much the characteristics of the leaders as their number … The high-achieving community had ten times more people providing leadership than communities of comparable size. This [high-achieving] community is “leaderful”; that is, nearly everyone provides some measure of initiative. And its leaders function not as gatekeepers but as door openers, bent on widening participation.”
This new leadership model recognizes that leadership is not confined to a few elected officials and business leaders. Rather, successful leadership requires mobilizing the knowledge, talents, and perspectives of every segment of the community. Successful communities tend to be full of leaders.
2. Community Assessment and Planning: Identify all community assets and create a plan to take strategic advantage.
Strategic Planning.
There is an old saying that goes, “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road will take you there.” Citizen leaders and stakeholders in high-achieving communities know where they are going. They understand that an era of rapid social, cultural, and technological change requires a proactive approach to addressing current and future problems. They engage in a strategic planning process to identify what makes their place special and to decide how to cultivate and promote their unique assets – e.g., a river, a lake, a mountain, or a unique history. The result of this process is a strategic plan that identifies community priorities and outlines specific strategies to make best use of available assets and to address local challenges. It becomes a road map for the future and a benchmark for community progress.
The benefits of strategic planning are not limited to the final product. In fact, one of the most beneficial aspects of strategic planning is the process itself. A successful strategic planning process brings together a diverse group of stakeholders, who address basic questions for the community: “Where are we now?” “Where do we want to go?” and “How do we get there?” There are few other occasions when representatives from throughout the community come together for an extended period of time to discuss shared hopes, dreams, knowledge, perspectives, ideas, and concerns. Broad-based strategic planning is a ‘mega-crossroad” and one of the best tools available for building and strengthening community connections.
3. Local and Regional Partnerships: Connect Local Stakeholders and Join Forces with Neighbors.
From Planning to Action: Connecting Community Stakeholders.
The process must not end with the creation of a strategic plan. If so, it would resemble most other community planning efforts. The result would be a plan that looks good on paper, but ends up collecting dust on a shelf. To prevent this, the community should create an entity responsible for seeing that the major objectives in the plan are actually implemented. This group, which should include representatives from government, business, education, and faith-based institutions, should meet regularly to monitor the community’s progress on the plan and make needed modifications to ensure that the plan remains relevant to community priorities and needs.
The value of the group is not just that it checks items off of the list of community objectives. It can serve as an important community “crossroad” where key community stakeholders have the opportunity to think, work, and act together. Most communities have many excellent people, programs, and projects. All communities have at least some institutional assets – city government, churches, schools, civic clubs, and Chambers of Commerce. But far too often, individuals and organizations work independently, rather than in concert with one another. The truly high-achieving communities are those that create crossroads where leaders from all of these community organizations and institutions can come together to accomplish shared community objectives.
Joining with other jurisdictions to maximize limited resources.
Because small towns and rural areas are sparsely populated, they lack a critical mass – of taxpayers, leadership, financial capacity, infrastructure, and skilled labor. So if small towns are to survive, they must join forces and work together. Small towns must learn to see their neighboring community as a competitor only for the Friday night football game.
While a holistic strategy for economic development is needed, attracting new businesses clearly should be one part of the overall approach. However, small towns rarely possess adequate resources to be effective in the increasingly competitive arena of economic development. Hiring a professional economic developer is an impossible dream for most small communities. That is, unless they decide to partner with their neighbors.
Conclusion
Small towns, and larger jurisdictions for that matter, are best served by a holistic approach to economic development. Industrial development may be an appropriate strategy, especially if done in partnership with regional neighbors. However, it should not be the only strategy. To be successful, small towns need to cultivate strong and diverse community leadership that is inclusive, collaborative, and connected. They need to identify their unique assets, create and implement a strategic plan, and establish strategic partnerships among community stakeholders and with other jurisdictions. And they need to be proactive in creating community and regional crossroads — organizations, or structures, where leaders can connect on a regular basis to assess, plan, and work together.
If small towns aggressively pursue these strategies, they have excellent potential for success. Many city-dwellers long for what people in small towns already have, and often take for granted: a slower pace of life, friendly people who know their neighbors, attractive open spaces and beautiful scenery, quaint shops, historic homes and buildings, parades, festivals, and streets that are safe and free of traffic congestion. Many of our small towns still possess a sense of authenticity and charm that cannot be replicated in bigger cities.
These inherent quality-of-life advantages, enhanced by community leadership, planning, and partnerships, ultimately make the community more attractive to both existing and potential residents and employers. In other words, investments in product development make the community much easier to market and sell. The irony is that strategies emphasizing community development ultimately make small towns much more attractive in the competition for those large manufacturing plants they covet.
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An expanded version of this article appears in the book, Building the Local Economy: Cases in Economic Development, edited by Douglas J. Watson and John Morris (Carl Vinson Institute of Government, University of Georgia, 2008).
Until recently, the logo tagline for the Alabama Cooperative Extension System was “Your Experts for Life.” Many folks in Alabama Extension were not happy with the slogan and took steps to change it. But that tagline describes pretty well the traditional view of university-citizen relations. That is, we at the university are “experts” who enter a community to solve local problems — extending the knowledge and resources of the university to inform, assist, and educate. Under this traditional approach, universities have a stockpile of projects, programs, and initiatives that can be employed to solve whatever problems (often defined by someone from the university) they find in a community. There is a mostly one-way, producer-consumer relationship. Citizens, and, collectively, their communities, are viewed as customers who need the specialized expertise that only the university can provide. Despite a widespread movement toward a new “engaged” model of university-citizen relations, my guess is that this traditional model probably remains the dominant practice.
Lessons from Uniontown, Alabama
I understand this approach pretty well since I practiced it for many of my years working in outreach leadership positions at Auburn University. But my perspective changed beginning in 1999 when the Economic Development Institute was called to assist a small west Alabama community facing severe economic distress.
Our initial approach in Uniontown was to work through the mayor to help the community create a strategic plan for economic development and redesign a local community development organization. This was nothing new for us. Strategic planning and organizational assistance were among the cache of programs and services we regularly provided to communities throughout our state. But in Uniontown, our project was a complete failure.
The planning process never attracted very much citizen involvement. The few citizens who “participated” tended to be elderly friends of the mayor. They generally took a passive role and appeared reluctant to express their views. They tended to look to the mayor or the outside “experts” from Auburn for answers to community problems. (Of course, what we perceived as apathy might have simply reflected the fact that our customer service approach, which put them on the receiving end of our expertise, gave participants little chance to express their own needs or affect the process used to address them.)
Our planning and organizational assistance project in Uniontown had little impact, because this community needed something more basic than a plan or new organizational structures. Uniontown needed its residents to embrace their role as citizens. We had nothing in our bag of tricks that addressed this problem. So we decided to change our approach.
Humbled by our early stumbles, we decided to take a more passive role that focused on listening, facilitating dialogue, and responding to the needs of Uniontown citizens as they defined them. The results were extraordinary. As members of the Uniontown community discussed local problems, they began to realize their capacity for doing something about them. Talk was turned into action, and these actions led to results. For me, the most intriguing outcome was that more good things seemed to happen as we did less.
Connector and Catalyst
Based on our experiences in Uniontown, we changed our perspective on community outreach. We understand that we don’t have all of the answers. We know that citizens produce and create their own fate. We understand that, like Uniontown, many communities are not really looking for technical assistance, service, or education, but rather how to come together as a community. Expertise and specialized programs do not have much to say about that. Thus, the most fundamental community problems are not amenable to the solutions found within our usual bag of tricks.
Those of us in university outreach will have much more relevance if we substitute the role of “connecter and catalyst” for the role of “expert”. We need to understand that the most intractable community problems must be defined and attacked (if not solved) by the local citizens themselves. They have the innate power and capacity to be the solution to their own problems. Outsiders’ coming in to define and solve problems does not build community capacity or facilitate community ownership of problems. Indeed, it may have the reverse effect of perpetuating a continued feeling of dependency. What communities really need from us is to listen to how they define their needs, to help connect stakeholders with local assets and other resources, and to facilitate community deliberations and interactions.
Engagement, Community, and Economic Prosperity
As an economic development organization, Uniontown was a turning point in our understanding of the link between citizens, community development, and economic prosperity. Everything we say and do now reflects the basic idea that citizens are the community’s most important economic resource; that community vitality is determined by the quantity of leaders in a community and how, individually and collectively, they talk, decide, act, and interact with one another; and that community development lays the foundation for economic prosperity. This contrasts with the prevailing view of economic development dominated by issues of business marketing, financial incentives, and recruitment.
The changes at ECDI are not reflected in new public deliberation or civic engagement programs and initiatives, although we are involved in such activities. The change is a more fundamental transformation of our organizational culture. It is a paradigm shift in how we view the field of economic development and our place in it. Civic engagement is now integrated into each of our programs and activities – whether in education, research, or community outreach.
One manifestation of our change in philosophy is a new emphasis on community leadership. ECDI is now the home of the Alabama Community Leadership Network (ACLN), which connects, and provides resources for, adult and youth community leadership programs throughout Alabama. We see these local leadership programs as having great potential for building more “leaderful” communities, increasing the capacity of citizens to address the challenges they face, and thereby strengthening civic life in communities throughout Alabama. This is the type of civic infrastructure upon which we believe prosperous economies are built.
We have redesigned our education programs to engage the Alabama economic development community in new ways — both in topics addressed and in course format. While we still address the traditional issues related to business recruitment, our focus is heavily oriented toward community development. Course formats are structured to be very interactive, employing deliberative forums, roundtables, and group exercises. This reflects our philosophy that ECDI staff and course instructors do not have a monopoly on good ideas or strategies. Engagement within our courses produces a healthy exchange of perspectives that is far superior to a lecture-only format. We also travel around the state conducting deliberative forums and roundtables on topics related to economic and community development.
Civic Mission versus Measurement and Money
One of the tensions that we have faced is between our commitment to a civic mission and the University’s demand for measurable results and the generation of extramural income. While we embrace accountability and entrepreneurial strategies, the things we value most are sometimes difficult to measure or less amenable to income generation. The economist Stephen Rhodes said, “Politics and public policy are more like love than math.” That sounds about right. We tend to be able to measure the things that are of the least importance. It’s easier to count the number of people who attend a training class than it is to measure the impact of a rekindled sense of civic efficacy among citizens of Uniontown. It’s pretty easy to make money by securing a contract for an economic impact study of a potential plant location. It’s harder to earn money by sparking a community’s interest in public deliberation and civic engagement. But which has the most value? Getting universities to truly align themselves around their civic mission will require finding a workable balance between the university’s civic purpose, on the one hand, and the demand for accountability and funding on the other.
Not “Your Experts for Life”
To summarize, we have learned the limits of our expertise. Nobody knows or cares about a community’s problems like the citizens themselves. And only they have the power and capacity to solve them. For those of us in university outreach, our most useful contribution is probably to serve as “connecter and catalyst” with the goal of increasing the community’s capacity to successfully address problems on its own.
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This article appears in Connections
We’ll dig much deeper into our programs and activities later, but I’ll just start with a brief overview. ECDI was created in June 2006 when the former Auburn University Economic Development Institute (EDI) and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System’s Community Resource Development program joined forces. EDI, created in 1988, had developed a strong emphasis on both community and economic develop-ment, especially rural development, so the restructuring made sense. With the combined resources of Auburn University and Extension, we feel that ECDI is uniquely positioned to provide leadership for our state’s economic and community development.
Our mission is “to promote economic prosperity and improved quality of life for communities throughout Alabama.”
This mission statement guides us in everything we do. Our strategic plan has four primary goals related to: 1) Education and Training, 2) Research and Communication, 3) Engagement and Consultation, and 4) Connections and Partnerships. Here is a thumb-
nail sketch of some things we do.
Education & Training: This year we celebrate the 25th Anniversary of the two-week Intensive Economic Development Training Course. With over 800 alumni, including most Alabama economic developers, this is one of the best basic economic development courses in the country. The Alabama Prosperity Forum is an education program that offers short (1½ day) courses focusing on topics where Alabama economic and community development professionals have asked for more training. Unlike many such courses, the format provides opportunities for maximum participant engagement, including discussion roundtables and deliberative forums. ECDI also administers the AU Graduate Minor in Economic Development, which attaches to Master’s degrees in Agricultural Economics, Business Administration, Community Planning, Economics, Education, Public Administration and Public Policy, and Rural Sociology. ECDI is the home of the Alabama Community Leadership Network (ACLN), which connects, and provides resources for, adult and youth community leadership programs throughout Alabama.
Research & Communication: Our publications on rural issues, including Beyond the Interstate: The Crisis in Rural Alabama and Crossroads and Connections: Strategies for Rural Alabama, have significantly influenced rural development discussions, policies, and programs in Alabama. Our Uniontown research on civic engagement, sponsored by the Kettering Foundation, is used as an education, training, and research tool throughout the nation – and world. The research report has been translated into Spanish for distribution in Latin America. ECDI also publishes the quarterly ACTION newsletter. ECDI has an excellent website, what we believe is the state’s best online resource for economic and community development. Available on our website, our interactive Alabama Economic Development Resource Directory is the state’s most comprehensive resource guide for the economic development community. Additionally, the links page on our website provides the most comprehensive one-stop portal for updated economic and community development websites from Alabama and beyond. Other key features of our website include an interactive calendar featuring Alabama economic and community development opportunities, issue-specific articles and resources, and much more. Please take a look.
Engagement & Consultation: We work with many communities throughout the state. Our goal is to help strengthen the capacity of communities to solve their own problems. We see our role as “listener, connector and catalyst” much more than “expert”. We buy into the philosophy that it’s better to “teach a person to fish . . .” We help with community assessment and asset mapping, leadership development, strategic planning, economic and fiscal impact analysis, and tourism strategies, among other things. We administer the Rural Alabama Initiative, funded by Extension, which, over the last three years, has supported 97 community projects throughout Alabama, many focused on youth and adult leadership and workforce development.
Connections & Partnerships: With a small staff, we know that to have maximum impact, we need to leverage our resources by working with others. So creating connections is central to our way of doing things and our primary message for communities. We are the home of the I-85 Corridor Alliance, a regional partnership of government, civic, business, and educational stakeholders dedicated to promoting innovation, prosperity, and collaboration along Interstate 85 in Alabama. We are founding members of the Alabama Communities of Excellence program (ACE), a public-private partnership that seeks to build the community and economic development capacity of small towns throughout Alabama. I currently serve as president of the ACE Board of Directors. This is a fantastic program and the state’s finest model of collective effort. We are also very active in serving on commissions, task forces, and other economic and community development organizations at the state, regional, and national levels.
ECDI Staff: Effectively carrying out such a wide range of ECDI programming requires a talented staff. Each ECDI staff member contributes across the full range of our programs, but has a primary area of responsibility:
- Amelia Stehouwer (Research and Communication)
- Artie Menefee (Leadership Development)
- Mike Easterwood (Grant and Project Management)
- Tom Chesnutt (Tourism)
- Allyson Martin (Education and the I-85 Corridor Alliance)
- Markie Southerland (Executive Assistant).
This summary description of ECDI provides just a glimpse at who we are and what we do. I look forward to talking more about our programs and staff as we blog along.
Links:
ECDI Website
http://www.auburn.edu/ecdi
Intensive Economic Development Training Course
http://www.auburn.edu/ecdi/intensive_09.html
Alabama Prosperity Forum
http://www.auburn.edu/ecdi/apf.html
Alabama Community Leadership Network
http://www.acln.info
Beyond the Interstate: The Crisis in Rural Alabama
http://www.auburn.edu/ecdi/publications/beyondtheinterstate.pdf
Crossroads and Connections: Strategies for Rural Alabama
http://www.auburn.edu/ecdi/publications/candcsm.pdf
Alabama Economic Development Resource Directory
http://www.auburn.edu/ecdi/resource_directory.htm
Rural Alabama Initiative
http://www.auburn.edu/ecdi/rai.html
I-85 Corridor Alliance
http://www.auburn.edu/outreach/i85corr
Alabama Communities of Excellence (ACE) Program
http://www.alabamacommunitiesofexcellence.org
I admit that I have been skeptical about blogging, but am beginning to warm to the idea. In fact, I’m getting excited about contributing to a discussion about community and economic development in Alabama. I have no shortage of ideas and opinions on this topic and this should be a great venue for engaging readers to test these ideas and to learn from you. Also, there are some great things going on at ECDI that I want to talk about. So I will periodically provide updates about ECDI events and programs and the work of our excellent staff. ECDI staff will be posting here too.
I’m not too sure what people expect from our blog, but I plan to provide information and my opinions on a range of topics. Most will be related to economic development but I warn you that I may sometimes stray and opine on other matters.
I will even talk a little about my family, who have a profound influence on how I see the world. Ella Clare (aka Sweet Pea), my granddaughter, will celebrate her first birthday on April 12. My 13-year-old son, Tucker, is a 7th Grader on the Auburn Jr. High Track Team and recently came in 1st place in the 1600 meters (one mile for my American readers) in a regional meet. Not only is he fast, he is smart, kind, and funny. He takes after his mom (except for the fast part). My wife and I prove the old adage that opposites attract. Lynn is beautiful, outgoing and impulsive. I am quiet, calm, and analytical (and not nearly as good to look at). But what the heck, it works. Lacey Updegraff, my daughter and Sweet Pea’s mom, is 27 and married to my son-in-law John, an advisor for AU College of Liberal Arts. Lacey manages the Lee County Youth for Christ and has a very cool blog of her own at http://fromtheauplains.blogspot.com
Of course, the ideas and opinions that I write in this blog will be from my perspective and may not reflect the point of view of the Alabama economic development community, Auburn University, the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, other ECDI staff members, or any sane person. More later . . .
Joe, Ella Clare, and Tucker
Lynn and Ella Clare
