Capacity Building

The Tupelo Miracle

The story of Tupelo, Mississippi, is often referred to as a “miracle” because the poorest county in the U.S. in 1940 became the second wealthiest county in Mississippi in the 1990s. The Tupelo story is one of capacity building. In the 1930s, Tupelo and Lee County, Mississippi, had no competitive advantage—the agricultural base was in decline, and the industrial base was almost nonexistent; physical infrastructure was limited; the town and county were isolated; and the population was primarily illiterate. Through the leadership of a civic entrepreneur, George McLean, Tupelo embarked on a different approach to economic development than other parts of the south. Rejecting strategies that focused on luring companies with offers of cheap, unskilled labor and incentives, the leaders in Tupelo instead focused on developing the human resources in the region as the basis for economic development. They argued that a strong community leads to a strong economy.

A number of principles guided the development process in Tupelo, and these are also relevant to communities considering entrepreneurship development:

• People in the community must be responsible for addressing local problems, and developing this human resource is the first step in the development process.
• Leadership is important, but you also have to develop the organizations and institutions that will implement the development strategy.
• The development process must be both local and regional to achieve its fullest impact.
• Any development process must have broad-based participation by all members of the community, starting with the poorest members.
• Communities must build on their assets, the most important of which are people.

The evolution of the Tupelo community included such initiatives as the creation of rural development councils to bring programs to the rural parts of the county, the development of incubators and worker training programs, and upgrading the education infrastructure through the creation of a community college and the addition of a University of Mississippi campus in the region. To learn more about the Tupelo story, we recommend Tupelo: The Evolution of a Community, written by Vaughn Grisham Jr. and published by the Kettering Foundation.

What is Community Capacity?

As we have worked with communities nationwide, we’ve established a very basic definition of community capacity. We like to say that community capacity is the knowledge, the skills and the attitudes necessary to improve and sustain your community. It’s important to have a good working definition of this since we don’t want to limit the term to mean just a good core of experienced leaders, or a strong local government staff or even one or two really active service clubs. Capacity is a more inclusive term and the dimensions of knowledge, skills and attitudes can be considered in this way:

• KNOWLEDGE—An understanding of the past (heritage), of current conditions and future trends. A good example is the knowledge that your community’s economy was built by someone locally who started off as an entrepreneur.
• SKILLS—Group process techniques such as giving and receiving information, making decisions, managing conflict. Engaging the rest of the community in a town hall meeting to discuss ways to support local entrepreneurs is an example of how those skills work together.
• ATTITUDES—An open and curious approach to new ideas and approaches and an understanding that change can be useful. Making the change from industrial recruitment strategies to a focus on entrepreneurship is an example of this capacity.

Other definitions of community capacity can be useful, too. You may have come across the notion of “social capital” as a way to describe the capacity of a community to improve and sustain itself. Social capital centers on the health and vigor of societies and communities. In simple terms, it refers to the networks, trust and reciprocal relationships that keep communities working smoothly and for the benefit of all. In the same way that leadership skills can be learned, social capital can be built. In central Louisiana, for example, the Rapides Foundation created a program to recruit and train local leaders from several parishes. The program helped leaders assess their own community’s social capital, and develop strategies for building on their local knowledge, skills and attitudes.

According to sociologist John Allen, there are two types of social capital—”bridging” and “conserving.” As the words suggest, bridging social capital equates with strong networking infrastructure that is actively being used by community residents. Such communities are typically more productive, progressive and dynamic. Conversely, conserving social capital (while it has many desirable qualities such as the preservation of traditions) can restrict the ability of the community to undertake necessary change. Communities dominated by conserving social capital tend to be insular and parochial.

Why is social capital or community capacity so important to energizing rural entrepreneurs? There are at least two answers to this question. First, societies and communities with high social capital are also communities that produce stable environments for living and commerce, as well as higher quality of life. Communities rich in social capital are often communities rich with assets in the arts, recreation, education and entertainment. They are places where entrepreneurs want to live, start, and grow their enterprises. Second, these places exhibit the capacity or ability to act on challenges and opportunities. Communities with active and strong capacity are effectively addressing a wide range of issues from housing to poverty to economic development. These communities are more likely to be proactive about embracing the opportunity to grow through entrepreneurship.

Research by the Kauffman Foundation (and others) strongly suggests that entrepreneurs need contact with other entrepreneurs and mentors, and access to resources and expertise. This research also suggests that the likely pathway for entrepreneurs to meet these needs is through networking. Networking is based on relationships between people and their institutions. There are many forms of relationships, but we are concerned with viable and trusting relationships that enable collaboration to occur.

The more a community is networked and the more the networks are used, the greater the strength and quality of the networking infrastructure. There must be strong networking within the community and effective networks that link the community with the larger world. External networking enables a community to broaden its learning and collaboration opportunities beyond the finite assets of the community itself. Communities with strong networking infrastructure not only create desirable places to live, they also have the capacity to employ that infrastructure to help entrepreneurs address their special needs.

If communities with strong social capital can evolve supportive entrepreneurial environments, then how do communities build the social capital they need to encourage entrepreneurship? Clearly, community capacity-building experience is central to answering this question. On the flip side, can we build entrepreneurial places without strong social capital and entrepreneurial social infrastructure? More research must be done, but it appears likely that efforts to energize entrepreneurship in places with weak capacity and conserving social capital may have limited success.

Communities with high levels of capacity use a systematic process for working toward community improvement. Lots of small towns engage in a strategic planning process or create a comprehensive land use plan that includes community goals. Even those engaged in historic preservation use a process that indicates the creation of this capacity. In each case, a core group gets started by setting some goals, perhaps developing a vision statement, selecting strategies and then implementing some type of effort. The project may change but the process is strikingly similar and, in almost every case, the focus is on some type of community improvement.

What happens when a community group goes through such a systematic process? In the best situations, individual citizens learn skills, clubs and organizations are strengthened and made more efficient, and information about the present and the future is spread throughout the community. This is evidence of building capacity to improve and sustain the community, because it means that the knowledge, skills and attitudes are in place to deal with future opportunities and challenges. A volunteer who learns how to lead a group discussion as part of a community improvement project can then take those skills to a chamber forum with entrepreneurs in the community. The capacity level of the entire community is raised.

Increased capacity among the citizens participating in a community improvement project is one of the best rationales for encouraging widespread participation. Obviously, the more residents that take part in the process, the more residents gain skills and experiences that can be applied to future projects. However, there are other reasons why public participation is so important to building local capacity. At the most basic level, a steering committee or core group must be representative of the community at large in order to insure that once goals, strategies and plans are articulated, the community will accept and implement those plans. If a small group of “in-crowd” power brokers makes all the decisions and then announces the changes, there’s no way to guarantee acceptance. And the lack of acceptance ultimately means failure, whether it’s a bond issue that doesn’t pass, or a new tax that’s voted down, or an entrepreneurship education program that doesn’t get funded. Public involvement is much like an insurance policy for support and implementation. In small towns where volunteers are so very important to getting anything done, lack of involvement in the planning phase might mean there’s nobody around to help take action and really do something.

It’s also true that, in addition to the very practical aspect of insuring acceptance, public participation is what really makes democracy work. Our small towns are the very laboratories where our democracy is rebuilt every day with systems of checks, balances and active citizens that control the future of their town. While it may sound idealistic, this type of public participation is really the foundation of our way of life.

So, how does community capacity link to entrepreneurship? Clifton, Illinois, provides a good illustration. Local leaders and business people are proud of their school system, recreation facilities and health care strategies. They also use these public assets to attract private investment. Local farmers are part of the town’s leadership and entrepreneurship pool. When retail sales began to decline, business owners dug into their own pockets to improve sidewalks and provide better access for its older citizens. The local business association published a brochure highlighting all that Clifton had to offer, and signage for a community calendar was erected in the city park.

Communities with strong capacity can create a seamless and very intentional atmosphere and system of support for local entrepreneurs and even develop a specialized organization that facilitates support for entrepreneurs. Within this environment, local entrepreneurs and others will work together to evolve a culture of entrepreneurship. To make this link between capacity and entrepreneurship, we need to start by assessing community capacity.

Assessing Community Capacity

We’ve developed a basic questionnaire that can be used to discover strengths and weaknesses in community capacity. You can find this helpful tool—the Community Capacity Questionnaire under Tools in this section. Here are a few ideas on how the questionnaire might be used:

• Have individuals complete the survey during a service club or chamber of commerce meeting and discuss the results at the next meeting. Remember, your results will reflect the opinions of participants only and not the entire community. The survey is for discussion purposes only!
• Mail the survey to a much larger group and use the responses as the basis for a series of newspaper articles to spark conversations within the community. This can generate good discussion topics for a range of community meetings.
• Use the survey with different age groups and compare the results, for example, between high school students and senior citizens. Then bring the two groups together for a conversation.

You can close all of these sessions by identifying the two or three most important areas for improvement. Then you should take all the input received from the survey and use it for some thoughtful planning on how to improve the capacity of the community. Check back to the section on Readiness for more ideas.

Strategies for Sustaining Capacity

It’s an old community development adage that a crisis or sense of urgency will be very, very helpful in getting a community organized and energized but the hardest part is keeping things going. The communities that are most successful are, of course, the ones that are persistent and don’t let participation and interest dwindle. But how exactly does that happen?

We think the real keys to maintaining momentum are leadership development and youth engagement. Let’s explore both of those topics as well as some specific strategies that will help you keep interest high with results over the long term.

Leadership Development
There are certainly many different ways to address the need for leadership in a community. In fact, one of our tried and true group training activities is to ask folks to “Think of a leader that you have known personally. What made that person memorable?” It may be a teacher or a coach or sometimes even a supervisor who is remembered, but the list of leadership characteristics is almost always the same: dedicated, hard working, visionary, good communicator, fair, competent, honest, good at managing conflict, open to new ideas, able to delegate and share power . . . the list goes on because we all have very high expectations of our leaders! However, it’s also true that most of these skills can be learned, improved and practiced. It really makes the case for community leadership programs.

Having a regular program in a community that identifies and supports leadership skills can be a tremendous asset to building capacity. Leadership programs come in many varieties. The best ones are skill-based and include some type of project activity as part of the program. Really effective leadership development does more than just create connections among residents. One of the most important impacts that results from a community leadership program is the systematic way that newcomers and residents of all types are encouraged to take on leadership roles. It also means addressing ethnic and racial diversity in a systematic, recognized fashion rather than simply ignoring changes in population. Diversity in the leadership of a community is a sign of strength, vitality and increasing capacity to deal with change. It should be a goal for every community.

Just as we describe community capacity in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes, so too can leadership development address those very same dimensions. Leadership does require specialized knowledge of the community, special skills for working with groups and individuals and certainly positive attitudes about change, resources and the future.

For entrepreneurship development to occur, you should consider how to engage entrepreneurs in leadership positions. Entrepreneurs are often so focused on their businesses that they don’t seek out leadership roles. You need to come to them! Encouraging an entrepreneur to become chair of the chamber’s new entrepreneur committee or to facilitate an entrepreneurial network may be a great way to introduce them to other leadership roles in the community. Remember, first engage them in something where their passion lies!

Youth Engagement
Many communities are successful in building capacity by targeting youth and young families for inclusion in community improvement efforts. Two of the tried and true strategies for getting results are mentoring relationships and variations on the theme of internships.

Mentoring a newcomer, emerging leader or young entrepreneur offers benefits to both sides of the relationship. The mentor gets to share and reflect on their experience and the mentored gets the confidence building help they need. Many communities have leaders that develop these kinds of relationships out of habit or good will rather than through a formalized program. However, a chamber of commerce or service club could establish a program that matches up partners of differing ages and experiences. For example, seasoned entrepreneurs might work with someone just starting up an enterprise, or work with high school students in a school-based enterprise. Whether it’s structured or informal, mentoring relationships offer a lot toward building community capacity. And, entrepreneurs tell us that it’s very helpful to talk with someone who has “been there, done that.”

Another good strategy is the use of various types of internships. High school students can become interns in local businesses even for short periods of time to learn about entrepreneurship. Nonprofits and local government can also make great use of intern placements and shouldn’t be limited to just the high school. Many community colleges and universities offer programs that place interns with real world entrepreneurs to gain valuable work experience and see role models in action. This offers a pathway for the student to learn about entrepreneurship and become connected to the community.

Strategies for Maintaining Momentum

Suppose your community decides to focus on identifying and supporting local entrepreneurs. You’ve had some discussions, found a champion or two, done some assessments, organized a group, and even developed a plan. All of that took a lot of energy and now your progress seems to be faltering a bit. What do you do now?

It’s certainly not uncommon for the interest and energy in many groups to wane after all the work in getting started and developing a plan together has been accomplished. This is the time to consider some of these strategies to keep the momentum going.

FOCUS ON VISIBILITY. How many people in town really know what your group is doing? Does the effort have enough visibility to keep people interested and accountable? Frankly, if nobody in town knows about your plans for supporting entrepreneurs, then why should any of the volunteers follow through on their assignments? Visibility is achieved through newspaper articles, presentations at service clubs, and items on the city council agenda—any way that the public can be made aware of your efforts.

DEVELOP A PUBLIC RELATIONS MESSAGE. Make sure that your entrepreneurship support team has a positive image within the community. If your group is known as the one that gets things done and has a good time, you’ll find it easier to recruit volunteers. Highlight the entrepreneurs that you’ve supported and recruit them to help you build this positive image. Use that vision statement you spent time crafting as often as possible to identify your efforts and keep everyone focused on the outcomes. Sometimes a logo on a t-shirt or a ball cap can help establish the identity of the group and help everyone feel a part of your team.

CELEBRATE YOUR PROGRESS. This may be part of public relations but it’s so important that it deserves special mention. Nothing motivates people like the celebration of progress. Small wins are important, and being inventive about how to celebrate each step toward a goal is an important part of maintaining momentum. Celebrations can range from ribbon-cuttings and parades for local entrepreneurs to an “Entrepreneur Day” in the schools and community. Use the local school for a supply of artists and musicians to make an ordinary event more special (and attract parents and grandparents to see their students perform.)

AWARD AND REWARD. In addition to celebrations for group achievements, be sure to reward individual efforts. Some volunteers like plaques, but other ways to reward hard work can be gift certificates for local merchants (support those local entrepreneurs!) or scholarships for entrepreneurship workshops or conferences where the volunteer can represent the community. Some service clubs will select a member of the year and waive dues for that person—a small reward but it’s the recognition that keeps a person working as a volunteer. Award programs can be important, too, in keeping the community aware of a project and in securing support in the long run. A community business plan competition can generate a real buzz around your efforts. Selecting an “Entrepreneur of the Year” for your community brings attention to the entrepreneur and to your program.

ASK FOR FEEDBACK. Nothing can be more stirring to a group gone stagnant than the chance to evaluate what’s gone well and what’s gone wrong. An evaluation of the organization by its members can take the form of a discussion (you might brainstorm likes, dislikes and ideas for change) or even a paper and pencil survey that rates the organization. The important thing here is to regain some momentum by piquing the interest of the members and engaging them in problem-solving about how to improve and get back on track.

GET OFFICIAL ENDORSEMENTS. Got a new mayor or council member? Get an official endorsement of your project effort and make a big deal of it with a photo and a news story. An official endorsement can restart a lagging effort just by getting some attention. If you want people in your town to notice and support entrepreneurs, try establishing an official “entrepreneur month” and organizing some activities along that theme with special endorsements from local officials.

PROJECT THE IMAGE OF AN ENTREPRENEURIAL COMMUNITY. How do you project the image that your town wants/needs/supports entrepreneurs? Run newspaper stories on local entrepreneurs and their business starts. Feature a high school class that comes up with potential business ideas. Offer a workshop on entrepreneurship topics and feature local entrepreneurs—get the local cable channel to televise it. Think about ways to make your town one that’s really known for supporting entrepreneurs. Any of these activities will create some momentum and jumpstart a project that has run down. Consider it as marketing and “branding” for your community.

Perhaps the most important technique in building capacity and maintaining momentum is to start small and to be persistent. Do SOMETHING! In Shenandoah, Iowa, one entrepreneur opened up his house and front porch to host an informal, ongoing discussion among existing and potential entrepreneurs. Suddenly there was a place to go and people who were interested. In Chadron, Nebraska, one group of community leaders just got together once a month to brainstorm “Wild Ideas” about community improvement. Gradually, their conversations developed into projects. In St. Paris, Ohio, several entrepreneurs got together at the local cafe to act as a support group for one another because there was no other source of inspiration or ideas. In Lincoln County, Kansas, regional planning organizations made the decision to become an Internet provider and invested in a T-1 line that’s made the organization financially stable and brought electronic commerce to the county. Building capacity comes in all levels, informal and formal, spontaneous and structured, but can’t be ignored if you want success in the long term.

And remember—start small . . . be persistent . . . get others involved.

Additional Resources

Your Field Guide to Community Building by Vicki Luther and Mary Emery, includes an accompanying CD with stories and suggestions, tools and techniques from rural community builders nationwide. www.heartlandcenter.info/publications.htm

Community Organizing and Development by Herbert J. Rubin and Irene S. Rubin. 2001. 3rd edition. Allyn & Bacon. Massachusetts. This is the seminal work on increasing community capacity through empowerment and broad-based participation in decision making.

Organizing: A Guide for Grassroots Leaders, by Si Kahn. 1991. NASW Press. This publication is a how-to book for getting a group of folks behind a shared goal, with good information and wisdom about local politics and power.

The Center has more resources and can provide additional assistance to you as you support entrepreneurs in your community. To access Center Resources, click on our logo.