| Economic Development
Community Strategies and Resources
Information technology development
often focus
on helping existing businesses utilize information technology to grow
their businesses, creating new
information technology businesses (including IT support services), and recruiting IT businesses and
workers.
E-commerce
In a recent survey of Nebraska
businesses, over seventy percent of the
respondents indicated that their biggest challenge was understanding
the opportunities available through the use of the Internet.
Communities and regions which help their local businesses understand
how to utilize the Internet to reduce their costs and expand their
markets will be better prepared to compete in the digital
economy.
Resources
The University of Nebraska's Connecting
Nebraska/Nebraska Electronic Main Street Program
provides e-commerce training for small businesses in rural
communities.
The E-Commerce on Main Street session
from the 2000 Nebraska Rural Institute is available from Rural
Routes. (Click on Families/Communities and then
Strengthening
Communities.) Panelists include Gene
Gage, Papa Geno's Herb Farm;
Sue Finkral, Midwest
MicroSystems L.L.C.; and Mark Patterson. You will need RealPlayer
to view this clip.
E-Commerce
Guide offers reviews,
tips, and resources for e-commerce.
ZDNet
E-Commerce site has best
practices, case studies, reviews, tips, and more.
Start-Up Training
Resources Web Tour by Frank Odasz has an extensive list of
e-commerce training resources.
Entrepreneurship
Developing home-grown
businesses is critical to the success of communities in the new
economy. Communities can foster entrepreneurship by sponsoring
entrepreneurship classes, making microloans to small businesses, and by providing
business incubator services. Although several
Nebraska communities have businesses incubators, few focus on
technology businesses. The University
of Nebraska Technology Park was the first business incubator in
the state to focus on technology businesses. Aurora is one of the first rural
communities in Nebraska to start a technology business
incubator. In addition to provide support to the
businesses residing in the incubator, the Aurora Technology Business
Incubator plans to provide technology training for other area
businesses.
Resources
The University of Nebraska's Nebraska
Edge (Enhancing, Developing and Growing Entrepreneurs) offers
rural entrepreneurial training programs
hosted by local communities, organizations and associations.
The
Rural Enterprise Assistance Project (REAP), a project of the
Center for Rural Affairs, is a small business development program.
REAP includes four components: business management training; a loan
fund; networking; and technical assistance.
NEON is a consortium of
several microenterprise support organizations. The NEON Web site
includes a Nebraska
Micro Business Resource Directory.
The Nebraska Business Development
Center provides assistance to businesses.
Nebraska
Center for Entrepreneurship at UNL offers a variety of courses and
workshops for youth and adults.
The
Nebraska Enterprise Forum is a volunteer organization dedicated to
helping entrepreneurs grow their businesses by linking them with
potential joint-venture partners, mentors, business services, capital,
and other critical resources.
SCORE
(Service Corps of Retired Executives) provides assistance to small
businesses through face-to-face mentoring or e-mail
consultation.
Midlands Venture Forum
provides
a forum for linking entrepreneurs and investors.
Encouraging
Entrepreneurs in Nebraska, a Target Industry white paper written
for the Nebraska Department of Economic
Development, explains the
importance of entrepreneurship and identifies strategies for
encouraging entrepreneurship.
National
Business Incubator Association
offers a number of resources on business incubation. Identifying
Obstacles to the Success of Rural Business Incubators, a paper
written by NBIA for TVA Rural Studies, identifies barriers and best
practices for rural incubators.
Development of IT Support Services
Communities and regions which offer a
variety of IT support services, ranging from computer and networking
support to Web and database development services, will be better able
to compete in the digital economy. Addressing the need for IT
support services in many communities will require building
partnerships with local K-12 schools, colleges, and
universities. The Cisco Networking
Academy Program is an example
of a program which addresses the need for IT support services.
Through the program, which is currently offered at a number of
Nebraska high schools, students take four semesters of networking
classes.
Supporting the development of local business which
provide IT support services is another way rural communities can
address the availability of IT support
services. One of the goals of the Aurora Technology
Business Incubator is to encourage the development of firms providing
IT support services.
(See the resources listed for
entrepreneurship above and on the Intellectual
Infrastructure Resources page.)
Recruiting IT Businesses
The Department of
Economic Development has developed a list of specifications for
buildings and business parks which meet the needs of IT
businesses. If you are interested in receiving a copy,
contact Pat Langan at the Department of Economic Development, plangan@neded.org
or (402) 471-3766 .
Publicizing
Community Resources
The Internet provides a
way for communities to showcase local resources, including available
buildings and industrial sites. The Department of Economic
Development and Nebraska Public Power District (NPPD) have electronic
databases of community resources. A community's
Web site can provide information for prospective businesses and for
individuals considering relocating. A Web site
for the Aurora
airport led to the location of a distribution center for SarTec at
the airport.
Often youth can be a valuable resource
in creating and maintaining community Web pages. After
the Omaha World- Herald ran a story describing Loup County’s
poverty status, students in the 7th grade geography class
developed the "Welcome to
Taylor" Web site to showcase the community’s unique assets.
Children researched local history, current events, geography, and
statistics, and sold space on the student-run Web site to area
businesses. The project has won numerous awards, including the AOL
Rural Telecommunications Leadership Award.
(Incidentally the Web site for the Aurora airport was originally
created by a then sixteen-year-old).
Advertising Job
Openings
The World Wide
Web can be an affordable way to advertise job opportunities in your
community. In order to facilitate the recruitment of IT
professionals to the Omaha area, the AIM
Institute in Omaha began listing technology jobs on their CareerLink
site. The site has continued to grow, with over 400
companies in Nebraska and Iowa posting jobs.
Funding Resources
Nebraska
Workforce Development Training Program provides grants for worker
training.
Community
Development Block Grants
Local
Option Municipal Economic Development Act--LB
827 (2001) expanded the activities allowed in the Local Option
Municipal Economic Development to include the provision of new
broadband services. (The text of LB 827 is available
at http://www.unicam.state.ne.us/Legal/SLIP_LB827.pdf
)
Other
Funding Sources
If you would like to suggest a
resource, please e-mail abyers@notes.state.ne.us
10/19/2001
|
