Community Planning : Best Practices
TownGown World will continue to solicit articles from communities developing collaborative programs.If you have a story you feel should be highlighted, please contact editor@towngownworld.com |
The 55% Initiative – An Effort to Encourage More NH College Grads to Work, Play and Stay in NH
TownGown World Article
By : Matt Cookson, Associate Vice Chancellor
University System of New Hampshire
Mar 2008, USA
New Hampshire is a great state in which to live. Yet, we face a looming crisis. The state’s population is the sixth oldest nationally and many baby boomers are close to retirement. Employers are having trouble finding skilled workers, and college graduates are leaving the state at too high a rate to meet current, let alone, future, employment needs.
Just over 50 percent of the nearly 15,000 college students who earn degrees each year leave NH, including two-thirds of those who earn a bachelor’s degree. This represents a huge loss of intellectual capital and their departure darkens the overall employment outlook and hinders the state’s growth. The 55% Initiative sets a goal of convincing 55% of new graduates to “work, play, and stay” here. A comprehensive survey of college seniors and recent alumni was completed in December 2007 as part of the initiative and shows that most leave because of concerns about jobs and salaries, despite having a very positive opinion of the quality of life in New Hampshire. The survey results are being used to develop a “tourism-like” marketing campaign aimed at our future college graduates and on heightening awareness of key attributes of the state and its employers, and on shifting perceptions about the state that may be outdated or incorrect. Efforts are currently underway to design this campaign, gain the support necessary to implement it, and address efforts to enhance the ways we promote both New Hampshire and the quality job opportunities that exist here to our current college students and future workforce.
The University System of New Hampshire has been partnering with business, professional and community leaders, policy makers, and higher education to develop this new initiative. Log on to www.usnh.unh.edu/initiatives/55.shtml to learn more about the 55% Initiative, join a blog discussion. Or follow the links to learn how to send in your company or organization’s logo to show your support.
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UNC and Chapel Hill: Partners for life
TownGown World Article
By Linda Convissor
University of North Carolina
Feb, 2008 USA
Many people call Chapel Hill the quintessential college town. With a downtown that is the University’s front door, Chapel Hill shares a nearly seamless connection with UNC, marked only by a low stone wall that lines McCorkle Place, the historic campus quad.
In 2004, the University recognized its commitment to downtown in a formal way, becoming a founding partner of the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership. The Partnership is made up of the Town of Chapel Hill, the University and the business and property owners. All three groups fund the Partnership and appoint members to sit on the board.
Still young organizationally, the Partnership is beginning to see results. Cleanliness, parking and safety were three early concerns of merchants. In response, the Town has upped its police presence and hired a downtown groundskeeper. The University offered one of its parking lots for a very successful valet parking service for nighttime diners. With some of the basic issues under control, the Partnership is beginning to tackle the business mix, marketing and promotions and the physical appearance of the public and private spaces.
But beyond the formal relationship with the Partnership, the University pays attention to its downtown presence. It owns four retail spaces in one of its historic buildings next to campus. Because the rents support the University libraries, keeping the stores rented and the income flowing is critical. Yet the right tenant is critical to the vitality of downtown. How long do you leave a space empty while you wait for the perfect use?
This is where the formal and informal relationships merge. The Partnership staff, professionals with connections to real estate brokers and retail users, offers its expertise to find a tenant and help them navigate the difficulties of renovating and operating, especially challenging in a historic downtown where what is behind a wall or under a sidewalk is always a surprise. A new bakery took one of the spaces and restored it to its original 1920s feel, and an antiques and art gallery is slated to open next – both great additions to the downtown mix.
Having their representatives sit together at the Partnership board room table once a month nurtures a strong relationship between the Town and the University; programs that in the past might have languished are beginning to develop. Working as a team is exciting; seeing results reinforces the value of working together.
The Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership Web site is http://www.downtownchapelhill.com.
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Yale University
Contributing to a Strong New Haven
TownGown World Article
by Shana Noelle Schneider
Jan, 2008, USA
Over the past 15 years, Yale University has worked closely with the City and the community to create a vibrant and growing New Haven. Yale institutionalized its commitment to the city’s future by creating the office of New Haven and state affairs, which focuses on the following areas:
Fostering economic development – Yale has become a catalyst for the growth of New Haven’s economy. Yale’s $1 billion investment to renovate and construct new facilities in science, medicine, and technology, provides the research foundation from which new companies develop. This has encouraged private equity investments which contribute to the growth of New Haven area biotechnology companies, many of which are based on Yale research and located in renovated buildings adjacent to the University. There are now over 40 biotechnology companies located in Greater New Haven, with 20 in the city of New Haven.
Creating a vital downtown – Through its community investment program, Yale has been instrumental in creating several vibrant shopping districts in downtown New Haven. With over 85 tenants in its portfolio, Yale is the largest commercial real estate tax payer in the city of New Haven, paying more than $4 million annually. Nationally recognized merchants such as J.Crew and Urban Outfitters act as a draw for shoppers who also support the many independent merchants in downtown.
Strengthening neighborhoods – Over 830 Yale employees have purchased homes through the Yale Homebuyer Program, which provides employees with $30,000 grants over ten years to purchase homes in New Haven neighborhoods. Yale’s pioneering effort has encouraged other New Haven nonprofit institutions to create similar programs of their own.
Supporting public education – Because of its educational mission, Yale has a strong interest in public education and is committed to making its resources, including facilities, courses, and the talents and services of faculty, students and staff, available to support and strengthen K-12 education in New Haven. These efforts include comprehensive partnerships with some of New Haven’s magnet high schools as well as numerous literacy initiatives.
Communicating New Haven’s renaissance – The community partnerships that helped produce the rejuvenation of New Haven have also resulted in the creation of Market New Haven, a nonprofit entity supported by the business community, the City of New Haven, and Yale. The aim of the organization is to ensure the public image matches the reality of New Haven and achieves this goal through marketing efforts ranging from branding campaigns to large scale events.
For more information about Yale’s community partnerships and initiatives log on to www.yale.edu/onhsa. |
Measuring the Effectiveness of Neighbourhood Relations Efforts
Mary Somers, Dec 2007
Dalhousie University, CAN
How do universities know where they are going, if they do not know where they have been? That’s a question Dalhousie University asked ourselves about our community neighbourhood relations efforts. The university, a comprehensive postsecondary institution with 15,000 students, is located in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. Many of our students live near campus in mixed residential neighbourhoods. The relationship between them and their neighbours can be fraught with difficulty. Noise, vandalism and deteriorating housing are all too familiar. So in 2003, Dalhousie developed many intitiatives in an effort to mend fences.
Have these initiatives worked? The simple answer: yes - and the university has hard data to prove it.Door-to-door surveys were carried out by students hired for this task in 2005, 2006 and 2007. The results of these surveys can be summarized as follows;
2005 2006 2007
Yes. I do think the university is doing a better job 133 225 292
at listening to concerns and communicating with me
No. I don’t think anything has improved 167 75 8
or changed for the better.
This type of data is invaluable. Why?
1. Time and resources have to be allocated. It took two and a half years before there was a measurable improvement in the relationship between the university and its neighbours.
2. Surveys provide institutional credibility. It is much easier to get funding for another year, when you can prove that programs are effective.
3. Surveys tell you where to move limited resources, what programs are working and which communication vehicles reach the most people.
4. The agenda is less likely to get highjacked, internally or externally. A senior administrator or a neighbour will have a harder time pushing a personal wish list that is not backed up by the findings of the surveys.
Most universities have departments which teach quantitative and qualitative measurement. Designing a survey, getting the responses and crunching the results could be an interesting class project. At Dalhousie, the survey is designed by Communications and Marketing, carried out by students paid under a student job program and tallied in Communications and Marketing. The cost is about $2,500 a year - far less than an ad in most newspapers.
Universities should not be afraid to survey their neighbours. Students report that 99 per cent of neighbours were polite to them. Many neighbours thanked the university for asking their opinion and were genuinely pleased that someone cared. Measuring the progress of your community relations efforts is a cost efficient effort that focuses us on where we are going by knowing where we have been.
Editors Note: Mary Somers is a Senior Communications Advisor in the Communications and Marketing Department at Dalhousie University . For the past four years, she has helped pioneer Dalhousie’s neighbourhood/community relations program. For a more in-depth look at Dalhousies various neighbourhood initiatives, please visit the website. (Go to Website) |
St. Lawrence University’s Canton Initiative and Coming Home Projects
Models for Sustainable Community Development
Tom Coakley, Dec 2007
St.Lawrence University, USA
The Canton Initiative
The Canton Initiative provides co-investment funds for economic development and residential projects. Since 1997, the University Board of Trustees has dedicated $2 million to a community effort entitled the Canton Initiative. Its goals are:
•To invest in and stimulate others to invest in properties within a defined enterprise zone so as to improve the physical attractiveness of the zone and promote its economic enhancement.
•To increase directly the tax base of the Village and Town of Canton through investment, development, and/or divestiture of tax-exempt University property.
•To establish and maintain a partnership spirit between the University and the Canton community as we pursue projects of mutual advantage together.
In 10 years, the Canton Initiative has provided seed and bridge funding for retail and restaurant businesses, housing expansion, historic preservation projects, and community infrastructure support (parking, a new fire station, a planned new day care center). Increasingly, the oversight committee of the Canton Initiative has encouraged proposals that strengthen economic development as they provide energy-efficient and sustainable design solutions.
St. Lawrence University’s “Coming Home” Initiative
A different kind of local economic development strategy has emerged at St. Lawrence University in the village of Canton, New York, USA that is based on growing the number of households in the immediate Canton area. The Coming Home Project is recruiting 100 alumni, parents and friends to return to Canton and a defined surrounding area, building or causing to be built $10,000,000 in new homes or home improvements, with all of its positive impact on the local property tax base.
We are attracting retirees who seek the physical beauty of this area and access to the University’s classes for auditing, cultural and intellectual events, recreation facilities, athletic events, the opportunity to be a part of a real community, and old friends. Others are in midlife and seek respite from the irrationality and frantic pace of life elsewhere. They find jobs here, or telecommute, or move or start businesses here. Younger Laurentians return for all of the above reasons and, when they have children, the quality of the schools and the safety and healthfulness of the community to raise a family.
Editors Note: Tom Coakley is Vice President for Administrative Operations at St.Lawrence University in Canton NY. Retirees wanting to live near higher educational institutions is a growing trend, and one that could positively contribute to community balance.
Learn more about the "Coming Home" initiative .(Go to website) |
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