Appalachian Colleges Community Economic Development Partnership (ACCEDP) Working Group on Economic Development December 15, 2010

Mission and Goals Mission – To leverage higher education resources and expertise to strengthen local and regional economies in Central Appalachia Goals – Identify the community economic development assets of higher education institutions and their communities – Build value-added and sustainable campus-community partnerships – Create and institutionalize engagement capacity – Refine a model of engaged scholarship for community economic development

Research Questions How can small private colleges create partnerships with their respective communities to promote economic development? How can a major research university help facilitate this process?

Source: The North Carolina Atlas, Orr and Stuart, 2000

Funding Each School Receives $10,000 for planning activities $20,000 for implementation activities Six paid summer internships for students Technical assistance from OEBD and others Sources $192,684 from Jessie Ball duPont Fund $105,000 from Appalachian Colleges Association In-kind contributions from UNC-CH (and others)

Selection Process Summer 2006: Crafted selection process and supporting materials September 2006: Broadcast request for Letters of Intent to 37 schools (received fifteen) November 2006: Invited eight schools to submit full proposals December 2006: Selected four schools to participate

Participating Colleges

Training and Planning Spring 2007: Created Small Private Colleges Community Economic Development Toolkit April 2007: Hosted Small Private Colleges Community Economic Development Seminar Summer 2007 to Fall 2008: Schools execute planning process (asset mapping, needs assessments, partnership building, etc.) Fall 2007 to Fall 2009: ACCEDP consulting teams visit campuses to evaluate activities, advise on planning efforts

Site Visits October 2007Mars Hill College November 2007King College January 2008Kentucky Christian University October 2008 Appalachian College Association Summit January 2009King College, Ferrum College February 2009 Kentucky Christian University July 2009 Ferrum College August 2009 King College September 2009 Ferrum College

Evolution of Projects Mars Hill:Technical assistance to arts, local foods, (and construction) business clusters Ferrum: From convention hotel to Community Development Alliance for broadband deployment King: From business incubator to business resource center (run through local Chamber of Commerce) KCU: From “insourcing” business creation to convening groups for economic development efforts in Carter County

Evaluation Mid-term Survey by Caitlin Winwood (Fall 2008) Final Interviews and Capstone by Michael Davis (Fall 2009-Spring 2010) May 12-13, 2010 Conference: Building Ties, Strengthening Economies: College-Community Partnerships for Economic Development November 2010 Publication: The Appalachian Colleges Community Economic Development Partnership (ACCEDP) Sarah Butzen and OEBD

Lessons Learned How Small Colleges Can Create Economic Development Partnerships Building Economic Development Capacity at Small Private Colleges The Role of the University

Creating Partnerships The first step is the greatest, if it takes you off “the island.” The college needs to understand the community’s economic development history in order to build on what is already in place. The colleges’ partnerships should be open and transparent. The college-community partnerships should be a two-way street.

Creating Partnerships The college team should be aware of any potential sources of conflict in the economic development community. The partnership’s first undertaking should set the stage for success. At the end of the day, the process and the partnership need to be backed by results.

Building Capacity Community economic development engagement must be shown to be relevant to the college’s educational mission. Relevance to educational goals means relevance to curriculum, academic rewards, achievement, and advancement. Creating a new organization can help solidify the college-community partnership. Broader campus involvement gives a better footing to capacity gains.

The Role of the University The first year of a university’s work with a small college should be considered the college’s learning year, or the period of project development The college and university should work together to define and develop their partnership. Technical assistance is the most important resource, and should be the most intensive during the college’s first year.

The Role of the University When it comes to training and materials, less is more. There’s more than one right way of doing almost everything.