1. Stronger Economies Together (SET) Strategies for Building New Economic Opportunities Information on the Application Process State of Indiana 1 Informational Webinar – April 20, 2015

2. Welcome and Introductions 2

3. The Support Structure for SET 3 State Resource Team SET Regions SET National Team 1 2 3

4. SET: First Four Phases & SET V 4

5. Purpose of SET Help rural communities/counties work together as a regional team in developing and implementing A High Quality Regional Economic Development Plan that builds on the current and emerging economic strengths of their region. 5

6. Elements of a High Quality SET Plan Evidence-Based Focused on Regional Economic Development Aligned with its Major Goals Broadly Supported Practical A Team’s Regional Plan

7. What SET Provides Regional Teams 7 Hands on step- by-step process for building or enhancing regional plans. Up to 20 hours of active planning. Detailed demographic & socio- economic information Data and analysis on current and emerging clusters Coaching support tied to implementation of the plan Access to individuals with special expertise More in-depth cluster analysis Monthly calls with State Resource Team Members Webinars on relevant topics Multi-state meetings Coaching Data & Analysis Technical Assistance P2P Networking

8. Major Topics Covered Launching SET through Civic Engagement Examining Economic Data Exploring In- Depth Regional Advantages & Opportunities Defining Assets and Barriers Establishing the Plan 8 TX-Lower Rio Grande Valley Implementation & Tracking of Success

9. The Application: Quick Review Part A. Information about Your Regional Team Part B. Brief Economic Description of Your Region (250 word limit) Part C. History of Working Together in the Region (250 word limit) Part D. Challenges of Pursuing a Regional Economic Development Plan (250 word limit) Part E. Interest in the SET Initiative (400 word limit) Part F. Current Members of Your Regional Team and Commitment Letters 9

10. Part A. Your Regional Team Four Options: 1.Brand new team organized to be part of SET. 2.Relatively new team (less than one year) trying to get off the ground in building a plan. 3.More than a year old, but need help getting on track 4.A year old or more; have a plan but feel we need to rethink, refine, expand all aspects of the plan. (Could include a region needing a framework for updating its Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) document). 10

11. Part B. Brief Economic Description of Your Region The counties that make up your region should be contiguous. Can include counties in OH, IL or KY, if appropriate. Write a succinct story about the economic drivers of your region. What industry sectors are growing? Declining? Some of the economic challenges and/or opportunities ahead. Make the case as to why it makes sense to plan and act as a region (given the counties that you have identified to be part of the SET program). 11

12. Part C. History of Working Together Have you worked as a regional team before? If YES, describe how the regional group has functioned. It’s okay to be honest... If the regional team has struggled, indicate in what way and why? If the regional group has had some successes, share some examples. If you’ve not worked as a region before, just indicate this in Part C. But, indicate what you feel have been some of the challenges, barriers and/or constraints that you have experienced by not having a regional structure in place. 12

13. Part D. Challenges of Pursuing a Regional Economic Development Plan Your response should focus on the future. Delineate the challenges your team might team face in developing and implementing a regional plan. The SET application form outlines some possible challenges; add others you feel are pertinent. Indicate how you will hope to tackle these challenges. Be frank in terms of the possible challenges ahead. 13

14. Part E. Interest in the SET Initiative Why be part of SET? What factors are influencing your decision to consider SET? What do you hope will happen as a result of being part of SET? 14

15. Timeline May 7: Regional Applications Due Late June: Regions Announced by USDA RD Planning Phase: 6-7 months (start gearing up during the summer) Implementation Phase: 6-7 months

16. Part F. Regional Team Make-Up and Commitment Composition of Team Important to have a strong, committed team. Urge you to recruit team members from a variety of interest areas. Signed commitment letter needed from each team member. Avoid form letters. What Interest Areas? Local/regional government (elected or appointed) Economic development organizations. BUT, also education, health, foundations, faith-based, business/industry (including banking), nonprofit, social services, etc. 16

17. Understanding the Rural Definition http://srdc.msstate.edu/set/definitionrural.html 17 51% or more of the region's population is classified as rural OR 75% of the region's land area is located in rural areas of that region.

18. An Example http://srdc.msstate.edu/set/definitionrural.html 18 VariableDescription COUNTYNAMECounty Name POP_COUPopulation of County AREA_COUArea of County POP_RURALRural Population of County AREA_RURALRural Area of County Step 1: Choose counties Step 2: Sum “Total Population” Step 3: Sum “Total Rural Population” Step 4: Calculate: (Rural/Total)*100 Step 5: Determine if Rural Population is 51% + IF NOT: Redo Steps 1 thru 5 but focus on “Area of the County” instead. Sum the “Rural Area of the County” data and divide it by the sum of the “Area of the County” figures. If Rural Area is 75% or more, you meet this condition.

19. The Site Visit: Purpose Top SET applicants (up to 4) will be visited by State Resource Team representatives. Want to ensure the regional applicants understand what SET is about. Hope is to select sites that are most likely to benefit from SET. Offers us the opportunity to clarify expectations for the regions. Help coaches prepare for working with the regions.

20. Your Turn: Question and Answers 20

21. Who to Contact? Purdue University: Michael Wilcox -- wilcox16@purdue.eduwilcox16@purdue.edu Bo Beaulieu -- ljb@purdue.eduljb@purdue.edu Phone: 765.494.7273 USDA Rural Development (Indiana): Anthony Kirkland -- anthony.kirkland@in.usda.gov Phone: 260.244.6266 ext. 114anthony.kirkland@in.usda.gov 21