Copyright 2014 – Scott Hutcheson This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License. EIGHT Secrets of Successful Economic Development Strategies in Small Towns North Central Indiana Economic Development Partnership Tipton, Indiana September 16, 2014

What to Expect From This Session Explore the 8 secrets of successful economic development strategies for small towns Consider how knowing those 8 secrets could impact an economic development strategy for North Central Indiana.

White River Ferry at Norfork, Arkansas, circa 1900

Better understand he nature of collaboration Identify what stage your collaborations are in Consider ways to move a collaborations to the next level Norfork, Arkansas (pop. 550)

What makes some small towns thrive?

What makes some small towns decline ?

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Hierarchy of Complex Systems Social Organizations – economics, education, politics Individual Human – language capacity, knowledge accumulation, design and use of tools Animal – mobility, information processing Plants – viability Open Systems – matter, energy Cybernetics – computers Clockworks – engines Frameworks – buildings, cells 8 Complexity Boulding, K. (1956). General systems theory—the skeleton of science. Management Science 2(3):

The Extension Economist Vs. The Rocket Scientist 9

Hierarchy of Complex Systems Social Organizations – economics, education, politics Individual Human – language capacity, knowledge accumulation, design and use of tools Animal – mobility, information processing Plants – viability Open Systems – matter, energy Cybernetics – computers Clockworks – engines Frameworks – buildings, cells 10 Complexity Boulding, K. (1956). General systems theory—the skeleton of science. Management Science 2(3):

Hierarchy of Complex Systems Social Organizations – economics, education, politics Individual Human – language capacity, knowledge accumulation, design and use of tools Animal – mobility, information processing Plants – viability Open Systems – matter, energy Cybernetics – computers Clockworks – engines Frameworks – buildings, cells 11 Complexity Boulding, K. (1956). General systems theory—the skeleton of science. Management Science 2(3):

Hierarchy of Complex Systems Social Organizations – economics, education, politics Individual Human – language capacity, knowledge accumulation, design and use of tools Animal – mobility, information processing Plants – viability Open Systems – matter, energy Cybernetics – computers Clockworks – engines Frameworks – buildings, cells 12 Complexity Boulding, K. (1956). General systems theory—the skeleton of science. Management Science 2(3):

Better understand he nature of collaboration Identify what stage your collaborations are in Consider ways to move a collaborations to the next level Recent Purdue Research Why are some economic development strategies successful and others…not so much? Gathered data from 200+ community economic development strategy initiatives across the U.S.

Better understand he nature of collaboration Identify what stage your collaborations are in Consider ways to move a collaborations to the next level These Things Matter 1.How strategies are framed 2.How strategies are organized 3.How activities are sequenced 4.The timeframe for goals 5.Who is responsibilities for implementation 6.How metrics are used 7.The level of trust among stakeholders 8.Whether or not the community is ready for change

Framing Effective economic development strategies should be Framed around addressing deficits and challenges. Effective economic development strategies should be framed around assets and building on what is already in place. OR

Organization Effective economic development strategies should should have a hierarchical organizational structure with a clear top and bottom. OR Effective economic development strategies should should have a network organizational structure with hubs and spokes.

Sequence of Activities Effective economic development strategies should be start with a planning phase followed by an implementation phase. OR Effective economic development strategies should be iterative with planning and implementation integrated.

Timeframe for Goals Effective economic development strategies should be focused primarily on longer-term, transformational goals. OR Effective economic development strategies should be focused primarily on a progressive series of smaller, near-term, “easy-win” goals.

Responsibilities for Implementation In effective economic development strategies, responsibilities for implementation should be centralized with one organization. OR In effective economic development strategies, responsibilities for implementation should be dispersed among multiple organizations.

How metrics are used In effective economic development strategies, metrics are used primarily for accountability. OR In effective economic development strategies, metrics are used primarily to learn what is working and make adjustments along the way.

Readiness for Change In effective economic development strategies there is an overall sense that the community is ready for change. OR Economic development strategies can be effective even When there is no overall sense that the community is ready for change.

Trust Among Stakeholders In effective economic development strategies there is usually a low level of trust among stakeholders. OR In effective economic development strategies, there is usually a high level of trust among stakeholders.

Findings from the Research 24 Source: Scott Hutcheson, Distributed under a Creative Commons 3.0 License. Effective & Ineffective Strategy Initiatives – Mean Responses

Completely Effective Completely Ineffective Significantly Effective Somewhat Effective Somewhat Ineffective Significantly Ineffective Findings from the Survey Effectiveness Continuum Dependent Variables Correlation

Findings from the Research 26 Source: Scott Hutcheson, Distributed under a Creative Commons 3.0 License. Correlation Between Strategy Initiative Effectiveness and the Independent Variables

Recipe for EFFECTIVE Strategies Frame strategies primarily around building on existing assets Have a network organizational structure Have a planning and implementation processes that is iterative Include short-term, easy-win goals Decentralize responsibilities for implementation among multiple organization Use metrics to learn what is working and to make adjustments along the way Move forward only when there is an overall readiness for change in the community Build high levels of trust among participants

Recipe for INEFFECTIVE Strategies Frame strategies primarily around addressing problems or deficits Have a hierarchical organizational structure Have a planning and implementation process that is linear and sequential Include only long-term, transformational goals Centralized responsibilities for implementation with one organization Uses metrics primarily for accountability Move forward even when there is not an overall readiness for change in the community Proceed even though there are low levels of trust among participants

Frame Strategies Around Assets

Asset-Based Frameworks

Network-Based Organizational Structures 10 nodes, 9 connections 10 nodes, 45 connections

Iterative with Shorter-Term Goals Dr. Lowell Catlett Economist, Futurist, and Professor New Mexico State University

Iterative with Shorter-Term Goals One study looked at 7,000 different economic predictions and found 47% of them was correct.

Iterative with Shorter-Term Goals Flip a coin and you beat the economists by 3%.

Iterative with Shorter-Term Goals Doubt and dwindling motivation comes on quickly when a big goal is missed. On the other hand, small wins lead to the progress principle - more confidence, high performance, and motivation to keep moving forward. - Teresa Amabile

Collaboration & Trust Turf Trust TIME Sharing Resources Sharing Information Mutual Awareness Co-Execution Co-Creation Acknowledgment Exploration CooperationCollaborationInnovation Adapted from Collaboration Continuum from ACT for Youth

What Are North Central Indiana’s Most Significant Economic Development Assets?

Moneyball Economic Development

Asset: Most Competitive Industry Clusters

Primary & Fabricated Metal Manufacturing Economic Development Strategy 49 firms in this cluster Firms in all six of the region’s counties 2,431 jobs in the cluster Average wage = $47,305

Primary & Fabricated Metal Manufacturing Economic Development Strategy How could we best accelerate growth in this cluster that would result in an additional 250 new jobs within the next 24 months? Who would be in our network? How would we identify specific assets? How could we move forward iteratively, setting our first shorter-term goals? How could we engage multiple organizations in implementation? How could we build trust among our stakeholders?

Strategic Doing enables people to form action-oriented collaborations quickly, move them toward measurable outcomes, and make adjustments along the way.

Practicing Strategic Doing 48

Local & Regional Economic Development Workforce Development Community & Neighborhood Development Cluster Development Local/Regional Food Systems Community Health Innovation Ecosystem Development Strategic Alliances Inter-Unit Organizational Collaboration National Associations Practicing Strategic Doing

To know what you’re going to draw, you have to begin drawing. - Pablo Picasso

Scott Hutcheson, Ph.D For More Information & to Connect Copyright 2014 – Ed Morrison & Scott Hutcheson This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.5 License. Slides available