1. Using Data to Communicate Needs
Have this slide up when participants enter.
The emphasis for this session will be on using publically accessible data to help define the local need, the first step in telling an effective story.
Time: 1 minute
Total session: 90 minutes
Telling Your Story
Using Data to Communicate Needs

2. Session Overview What data can tell us Digging in I like your story
This session has three parts:
An overview of publically available data to help define the community need relative to this USDA Ag & Rural Prosperity priority.
Time to examine the data for your community (or using the handout) to think about how you would describe the need at home.
A little friendly competition to select a great story to share with the large group
Time: 2 minutes

3. Types of Data to Help Tell Your Story
Unemployment Rate
Labor Force Participation Rate
Educational Attainment
Employment and Wages by Industry
Agricultural Economy
Non-Employer Data
For this priority (insert the one discussed), we will be looking at these types of data. [Read from the slide for specifics related to this priority].
We will be looking at examples from one rural county in Kentucky just to provide a common context for the data.
Time: 1 minute

4. Unemployment Rate Over Time
Unemployment rates over time give one angle to workforce. Declines over time indicate more people have found employment that are actively seeking. The breakdown by quarters can also provide a picture of seasonal peaks and valleys.
Time: 5 minutes
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics

5. Labor Force Participation Rate
Definition - The percentage of the working age population who are in the labor force (those with a job or actively looking for a job)
Bourbon County
Population 18-64*
15,519
Population 18-64*
2,732,301
Kentucky
Employed
9,435
Employed
1,953,032
Unemployed
456
Unemployed
100,725
This slide shows labor force participation rates comparing the county to the state. The definition is provided on the slide.
Time: 5 minutes
Participation Rate
63.7%
Participation Rate
75.0%
Source: Population link: and Employment link:
*Note: This is an estimate only. The denominator (population 18-64) does not take into consideration individuals who are institutionalized.

6. Educational Attainment
Education attainment is one way to look at workforce readiness. People generally receive higher incomes as they increase their educational attainment.
Time: 5 minutes
Source: American Community Survey, , Table S

7. Employment and Wages by Industry Bourbon County, Kentucky, 2016
Total Employees (Mid-March)
Annual Payroll ($1000's)
Average annual wages/ worker
Total # Establishments
Number of establishments by number of employees
NAICS
1-4
5-19
20-99
Over 99 11
Ag, Forestry, Fishing & Hunting 41
$ 1,229
$29,976 8 3 22
Utilities -
$ -
$ - 1 2 23
Construction
529
$ 31,553
$ 59,647 48 29 17
31-33
Manufacturing
1,434
$ 80,447
$ 56,100 24 9 4
This slide shows a few examples of what County Business Patterns can depict. Note that in rural places, there may be many categories that don’t show data. If the total number of establishments is low, this information is not publically available to protect privacy.
The handout shows more categories.
Time: 10 minutes
This is important because:
Key things to consider are:
Time:
Source: County Business Patterns, 2016,

8. Agricultural Economy: Market Sales Bourbon County
2017
2012
2007
Commodities
(per operation)
$ 229,029
$ 119,568
$195,624
Crops
(total sales)
$ 45,862,000
$37,427,000
$23,639,000
Animals
(total sales)
$163,700,000
$71,022,000
$155,944,000
Agriculture typically is an important economic driver for rural counties. The National Ag Census provides a wealth of data to tell the story of the economic health of this important sector. Refer to the handout chart for more information on what is available.
Time: 10 minutes
This is important because:
Key things to consider are:
Time:
Totals:
$209,791,029
$108,568,568
$179,778,624
Source: National Agricultural Statistics Service

9. Non-Employer Data: Number of Establishments in 2016
Professional, Scientific,
Technical Services
141
Admin. Support, Waste Mgmt., Remediation
145
Construction
204
Real Estate,
Rental, Leasing
115
Retail Trade
204
Non-Employer Data (businesses without paid employees) is also important to consider, especially in rural places.
This slide shows just a few of the top categories for these businesses in Bourbon County, KY.
Refer to the handout for other types of data included from this source.
Time: 10 minutes
Source: Census Dept.

10. Telling Your Story
This slide serves as a transition to the next section.
Data is an essential part of telling your story as you often begin by describing a need that you want to address.
We will spend the next few minutes exploring how to turn data into this part of the story, and will end with a friendly competition.
Time: 1 minute

11. Elements of a Strong Story
State the need clearly
Use data to back up the need
Give an example of someone affected
Provide a clear statement of what you plan to do about the need
Writing a strong story such as for a grant proposal or partnership invitation includes several key components such as:
A clear statement of the need you are hoping to address
Use of relevant data to help support your need statement
An example of someone that is affected by the need
What you plan to do about the need
We will be exploring the last bullet in a later session. For the next few minutes, we will focus on the first three.
Distribute handout: Telling My Story – Writing a Need Statement
For the next few minutes, imagine that you are a part of the community in our data example. Think about how you would use these data to describe the local need around this priority. Use the handout to draft your story.
Your goal is to get the statement down to something you can share in 1 minute or less.
Time: 15 minutes

12. I Like Your Story
For the next few minutes, we’re going to have a quick and fun friendly competition.
Divide the participants into small groups of Assign a timekeeper for each table. Each person in the small group has one minute to share their story. After all have finished, participants give their baseball to the person that made the best needs “pitch.”
Then those winners from each group will have 1 minute to tell their story to the whole group, and the group will select the winner by show of hands to present to the larger group.
If time is short, you can adjust this by changing the size of the small groups OR asking for a few volunteers to share with the whole group in order to select a winner from the room. The winner will share their needs statement with the larger group over lunch.
Time: 15 minutes

13. Questions and Discussion
Wrap up with any final questions or thoughts as time allows.