Indiana State University
Rural-Urban Entrepreneurship Development Institute
May 2014
www.unboundedpossibilities.com/ruedi
[email protected]
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Societal Need
Rural communities suffer disproportionately in comparison to
their urban counterparts in relation to labor participation, out
migration, aging of its population, educational attainment,
poverty rates and access to health care.
Approximately 46.2 million people, or 15-percent of the U.S.
population, reside in rural counties, which spread across 72percent of the nation’s land area. In Indiana, a larger
proportion of the state is rural with 72 of the State’s 92
counties considered rural and approximately 34-percent of the
State’s population residing in these rural areas.
While the rural economy has become increasingly diverse over
the last 50 years, it faces a number of unique challenges that
threaten the long range economic prosperity for Rural
Hoosiers. Recognizing these challenges, Indiana State University has created the Rural-Urban
Entrepreneurship Development Institute (RUEDI) as an engagement, research and learning
platform to assist Indiana’s rural communities to improve entrepreneurial development and
long-term economic stability.
Mission Statement
RUEDI’s primary objective is to improve the rural economy in Indiana by increasing
entrepreneurship and new business start-ups in rural communities across the State.
Vision
RUEDI envisions a thriving rural Indiana where the public, private and philanthropic sectors
coordinate efforts to support the development and nurturing of the entrepreneurial spirit.
Goals
1. Provide entrepreneurial training and exposure for K-12 students in Indiana’s rural public
school system;
2. Develop Rural Entrepreneurship Undergraduate Programs at Indiana State University;
3. Improve access to information and support services to Indiana’s rural small businesses;
and
4. Broaden the market for locally produced products by forming regional producerconsumer cooperatives and networks.
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Engagement: Coordinating efforts of the public, private and philanthropic
sectors
A primary focus of the Institute is to facilitate and coordinate efforts among the public,
private and philanthropic sectors to build upon existing capacity and to maximize efforts that
bring about change for the betterment of the community. By definition, rural communities
have a lower number of people and often financial resources from which it can call upon to
effect change. By engaging people from traditionally different sectors in a broader community
conversation, rural communities can identify efforts that have similar purposes and through
collaboration maximize the usage of scarce resources to affect greater positive impacts.
In years gone by, community, economic and workforce development were separate
professional sectors with one dedicating efforts towards quality of life, the other attraction of
business, and another serving those who were unemployed. In today’s world, technology often
allows an individual to choose first, where they want to live and then where they want to work.
These traditionally different sectors must now work together, in both rural and urban areas, to
create a more cohesive vision for the community that will retain and attract people, not just
jobs, to secure long-term economic prosperity.
Similar to professionals from different sectors working together for the common good,
communities need to reach across traditional jurisdictional boundaries to create regional
strategies. A prominent theme among state and federal funding programs today is
Regionalism. Rural communities can no longer focus on an isolated issue or operate in a silo if
they intend to remain competitive in a 21st Century global economy. International competition
compels a regional strategy for economic success and quality of life. Community leaders must
talk openly and honestly with the stakeholders within their own and adjoining communities to
create strategies that cross jurisdictional boundaries for a greater economic impact across a
wider geographical area.
Within its first two years of operations, RUEDI created and continues to
facilitate the efforts of three regional collaborations to engage and empower
leadership within the West Central Indiana counties (Clay, Parke, Putnam,
Sullivan, Vermillion and Vigo) surrounding the University. These entities
include:
1. The Rivers and Roads Artisan Trail – connects artists and arts
organizations within the region to strengthen markets for art
entrepreneurs;
2. The Wabash Valley Food Hub - is a member driven network of local
suppliers and food producers working together to increase the
direct access of farm products to local consumers; and
3. The West Central Indiana Leadership Alliance – is a regional
collaborative examining workforce skills and economic interests
and developing long-term sustainable initiatives.
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In coming months, RUEDI will use lessons learned from launching these collaborations to
provide additional technical assistance to other rural-urban regions interested in improving
communications and partnerships to provide for meaningful regional activity.
Within the University, faculty from the five colleges and staff from the Business Engagement
Center, the Survey Research Lab and Sponsored Program Office have served as supporters,
contributors, or collaborators with RUEDI on:
1. Analyzing opportunities to affect positive change within a community or region;
2. Strategic planning and design of initiatives and programs launched by RUEDI;
3. Curriculum development and implementation of experiential learning for college
and high school students; and
4. Identify funding sources and submitting grant applications to prospective resources.
RUEDI recognizes that for change to be effective for Indiana’s rural economy it will require
the mobilization of individuals and organizations outside of the University and its immediate
region. RUEDI has become an active and crucial member of the statewide initiatives put forth
by the Indiana Rural Roundtable, serving on the Planning Committee for the annual Rural
Summit and the Economic Development Committee of the Indiana Office of Community and
Rural Affairs (OCRA).
As Fiscal-Year 2015 begins, RUEDI is in partnership
with OCRA to develop the Indiana Rural Community
Index. The Index is a data resource with a list of
factors including demographic, ethnic diversity,
economic growth and business development, educational attainment, cost of living, quality of
available health care, transportation and commuting patterns, recreational and cultural
attributes, availability of high speed internet service, community involvement and leadership as
well as other factors that influence the livability of a community. Maintained by RUEDI, the
Index will enable the communities and OCRA, on behalf of the State, to measure change in
these rural communities over time.
The Young Entrepreneurs Program (YEP) was established by the Indiana Legislature in 2011
to assist young entrepreneurs with their business plans and then to connect them with
communities interested in attracting these young entrepreneurs. Working with the Agency for
Instructional Technology (AIT), in Bloomington, RUEDI has gathered footage of entrepreneurs in
rural communities that are helping to foster a welcoming environment for young
entrepreneurs. The footage will be edited and scripted to provide
OCRA and the Indiana Small Business Development Center (ISBDC) with
videos to promote young entrepreneurship and identify what activities
a community can embark upon to shape that welcoming environment.
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The original footage along with additional interviews with people involved in supporting the
growth of rural Indiana will be used to create a documentary highlighting the rural Indiana
lifestyle. The proposed documentary, with the working title “Rural Indiana: A Place to Grow”,
will focus on the broad physical and cultural characteristics of rural Indiana, the demographic
and economic trends that have affected rural communities within the state over time and the
possibilities for growth. The video will be designed as a stand-alone piece, as a companion to
the Indiana Rural Community Index being developed in partnership with OCRA, and as the
introduction to an interactive multi-media, virtual environment for students.
The virtual environment will provide students with an opportunity to learn about the many
dimensions of entrepreneurship, play out scenarios related to an enterprise that interests them
and to reflect upon the consequences of the decisions they make. This virtual environment will
be made available to middle schools and high schools for integration into their base curriculum
to assist students with assessing their potential career aspirations while also nurturing the
entrepreneurial spirit that may lie within. On the college level students will be able to use the
simulated environment to research and test possible business ventures exploring the benefits
and barriers of starting a new business in a rural environment.
Learning: "For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by
doing them"1
Indiana's Human Capital
No factor matters more to the
United States
success of a business than the quality and
availability of labor. Not only do workers
State of IN
represent the largest cost of doing
business, but they are also the source of
innovation and process improvements
Rural Indiana
that enable firms to succeed and expand.
Therefore, the measure of Human Capital
0.0
20.0 40.0 60.0 80.0 100.0 120.0
has increasingly represented a strategic
advantage when analyzing a region’s competitiveness. Unfortunately, according to the U.S.
Census Bureau, in 2010 Indiana ranked 40th nationally in higher education attainment.
Indiana’s high school graduation rates have steadily increased in recent years with many of
high school graduates going off to postsecondary education. However, as students graduate
from college they often seek their professional and personal rewards in larger metropolitan
areas outside of Indiana. Rural communities suffer even more from this out migration of youth
or “brain drain” than its urban counterparts or the State as a whole. The Innovation in
American Regions, an Economic Development Administration (EDA) data and analysis tool to
support regional competitiveness, demonstrates Indiana’s overall human capital measures at
88.2-percent of the National average, Indiana’s rural counties are at 77-percent.
1
Aristotle
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MGT 210, Entrepreneurship Fundamentals heralds Indiana State University’s entry into
entrepreneurial education. Spearheaded by RUEDI with input from all five colleges, this
lead course provides an introduction to the steps involved in creating a new business.
Topics include opportunity or idea recognition and analysis; the customer in the
entrepreneurial process; strategies for managing, marketing, and financing a new business;
and the role of creativity and innovation in entrepreneurship. Wanting to solicit students
from a broad cross representation of the student body the only prerequisite is that the
student has achieved sophomore standing. The Spring 2014 Semester was the initial class
with 25 students enrolled.
RUEDI believes by exposing students to the real-time environment of rural communities,
students build a better overall understanding of both the personal and professional
opportunities within a rural setting. RUEDI’s Community Builders engages faculty, staff and
students from all five colleges of the University to work with rural communities and their
leadership to identify needs and collaborate on the development of sustainable solutions to
those needs. Students make discoveries and experiment with rural life, gaining first-hand
knowledge.
Within its first two years of operations, RUEDI enlisted the high impact assistance of
approximately 100 students, along with staff and faculty members to research, plan,
implement and administer initiatives in support of the Institute’s mission, vision and goals.
As RUEDI continues to develop and expand programs, project-based learning experiences
for Indiana State University students will be of high priority. Participation in the Indiana
State Department of Agriculture’s request for colleges to develop a marketing plan for
Indiana agriculture not only required highly developed marketing talent but attention to
detail and customer service. The Institute will work with faculty in the different colleges to
match relevant experiences with course curriculum, special projects and internships.
Employers indicate that internships are one of the most effective methods of finding
and recruiting postsecondary-trained workers. In December 2013, Lilly Endowment
announced that 39 postsecondary institutions in Indiana would share nearly $63 million to
help improve employment opportunities for college graduates. Indiana State University will
use their $3 million allocation to promote internship and co-op related work experience
with a business, service organization, or government agency. With FY-2015 RUEDI will put a
greater emphasis on working with the Business Engagement Center, the Meis Student
Development Center and the University’s Career Center to coordinate internship programs
to better prepare students for the rigors, realities and opportunities of today’s work
environments within rural communities.
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Research: Informing Stakeholders and Benchmarking Success
To ensure that reliable data is collected to first inform stakeholders of important issues
that exist and for which decisions need to be made and then to provide a reliable and
consistent resource to measure the effect of activities taken, the Rural-Urban
Entrepreneurship Development Institute has created a Data Center within the Institute to
oversee the collection and analysis of data as part of its activities. RUEDI has enlisted the
assistance of Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc. (EMSI) to collect and integrate the most
current data available on industries, occupations, and demographics. Economic Overviews
have already been provided for a number of counties throughout the State, along with
aggregated overviews for the six counties of West Central Indiana known as Economic
Growth Region 7 and the 72 rural counties within the State of Indiana.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) uses the Standard Occupational Classifications (SOC)
to classify workers into 840 detailed occupations. Similar job duties or skill requirements
are grouped into 97 minor groups and 23 major groups. The BLS uses the North American
Industry Classification System (NAICS) to group establishments into industries based on the
activity in which they are primarily engaged. NAICS uses a six-digit hierarchical coding
system to classify all economic activity into twenty industry sectors. Understanding the
dynamics of the industry sectors that comprise a community’s economy along with the
occupations employed by each of those industries can assist a community in making shortand long-range plans for business attraction and creation of a talent pipeline.
RUEDI provided data on changes in Dubois County’s manufacturing industry from 2001
to 2011 to assist the new Vincennes University Center for Technology, Innovation and
Manufacturing at their Jasper Campus to better understand occupation trends as the facility
launched the Career Advancement Partnership (CAP) in the spring of 2014. The Partnership
enhances an associate degreed technical maintenance program by alternating part-time
employment at local industries with class work in high-demand occupations.
Because of the Internet age and the wealth of information available online, economic
data is more easily accessible. However, the amount of data available can be overwhelming
if a community does not have the capacity to filter the data to what is useful and most
telling to that community’s specific needs. The RUEDI Data Center works in collaboration
with the University’s Survey Research Lab to provide both quantitative and qualitative data
throughout program initiatives. With assistance from staff and students from the Research
Lab, RUEDI has and continues to collect qualitative data on issues important to the rural
economy like the Indiana Rural Business Survey and Rural School Entrepreneurial and
Leadership Skills Survey.
Information gathering projects like these and additional research activities, like the
Indiana Rural Community Index, will continue to be part of RUEDI’s activities as it assists
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community leaders with better understanding the issues they face and then how to
measure their success once initiatives are launched.
Funding
Goal 4 of Indiana State University’s Strategic Plan, The Pathway to Success, commits the
University to activities that strengthen economic development in Indiana’s rural communities.
In January 2012, Indiana State University launched the Rural-Urban Entrepreneurship
Development Institute with funding from its Unbounded Possibilities Program for FY 2013, 2014
and 2015.
For specific projects, RUEDI seeks funding from private and philanthropic entities whose
mission and goals align with the purpose of the chosen project. Seeking funding from external
parties often requires that a relationship be built with that funder. This relationship allows for
the funder to build a measure of trust in RUEDI’s ability to successfully execute the project in
which they are asked to invest. Additionally, as RUEDI gains experience through its work with
communities it has begun to identify services that it can provide at a reasonable fee to
prospective clients.
Staff:
Dr. Steven Pontius serves as the Director of RUEDI and is responsible for the direction,
oversight, conduct, financial management, successful completion, and reporting of RUEDI
sponsored projects. In RUEDI’s role as an engagement platform, Dr. Pontius is also responsible
for the management and nurturing of collaborative relationships within and outside of the
University. In addition to serving as RUEDI Director, Dr. Pontius is currently a professor of
geography at Indiana State University and formerly served as provost and vice president of
academic affairs for ISU from 2001 to 2003.
Chris Pfaff has served as the Director of Business Engagement for Indiana State University
since 2007. He is responsible for economic development and business engagement for the
university and works closely with the Rural-Urban Entrepreneurship Development
Institute. Chris oversees and administers the Innovation Alliance program in partnership with
Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology and the City of Terre Haute. Prior to joining ISU, Chris was
the Director of Business Development for the Indiana Economic Development Corporation, and
a Regional Director for its predecessor, the Indiana Department of Commerce.
Additional staff support is provided by faculty, staff and students of the University including
the Business Engagement Center. The Business Engagement Center provides incubation and
business support services to client companies and related staff assisting ISU in technology
transfer projects, managing the policies and procedures adopted by the university to
commercialize research projects.
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Contact Information:
Dr. Steven K. Pontius, Ph.D.
Director
Rural-Urban Entrepreneurship Development Institute
Federal Hall, Room 320
Indiana State University
Terre Haute, IN 47809
812-237-4386
[email protected]
[email protected]
www.unboundedpossibilities.com/ruedi
www.unboundedpossibilities.com/ruedi
[email protected]
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