The Future is Now

RCBTC Planning Framework

Planning Project Period: March 1 – November 31, 2004

Need for the RCBTC Planning Project

Over the past five years, Rockingham County has experienced a drastic downturn in economic circumstances. Lay-offs and terminations in the traditional industries of furniture and textiles have resulted in the loss of more than 6,000 jobs since 1997. Since January of 2002, more than 1200 jobs have been lost. Rockingham County currently has an unemployment rate of 9.4% compared to the statewide rate of 6.2%.

The county has also experienced the loss of company headquarters, including Fieldcrest and American Tobacco Company. In addition to the related job loss, loss of these companies also brought the loss of important community leaders who had made substantial contributions to the civic and philanthropic fabric of the county.

Adding to the job loss resulting from decline in manufacturing jobs, Rockingham County has been particularly hard-hit by the cataclysmic loss of jobs in agriculture and tobacco-related industries. For example, between 1995 and 2000, the following occurred:

The county lost 182 tobacco farms.
Tobacco acreage quotas decreased by 53%.
Tobacco farming income decreased by 8%.

The NC Department of Commerce uses a tier system to rate counties by their level of economic distress. Tier I indicates the most severe level of economic distress and Tier V indicates the least severe level. Rockingham County was recently designated as a Tier II County. It is expected that this designation will increase the potential number and dollar amount of incentives and other funding sources available for job creation and investment in the county’s economy.

Initial Steps

Establish a RCBTC Leadership Team and appoint a Team Chair or Co Chairs. The Leadership Team will function as the executive committee for the overall RCBTC Project. The Leadership Team provides leadership, over-all guidance, and decision-making for the RCBTC Project.

The Leadership Team Chair will appoint committees to address the RCBTC Project’s objectives and to carry out the responsibilities and specific tasks necessary to successfully implement the Project. Committee chairs will also serve as members of the Leadership Team.

Conduct a Community Briefing Meeting to introduce the RCBTC Project to community members, engage the public on RCBTC Project issues, and to obtain input on the Project from meeting attendees. This meeting can also serve as a public hearing for CDBG purposes.

Establish and convene a RCBTC Stakeholders Group to include formal and informal community leaders, representatives of economic development, business, education, government, and community-based organizations, the e-Communities Champion, and others who may have a keen interest in the RCBTC Project and the Rockingham Business and Technology Center (BTC). Appoint a Stakeholders Group Chair, who will also serve as a member of the Leadership Team.

The purpose of the Stakeholders Group is to establish a broad base of Rockingham BTC advocates who will assist the RCBTC Leadership Team and its committees. The Stakeholders Group serves as an advisory group to the Leadership Team, providing input from their particular group, as well as from the general public.

Visit the Northeast Business and Technology Center in Williamston (Martin County) and the Blue Ridge Business Development Center in Sparta (Alleghany County) to see first hand what a successful Business and Technology can look like. These are two of the BTC’s developed by the RIAA (now e-NC) in collaboration with local partners.

Convene a day-long Business and Technology Center Visioning Forum to be attended by the RCBTC Leadership Team and the RCBTC Stakeholders Group. The purposes of the Forum are to 1) create a common vision for the future of Rockingham County, with a focus on the BTC, entrepreneurship, and technology-driven economic development and 2) define the purposes, essential elements, and desired outcomes of the Rockingham BTC. This Visioning Forum will create the context and parameters for the work of the Leadership Team, the Stakeholders Group, and the working committees.

RCBTC Planning Project Objectives:

Objective 1

Catalyze and engage local ownership of the RCBTC Project and the Rockingham Business and Technology Center concept.

Objective 2

Create a business plan for establishing a successful Rockingham BTC and implementing related technology-driven economic development strategies and activities.

Objective 3

Plan for BTC programs to stimulate and assist entrepreneurship and identify other resources for entrepreneurship assistance.

Objective 4

Plan for BTC training and technology assistance programs to support entrepreneurship and technology-driven economic development.

Objective 5

Develop funding plan and proposals to fund and operate the Rockingham BTC.

RCBTC Project Committees and Tasks

The RCBTC Project Chair and Leadership Team will appoint committees and committee chairs to address the objectives listed above. Each committee is charged with carrying out the responsibilities and tasks necessary to accomplish its particular objective or objectives, within the context of accomplishing the successful implementation of the entire RCBTC Project.

Note to Committees:

The Tasks listed below for each objective serve as a beginning point. As you move more deeply into your work, new ideas and directions that need to be explored will emerge. This process is what will make your BTC unique and a perfect fit for Rockingham County.

At the same time, be sure to stay focused on doing what is necessary to achieve your objective. If your good idea takes away from a clear focus on your committee’s objective, it should probably be given to another committee, whose objective it addresses.

It is necessary that the four committees stay well-informed and current on the work of the other committees. The work of each committee in tied into the work of all the other committees. Communicate and Collaborate Constantly!!

Outreach and Engagement Committee

Objective : To catalyze and engage local ownership of the RCBTC Project and the

BTC Concept.

Tasks

Plan and conduct a series of diverse public meetings to engage the leaders and residents of Rockingham County with the RCBTC Project, the BTC concept, the economic importance of entrepreneurship, and the role of technology-driven economic development in the county’s future.

Establish and operate a Speakers Group of those who are knowledgeable about RCBTC and the BTC concept to speak to civic groups, faith-based groups, community-based organizations, and other groups to ensure that information about RCBTC and the BTC is disseminated throughout the county.

Work closely with the Stakeholder’s Group to ensure that all areas and sectors of the county are engaged with the RCBTC Project.

BTC Programs Committee

Note: The BTC Programs Committee has a very large task. The programs offered by the BTC will be a major factor in determining the success of the BTC. This committee will need to do some of its work in sub-committees (training, entrepreneurship, and technology services and resources) in order to have a specific focus on each of the three.

The Programs Committee will require more committee members than the other committees. While this committee could conceivably be structured as three committees rather than one, I think that it is preferable for it to function as one committee with three sub-committees. Operating as one overall committee will allow for collaborative thinking and a shared understanding of the BTC programs “big picture”.

Objectives: Plan for BTC programs to stimulate and assist entrepreneurship and

identify resources for entrepreneurship assistance.

Plan for BTC training programs, including entrepreneurship training,

digital literacy training (computers and the Internet), and other training

programs as needed by business and community organizations. The

community college is an essential partner in facilitating, developing, and

providing the BTC’s training programs.

Plan for Technology Resources and Assistance Programs to support

entrepreneurs, small businesses, and other existing businesses in the

community.

Plan for operation of business enterprises that can take place in the

BTC, or off-site, producing revenue to sustain the BTC.

**Work on this objective in conjunction with the Business Plan

Development Committee.

Tasks:

Identify specific programs that may be needed in each of the above areas (training, technology resources and assistance, entrepreneurship).

Verify that these needs exist by checking with potential customers. Identify other entities and resources that could provide or assist with providing the needed training, resources, or assistance.

Identify existing distance and on-line training programs and explore how they can be used to help meet training needs. Identify distance and on-line training programs that are needed, but not available.

Explore with the community college the potential for offering courses at the BTC. Examples might include digital literacy, English as a Second Language, Real Entrepreneurship Training, and others.

Explore with the community college possibilities for Small Business Center and Telecenter collaboration.

Explore which technology resources and services would help businesses become more productive and profitable.

Identify the services, resources, and assistance that the BTC could facilitate or provide that would enable more people to go into business for themselves.

Explore what is going on with the county library system, in terms of computers and access to the Internet? How can the BTC collaborate with the libraries?

Explore what is going on with the K-12 school system. Are there schools which make computers available to the public in after-school hours? Are the high schools offering Cisco Academy training, A+ network training, Explornet computer training, or REAL entrepreneurial training? How can the BTC and the schools collaborate?

Set priorities for implementation of programs. First priority should be programs that are needed and doable in the short run.

Prepare a written BTC Programs Plan, including specific programs to be offered, anticipated number of program participants, and cost per program.

BTC Business Plan Development Committee

Objective: Create a business plan for establishing and sustaining a successful

Rockingham BTC that will help to drive technology-based

economic development.

Tasks

Review and more fully develop the BTC’s purposes, essential elements, and desired outcomes, as defined in the Visioning Forum.

Obtain information about the operations requirements of non-profit organizations and the process of receiving a non-profit designation from the IRS. Determine if the Rockingham BTC will be a non-profit organization.

Define, in cooperation with the Programs Committee, the physical requirements of the BTC facility that are necessary to support planned programs and activities.

Assess the structural characteristics and physical condition, of the Wentworth Building. Determine if there are environmental issues that must be dealt with and obtain cost estimates for remediation of any existing environmental problems.

Obtain cost estimates for renovations, up-fitting, and technology infrastructure that will be required for the BTC to be located in the Wentworth Building.

Obtain cost estimates for computers, office equipment, telecommunications equipment and service, furniture, and utilities.

Determine personnel needs and expenses.

Determine BTC business enterprises that can be established, within the BTC or off-site, to produce revenue to sustain the BTC for the long-term. **Work on this task with the BTC Programs Committee.

Identify definite resources cash and in-kind, to support the BTC’s operations. For example, cash resources might include an annual appropriation from the county government or a commitment from business allies, such as utilities and telecommunications companies to make an annual contribution. In-kind resources might include the use of or donation of the Wentworth Building and property to the BTC.

Create a budget and pro-forma for the first three years of the BTC’s operation.

Use the above information, and other relevant information, to prepare a written Rockingham BTC Business Plan. This Plan is a vitally important document, not only for your use, but to sell your ideas to funders and other potential partners.

BTC Funding Plan Committee

Objective: Develop a funding plan and proposals to fund, operate, and sustain the

Rockingham Business and Technology Center.

Tasks

Work closely with the Programs and Business Plan Development Committees to fully understand their needs and plans, in order to adequately provide for them and to ensure that fund-raising plans are focused on the BTC’s priorities.

Identify definite resources cash and in-kind, to support the BTC’s operations. For example, cash resources might include an annual appropriation from the county government or a commitment from business allies, such as utilities and telecommunications companies to make an annual contribution. In-kind resources might include the use of or donation of the Wentworth Building and property to the BTC. **(This item is also listed as a responsibility of the Business Plan Development Committee.)

Create an inventory of federal, state, local, foundation, and corporate funding sources that could potentially provide resources to the BTC.

Identify those sources that most closely match the funding needs of the BTC and explore those sources to determine their interest in providing funds to the BTC.

Target 2-4 funders and develop a focused plan to work with each. This means fully understanding their funding requirements and perspectives and developing a relationship with them to ensure that they understand the significance of the BTC and the positive impact that it can have on Rockingham County.

Prepare a written funding plan and proposals to submit to target funders.