The Arkansas Delta – why does it still matter?

This is the question that was examined, poked, and prodded on Thursday, April 7 at “The Arkansas Delta: Why It Still Matters,” presented by Simmons Bank. The Simmons Bank conference was offered to community leaders and economic development professionals across the state at no fee thanks to Simmons Bank and other sponsors who supported the event: Ritter Communications, Arkansas Farm Bureau, Lile Real Estate, the Delta Regional Authority, the Agricultural Council of Arkansas, Community Health Centers of Arkansas/Mid-Delta Health Systems, Arkansas Children’s Hospital, Garver, the St. Francis Levee District and the Roberts Law Firm.

The day long agenda focused on six main topics: health care, economic trends, education issues, race and ethnicity, agriculture, and the event culminated with a discussion on economic development.

The event kicked off with a welcome from George Makris, CEO of Simmons First Nation Corp., and Rex Nelson, Director of Corporate Community Relations at Simmons Bank. Next, Executive Director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC) Mike Preston gave an overview of the Delta from the perspective of his organization and the state of Arkansas. He encouraged Delta communities to focus on ecotourism, quality of life initiatives, and keeping youth (Millennials) engaged and connected.

Congressman Bruce Westerman of the 4th Congressional District also shared his thoughts on why the Delta still matters. He stated that in life every person must have four necessities: food, water, shelter, and clothing. He then went on to say that the Delta provides one of those four necessities – food. The Delta is the bread basket of America and is crucial to so many peoples’ lives. Westerman implored that the focus of the Delta is agriculture and that we must utilize that asset to its fullest potential.

Chris Masingill of the Delta Regional Authority was introduced next. Masingill relayed concerns about workforce issues in the Delta, but stated these issues are being combated by the growth of local two and four year colleges and their ever developing relationships with industry and local businesses in the area. Local schools and businesses continue to work together to identify workforce needs and develop programs to train the workforce with the skills necessary for our citizens and our businesses to be successful. He urged everyone in the room to remember that Arkansas must be competitive on a global scale, and that education must be at the forefront of our minds as we move toward a brighter future. He remarked on how innovative the state’s new “Be Proud Be Pro” program, aimed at encouraging Arkansans (especially youth) to explore technical careers, is, and stated that, “We can’t continue to demonize workforce training and technical programs. These areas must be showcased as important and we need to encourage our kids to enter these programs; they need to be career ready or college ready when they leave high school.”

Masingill also recognized the importance of growing small businesses and the network of entrepreneurs in Arkansas. He cited statistics to make his point: over 50% of employers in the Delta are small business owners and businesses with seven or fewer employees make up the majority of those small businesses.

He ended by stating, “We can’t keep doing the same thing. We must innovate and change.”

The first of four panel discussions, “Health Care in the Delta,” followed Massingill’s remarks. The panel consisted of: Delta lawyer and businessman Raymond Abramson (moderator), UAMS East Director Dr. Becky Hall, President and CEO of Arkansas Hospital Association Bo Ryall, President of Community Health Center of Arkansas Al Sliger, Chief of Staff at Jefferson Regional Medical Center Dr. David Lupo, and Billy Tarpley, Executive Director of Arkansas State Dental Association. The panel made the following comments about the state of health in the Delta:

• Panelists made comments on the “Red County Report,” released by the Office of Minority Health & Health Disparities at the Arkansas Department of Health. The most shocking statistic from this report shared is that 17 counties in the Delta have a lower life expectancy (10 years less) than counties in Northwest Arkansas.
• More money needs to be funneled into prevention and wellness programs because most of the life threatening diseases diagnosed in the Delta are preventable. Focusing on prevention and wellness will decrease the likelihood of these diseases and will positively change statistics.
• Healthcare is a glaring under served issue in the Delta and education is key to changing that. Medicine is about relationships; leaders in the Delta need to develop relationships with large hospitals and connect with local health organizations to ensure there are no duplication of efforts.
• The amount of primary care and family doctors is shrinking. All of us need to encourage youth to go into the medical field and to stay in Arkansas, primarily the Delta because it is so under served.
• One panelist remarked that Arkansas Works is an excellent program and will continue to provide much needed benefits for those who would otherwise not have access to healthcare.
• Delta leaders need to look into programs where communities/the state help pay for students’ medical school in return for coming to a specific community and working for an allotted amount of time. Encourage a “grow your own” mentality in Delta communities – talk to local youth and inspire them to enter the medical field and return to their hometown to provide healthcare.

Dr. Greg Hamilton of UALR Institute for Economic Advancement then gave a presentation on “Eastern Arkansas Demographic and Economic Trends: An Exploratory Analysis.” Dr. Hamilton analyzed demographic and economic data from all Delta counties and shared his findings with the audience. His research showed that there has been a severe population decline in Delta counties, with the only major growth happening in Northeast Arkansas around Jonesboro. Withholding the Craighead/Greene county area, the Delta has also seen decreases in average personal income (PI) since the 1970’s, which Dr. Hamilton equated to wealth and potential economic development growth.

The second panel discussion, “Education Issues in the Delta,” followed Dr. Hamilton’s report. The panel consisted of: Dr. Fitz Hill of Arkansas Baptist College (moderator), Deputy Commissioner of the Arkansas Department of Education Dr. Mark Gotcher, Executive Director of the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators Dr. Richard Abernathy, Executive Director of the Arkansas Education Association Tracey-Ann Nelson, Chancellor of UAPB Dr. Laurence Alexander, Executive Director of Arkansas Public School Resource Center Scott Smith, and Executive Director of KIPP Delta Schools Scott Shirley. The panel made the following comments about education issues in the Delta:

• Moderator Dr. Fitz Hill shared with the audience that he knew education was a major issue in the Delta when in 2005 he read a newspaper article that stated Toyota wanted to locate a plant in Arkansas, but decided not to because the literacy rate was too low.
• Panelists across the board agreed that we should not put all of our focus on four-year college degrees. We must focus on skills training and technical degrees. We need to change the direction of our local schools on a regional level to insure our students get the education they need to get a job with local industry.
• “A great economy supports a great local school system. Whereas a poor economy tends to support a poor local school system.” Schools systems must be relevant to local businesses and the economy to be successful.
• Where do you find talent? You develop it. Our students are our leaders of tomorrow and we must equip them to be prosperous.
• To create fruitful education systems, we need to: build relationships between educational institutions and businesses, identify and remove barriers for students, teachers, and administrators, and develop education initiatives that stem from local support. Communities must “buy-in” to their local schools.
• Continue to support, mentor, and grow our teachers to keep them relevant in their classrooms.
• Remember: universities contribute to their local communities in a variety of ways, namely research and technical assistance. Develop a relationship with your local university.
• Do a SWOT analysis of your community and work with your local partners to build on your strengths and combat your threats.

During lunch, keynote speaker Dr. John Kirk, a professor of History at UALR, discussed “Race and Ethnicity in the Arkansas Delta: Historical Perspective.” Dr. Kirk discussed the importance of civil rights history in the Delta and encouraged Delta leaders to connect to and record that history. He pointed out that there is a huge opportunity for Arkansas to tell its stories through expanded civil rights tourism. This presentation opened up discussion about Arkansas’ past and the future of race relations.

After lunch, the conference transitioned to the third panel discussion, “Agriculture in the Delta.” The panel consisted of: Ritter Arnold of E. Ritter & Co. (moderator), President of Farm Bureau Arkansas Randy Veach, Executive Vice President of the Agricultural Council of Arkansas Andrew Grobmyer, Deputy Secretary of the Arkansas Agriculture Department Cynthia Edwards, and Arkansas Regional Chairman of Simmons Bank Freddie Black. The panel made the following comments about agriculture in the Delta:

• Agriculture is the powerhouse of the Delta. We need to make sure it is still a primary focus in our minds – we need to explore ways to support Delta farmers and to capitalize our agricultural assets.
• Technology and equipment have completely changed the landscape of agriculture; especially in the Delta.
• Going forward we must accept that automation will grow at an accelerated rate and our farmers need to keep up with the advancing technologies.
• More specialty and organic crops will likely spread across the Delta because the land is so fertile and versatile.
• There is a growing concern among agriculturalists and farmers about how to get youth involved in farming and to get them to stay in the Delta on the farm.

The last piece of the conference was the final panel discussion concerning “Economic Development in the Delta.” The panelists were: Vice Chancellor of Finance and Administration at UAPB Carla Martin (moderator), President and CEO of the Arkansas State Chamber Randy Zook, Board President of Arkansas Economic Developers Joe Bailey, President and CEO of the Jefferson County Economic Development Alliance Lou Ann Nisbett, Vice Chancellor for Research, Innovation, and Economic Development at UAPB Dr. Mary Benjamin, and Community and Economic Development Manager at Arkansas Electric Cooperative Corporation JD Lowery. They shared the following concerning economic development in the Delta:

• We need to look at communities from an institutional perspective: churches, education, government, economy, etc. All of these institutions must work together to make our communities prosperous.
• Chambers need to act as superintendents for communities. They must be leaders, conveners, and communicators.
• Workforce is the number one issue for Arkansas economic development. As leaders, we need to confer with our schools and businesses to assess our current educational environments and offer the right training that will create economic growth.
• To get restaurants and retail, you have to build your population and income base. You must also have good schools for families and a high quality of life.
• In the Delta we have to overcome the negative perception of low skills and educational attainment of our citizens if we want more businesses to come to our communities. If we change statistics and change perception, we will boom. As we continue to develop our workforce, we must play to our strengths and celebrate our successes.
• Key Arkansas Delta economic development takeaways: know your SWOT, get local businesses involved in your community, perception is reality so market yourself properly, focus on raising educational attainment and expectations, create partnerships that add value to your initiatives, listen to Millennials and provide them with what they need to be successful, and don’t be afraid of reinvention.

Overall, “The Arkansas Delta: Why It Still Matters” did three very important things: 1) gave insights into the Arkansas Delta’s current situation and its future, 2) brought together a multitude of community leaders from all across the state to network and discuss how to make Arkansas a more prosperous place, and 3) answered the question, “Why does the Arkansas Delta still matter?”

Our team at the Center for Community and Economic Development would like to thank Simmons Bank for offering this conference and bringing important Arkansas stakeholders together. Our knowledge of the Arkansas Delta has expanded and we look forward to helping Delta communities in the future through whatever means necessary.

“The road to recovery in Faulkner County” by CCED Project Coordinator Shelby Fiegel was originally published in Arkansas Municipal League’s City & Town magazine.

April 27, 2014, will be forever ingrained in the minds of Faulkner County citizens, specifically those from the cities of Vilonia and Mayflower. Last April, a devastating F4 tornado hit the two cities, causing major damage both physically and mentally for those affected. There were 16 fatalities and 193 injuries along the tornado’s 43-mile trek. It was recorded as the deadliest tornado in the country during 2014 and the deadliest in Arkansas since 1968.

Though the road to recovery was an uphill battle, just over a year later both cities are on the track to a brighter future. They did not give up in the face of adversity. Instead the citizens united and looked at the destruction as an opportunity to strategically rebuild their communities better than they were before.

As Vilonia and Mayflower community leaders initiated the rebuilding process, the key to their success was long-term thinking. They recognized that the tornado recovery efforts were not going to be completed in a matter of months and understood there was a need to implement strategic plans that would enact positive change, keep momentum high, and ensure everyone was working toward a common goal.

The first step to effective long-term recovery was to identify anchor organizations across the state that would act as partners, resource guides, and knowledge centers. Vilonia and Mayflower partnered with a variety of groups at the federal and state level to assist them throughout the recovery process. Federal agencies were effective at collecting data, developing reports, providing recommendations, and developing solutions to complex issues, but those agencies only had a short window of time in which they were available to be utilized. Once those agencies completed their assignments, it was up to other organizations such as the University of Central Arkansas’s Center for Community and Economic Development, Central Arkansas Planning and Development District, University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Institute for Economic Advancement, Metroplan, and the University of Arkansas’s Community Design Center to make that data digestible, help those recommendations come to fruition and assist the communities in developing their action plans.

The rebuilding effort also created an opportunity for local leaders to explore new possibilities for economic development. Leaders in both cities kept an open mind and were extremely receptive to suggestions and knowledge imparted on them by experts in the fields of disaster recovery and community and economic development. As a result of their efforts, several initiatives were completed in the last year, including:

• A long-range plan for redevelopment, which included community visioning meetings and development of zoning regulations.
• Funding of a recovery coordinator and support staff for one year. The recovery coordinator took on the role of economic developer for both cities, making the position the first of its kind in either community.
• A Benchmarking Tour of Arkadelphia, the goals of which were to understand how an Arkansas city responded to a natural disaster that impacted the central business district and hear about long-term economic development efforts that have gained traction in Arkadelphia and Clark County.
• The first ever Faulkner County Economic Development Boot Camp, held by UCA’s Center for Community and Economic Development. The boot camp included training sessions and plan ning simulations presented by community and economic development professionals from across Arkansas.
• Vilonia began the development of a brand with the Center and LaGrone Design. The city, which previously had no established brand, recognized the need for one during their recovery efforts. The new brand includes a logo and tagline that will establish a significant and differentiated presence for Vilonia among other communities.

Using all the resources at their disposal, Vilonia and Mayflower started to lay the foundation for their strategic action plans that would lead them into a prosperous future. Once the action plans were developed and adopted, elected officials, community leaders, grassroots organizations (such as the Rebuild Vilonia Committee), and various other community organizations were each assigned a role to play within the execution of the plans.Vilonia and Mayflower have received an estimated $8 million in state and federal grants, with the possibility for more funding in the future.

Over a year has passed since the April 27 tornado and both cities are on the fast track to moving from “tornado recovery” to “economic development” as their mind set.

For more information on preparing your community for resilience, or best practices for economic development following a disaster, contact UCA’s
Center for Community and Economic Development at cced@uca.edu

To set up this particular blog post we can’t help but start off with a little song – so please feel free to listen as you scan over this post:

As a sponsor of Destination Downtown 2015, CCED Director Amy Whitehead and Project Coordinator Shelby Fiegel divided and conquered this year’s conference, which was hosted by Main Street Arkansas at the CALS Ron Robinson Theater in Little Rock.

Destination Downtown is a regional conference sponsored by Main Street Arkansas, and co-sponsored by Mississippi Main Street Association and Louisiana Main Street, attracting more than 200 professionals in preservation-based commercial district revitalization, including new and experienced downtown and neighborhood Main Street directors, board members, architects, planners, economic development professionals, public officials, volunteers and consultants. Attendees hailed from communities of all sizes, from small rural towns to urban neighborhoods in large cities.

Sessions included topics such as “Diversify Your Revenue Sources!,” “Implementing the Four Point Refresh: Stronger Strategies, Stronger Outcomes,” “Blogging on Main Street & Attracting Travel Bloggers,” “PopUp in the Rock: Connecting Underutilized Space and Creating Sense of Place,” “Crowdfunding for Public Spaces & Community Places: Community & Innovation Come Together for the Greater Good” and many other diverse subjects. Our team thoroughly enjoyed all the sessions we attended and learned about a multitude of new ideas, resources, skills, trends, and tricks of the tourism trade.

To keep this post short and concise, we want to share the best “snippets” of information we heard while attending the conference. They are as follows:

• We need a combination of public and private partnerships to rebuild our downtowns: place + space.
• To travel is to learn – go explore different places and learn from their successes and mishaps.
• Successful cities of today think smaller, but in a big way.
• The economic development environment has changed between the 20th century and 21st century. Ask yourself: are you keeping up, have you changed with it?
• “The best way to predict the future is to create it yourself.” – Abe Lincoln.
• “Distinct qualities and uniqueness are the only competitive advantage communities have.” – Ed McMahon.
• Successful cities are distinctive cities.
• “The future belongs to mixed-use development.” – Ed McMahon.
• The PLACE is becoming more important that the product.
• Sameness is a minus in the world we live in, it is not a plus. Be different.
• Community image is critical to economic vitality and quality of life.
• What are we building today that will be worth preserving in the future? Think deeply about this question.
• In your downtown, if you a parking problem that means you are successful.
• Communities that set no standards compete to the bottom.
• People who live downtown spend 40-60% of their disposable income downtown.
• Every $1 spent on downtown investments creates a $27 return.
• Keys to responsible tourism.
• Pop ups – re-imagining downtowns in the some of the most creative ways. Learn more here.
• Public Places, Community Spaces is a crowdgranting program. Absorb this idea, people! Seriously. Learn more at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and Patronicity.
• “As the world becomes more technological, place becomes even more important.” – Warwick Sabin.
• Problem in the south: we lose our most talented people because they don’t have access to what they need to be successful – we need to provide that access.

We had a wonderful time learning, absorbing, and networking at Destination Downtown 2015! We look forward to Destination Downtown 2016 hosted by Louisiana Main Street in Ruston, Louisiana (especially since we received some peach flavored chap-stick to put us in a Ruston mood). But until next year – that’s all folks!

This week on the Center’s blog, we are featuring a special guest that is VERY close to our staff (both literally and figuratively).

Kandace Keeney is the Professional Development & Special Projects Coordinator in our division at UCA, the Division of Outreach and Community Engagement. On July 24, she attended TEDxMarkhamSt and as a favor to us will be sharing insights and lessons learned with all of our devoted readers. Our team would like to thank Kandace for taking time out of her busy schedule to jot down her thoughts and we hope you thoroughly enjoy what she has to share!

Without further ado, we present Kandace Keeney – TEDxMarkhamSt:

Do you know TED? (If you don’t, please allow me to introduce you.)  Almost thirty years ago, Technology, Entertainment, and Design converged at an idea-sharing conference. Now a non-profit, global platform devoted to spreading ideas about almost all subjects, TED spreads big ideas from the world’s most inspired thinkers.

TEDx conferences are independently organized TED-like events dedicated to exercising the power of ideas to change attitudes, lives, and ultimately, the world. TEDxMarkhamSt is proof that little rocks are creating avalanches all over Arkansas. Everyone who participated in this entire day full of mind-blowing, multi-disciplinary talks left feeling inspired.

Here’s what I took home:

• Enhancing our 4G infrastructure is key to the future of agriculture. Diversity matters A LOT if your food is important to you. Eat local. Raise some chickens.
• Understanding doesn’t mean agreement or approval. Set aside agenda. Risk vulnerability. Listen.
• Never say anything that couldn’t stand as the last thing you ever say.
• Chasing meaning is better for your health than trying to avoid discomfort.
• Stress can be good for you when you choose to think about it as your body’s way of energizing you and helping you rise the challenge, your body will believe you. People matter most. Business culture can make or break a company.
• My recent and unscientific green room experiment shows that 100% of nervous TEDx presenters I hugged absolutely killed it on stage afterward. Thanks, Kelly!
• Promote social change. Ask yourself, “So what can I do?”  Know your options, dismiss excuses, start small, and do, and do more.
• Nonviolence is a way of life for courageous people. Adversaries are the best teachers of nonviolence. Without being broken-hearted we cannot have compassion.
• Birth situations do not determine destinations.
• Overcoming our fears is key to improving ourselves, our communities, and our world. We were all meant to be great, it’s our choice whether we accept it. Go beyond where you’re supposed to be. Believe. Go to the mountain top. Jump. Focus.
• We are not investing wisely in our future. A Pell grant is $7,000 per year, incarceration is $30,000 per year.
• A mother’s education is directly related to her children’s health and economic well-being, and one in five women in Arkansas do not complete high school. Arkansas ranks first in the number of teen births. Twenty percent of Arkansas women live in poverty, and the poverty rate for female-headed families is forty-eight percent. These statistics are scary, but anything that can be measured can be improved.
• 73 of 75 of Arkansas counties are designated as underserved, but telemedicine has measurable results showing its success in Arkansas. I repeat: Anything that can be measured can be improved.
• Architecture is powerful and changes places. Places shape every decision that we make, and our decisions shape later generations.
• We need to invest ourselves in quality of life and urban. We need to change minds on public transit or make a wrong turn for our future. For Little Rock to grow in the future thinking must change from I to we.

The current competitive economic environment is making it harder for communities to command attention and display relevancy. Thus, many Arkansas communities are getting lost in the crowd. One way these communities can redefine their situation and demand consideration is to develop a strong community brand. A community’s brand aims to establish a significant and differentiated presence among other communities. A strong brand influences public perception, makes investment in the community attractive, supports tourism activities, and provides citizens with a sense of identity.

In the mind of a typical consumer, the concept of branding is most often associated with a logo or tagline — the Nike swoosh, the Chevrolet bowtie, Coca Cola’s “Open happiness,” “Like a good neighbor State Farm is there,” or “Got Milk?” While logos and taglines are important in branding, they are not necessarily the most important part. This notion is especially true concerning community branding. To create a community brand that generates top-of-mind awareness and “sticks” in the mind of consumers, a city cannot simply pluck a logo or tagline out of thin air because it looks/sounds cool or they “think” it represents their community; a community brand has to be developed through research and self-identification. A good brand should provide a community with added value by conveying a powerful identity and create consumer trust and respect.

Las Vegas is a solid example of a successful community brand (though maybe not one any given community could or would want to recreate). The city would not be known as “Sin City” if the residents of Las Vegas and the general public did not attribute the city with that description. Las Vegas delivers on its brand promise (benefits and experiences that are associated with a community in its current and prospective consumers’ minds) by providing the experience, “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” The city created brand success by understanding, playing off, and building its tourism-focused identity that is now known throughout the world.

So, how does a community in Arkansas compete with the big boys in branding? It starts with research. Review your community’s history and identify its future direction. Do you have a strategic plan set in place? If so, draw upon it during brand development. Define your competitors, conduct case studies of other successfully branded communities of similar size, and map out your strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats. Make sure you ask yourself the right questions, such as:

• How do you define yourself as a community?
• What are the key features or unique attributes of your community?
• What are you selling (a good place to live, business environment, tourism, etc.)?
• What do residents think about your community?
• What do outsiders think about your community?
• What is your community vision or mission statement?
• What are your goals and objectives?

As you slowly accumulate this information, you will see your community brand take shape. Only after this research is complete and these questions are answered can a community begin to develop a logo or tagline. As the branding process winds down and decisions are made, there are many key things to remember. Be aware of perception (inside and outside of your community) so you can stay true to your community’s identity. Do not under deliver on your brand promise. If your brand falls short of its promise, you will lose the attention and trust of consumers and your brand will be unsuccessful. Most importantly, create a brand that adds value to your community and is consistent with your community’s future plans.

“Good community branding adds value” by CCED Project Coordinator Shelby Fiegel was originally published in the Arkansas Municipal League’s June 2015 publication of City & Town.

Shelby Fiegel is project coordinator of UCA’s Center for Community and Economic Development and Community Development Institute (CDI). Contact her by phone at 501-450-5269, by email at sfiegel@uca.edu, or visit the Center’s website.

One of our favorite conferences to attend is the Arkansas Rural Development Conference (ARDC) hosted by the Arkansas Department of Rural Services. Since our target audience at the Center is small to mid-sized community leaders, this conference always opens new doors for us within the state (which is especially handy with all the new elected officials making their mark in Arkansas municipalities this year). As an exhibitor and sponsor of ARDC 2015, our team met Arkansas leaders from every corner of the state including mayors, county judges, city administrators, police chiefs, city council members, state agency employees, non-profit leaders, and a variety of others. We were able to rub shoulders, shake hands, spread the good word of the Center and the Community Development Institute (CDI) to potential future partners, and learn a few things along the way. By the end of the three daylong conference, we were rendered exhausted – but in a good way!

Though “Exhibitor Life” has its perks (NETWORKING!), we did miss out on quite a few intriguing sessions, but our team was able to attend two.

The first session we were able to sit in on was “Session 5: Political Roundtable” held on Tuesday, May 20. This session was especially helpful because we got a glimpse into the minds of several prominent state legislators on the upcoming special session called by the governor and their opinions on several other hot topics. Topics discussed included moving the Arkansas primary to March 1, restructuring government agencies, the issuance of bonds for “super projects,” funding for Arkansas infrastructure (most prominent: funding for highways), the future of the Private Option, tax cuts, and the transformational Criminal Justice Reform Act.

The other session we attended was “Session 6: Workforce Readiness.” Two pieces of important information that came out of this session included two key programs: the ACT Work Ready Community program and Career Readiness Certification provided by the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services. As stated on their website, “The ACT Work Ready Communities (WRC) empowers states, regions, and counties with data, process, and tools that drive economic growth. Participants are leveraging the National Career Readiness Certificate (NCRC™) to measure and close the skills gap — and building common frameworks that link, align and match their workforce development efforts.” The Career Readiness Certification is described as “a portable credential based upon the WorkKeys® assessments that demonstrates to employers that an individual possesses the basic workplace skills required for 21st century jobs.
Getting a CRC will allow an individual to show prospective employers that he or she possesses the basic skills they are looking for.” Both programs are free of charge to participants.

A learning experience in and of itself was the final agenda item for ARDC 2015 – the Governor’s Luncheon and Awards Ceremony. All those in attendance had the privilege to hear Governor Asa Hutchinson speak about the upcoming special session and the importance of the agenda items that will be discussed. In connection to the theme of rural Arkansas, Governor Hutchinson also left the audience with fundamental advantages of rural communities (originally outlined by Diane Smith of The New Rural). These advantages include: high speed broadband internet access (which Governor Hutchinson called a “necessity and must”), availability of Telehealth, opportunity to capitalize on distance learning, and the rising availability of financial capital for entrepreneurs and innovators. Governor Hutchinson also made a point to relay to the audience that all high schools in Arkansas will offer computer science courses to capitalize on those advantages and the importance of technology as Arkansas continues to progress.

Following the lead of the wrap up of the conference, we would like to wrap up this blog post by congratulating all of the Arkansas Rural Development Conference grantees and the 2015 Rural Advocate of the Year Sam E. Angel (and Arkansas Department of Rural Services Director Alex Johnston and AEDC Deputy Director Amy Fecher for coordinating such an excellent conference)!

The concept of collaboration seems very straightforward. The term has gained a great deal of traction among community and economic developers as organizations and cities seek to build upon existing networks to accomplish initiatives; however, in practice, effective collaboration at the local level consistently presents challenges. As organizations, local governments, and community leaders seek to adjust to the new normal of ever tightening resources, a regional approach to community initiatives will be necessary.

Any regional initiative will require the collaboration of multiple parties. As a result, effective collaboration at the local level is now more important than ever. Successful collaborative approaches must be able to recognize that collaborative efforts are a complex process that involves connecting the unique motivations of various organizations with a clear common goal. People often cannot agree on what it means to collaborate. This confusion is one of the most common challenges that face cities when working collaboratively. The concept of collaboration is intuitive, but the process at the local level is complex. This complexity is due in part to the nature of community and economic development.

Collaborative approaches can differ based upon what perspective a group is taking. For example, a more sociological perspective might be used by groups working on a community development initiative; these groups would emphasize a collaborative process that is based heavily upon equality and shared decision making with outcomes that seek to build awareness and better community relationships. In contrast, economic development initiatives often utilize a more business minded perspective of collaboration focused heavily upon maximizing resources for increased profit or to market an area to broader audience for business attraction.

Effective collaborative efforts at the local level must be able to bridge these two perspectives. Collaborators must seek to build relationships, maximize resources, and bring various organizations together toward a common goal. For this process to take place, local leaders must also recognize the motivations of the organizations they are seeking to work with. Most community organizations listen to the same radio station: WIIFM (What’s in it for me?). Whether you are working with state organizations, city government representatives, private businesses, nonprofits, or community-based organizations, each group is going to have unique motivations. Understanding these differing motivations and being able to connect those motivations to a common goal can lead to successful relationships and successful collaborative efforts. A common link between these organizations is the desire to maximize resources. With the consistent pressure of limited resources and the push to work on a regional level, the necessity to collaborate becomes clearer.

“Effective collaboration at the local level” by CCED Assistant Director Josh Markham was originally published in the Arkansas Municipal League’s May 2015 publication of City & Town.

Josh Markham, PCED, is assistant director of UCA’s Center for Community and Economic Development. CCED’s mission is to have a positive impact on communities by equipping leaders with economic tools and resources, building consensus to achieve community goals, and bringing UCA resources and communities together.

Contact Josh here if you have any questions.

CCED Director Amy Whitehead and Assistant Director Josh Markham presented at The Summit 2015 on April 30. At the 40th annual conference, Amy and Josh led a large group of non-profit, volunteer, and philanthropy leaders through their presentation “Effective, Action Oriented Collaboration Techniques.” The session focused on the critical collaborations and partnerships between non-profits and other organizations. The pair stressed to those in attendance that effective collaboration relies on setting an agenda that demonstrates a clear plan of action and motivates everyone involved to stay engaged. They outlined techniques for setting an action-oriented agenda when collaborating with others, and provided examples of important lessons learned from past collaborative efforts.

The highlighted discussion points included: the definition of collaboration, why collaboration is necessary, how to complete a stakeholder analysis, and a discussion of barriers and momentum killers.

Josh broke down collaboration to this simple definition: the process of a group of equals working together toward a common goal. He then went on to discuss that collaboration is necessary because “with limited resources, the need to work together becomes more urgent.” As we all know, none of us have unlimited resources, but if we partner with the right people, we can supplement what we don’t have through those partnerships. Josh also outlined that collaboration occurs best when trust exists between each party, all parties work together toward a common goal, everyone is working together on equal terms (AKA everyone completes what actions they are responsible for), and the relationship is mutually beneficial.

Amy encouraged participants think about a situation when they were attempting to bring a community together to push an initiative forward. After discussing different scenarios, she pointed out lessons learned concerning stakeholders:

1) It’s easy to leave someone out.

2) Different stakeholders will play different roles in the process.

3) Many people have a stake in your efforts.

4) Without getting the right people to your table, you might miss an opportunity to leverage resources, push away key players, duplicate efforts, or spend a lot of time educating key players on the back end of your project.

Barriers and momentum killers was the last topic to be covered. Participants shared personal barriers and momentum killers that made past and current projects bumpy. The majority of the discussion focused on the most common ones: commitment with no timeline, unclear expectations related to the mission of the project and/or the role of collaborators, an initiative that has no champion or the wrong champion, allowing perfection get in the way of something good, fear of moving forward without unanimous agreement, and all talk – no action.

With a little help and energy boost from Kid President, plus shameless plugs for the Community Development Institute and CCED, Amy and Josh’s presentation ended in a standing ovation (okay, maybe not a standing ovation, but there was an abundance of clapping). All in all, for a presentation that our team expected 10 people to attend (there were actually around 25 in attendance; yes, we did run out of hand outs), “Effective, Action Oriented Collaboration Techniques” was a huge success!

If you want to learn more about “Effective, Action Oriented Collaboration Techniques” or if you would like our team to speak at your event, please reach out to us.