2019-2020 Annual Report
Mission To have a positive impact on communities by equipping leaders with economic tools and resources, building consensus to achieve community goals and bringing UCA resources and communities together.
Vision We envision communities with robust economies, a flourishing quality of life and diverse and engaged citizen leaders.
Values The Center strives to develop relationships with leaders and communities that are based on:
• Trust and respect • Local action that fosters consensus-building, community ownership and empowerment, transparency and inclusion
• An asset-based approach focusing on local strengths as the foundation for success
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Message from Our Director Our team at the University of Central Arkansas (UCA) Center for Community and Economic Development (CCED) is pleased to share our 2019-2020 annual report with you. The work shared in this report would not be possible without the support of our partners, supporters, advocates and exceptional community leaders throughout the state of Arkansas. 2019-2020 was a roller coaster of a year. Our team experienced major updates as we brought on two new staff members and underwent a leadership change. As we adjusted to staff changes, we marched on in our efforts to support communities across the state. Our accomplishments include: rolling out the Community Catalyst program in partnership with Entergy, developing a new brand for the City of Van Buren, continuing to host walk audits, supporting the City of Beebe through the CDI Advanced Year and supporting communities and their leaders through a variety of other training and technical assistance initiatives. Beginning in March 2020, we faced a challenge none of us expected or were prepared for: COVID-19. Staying true to our mission, we adapted our work and continued to positively impact community leaders and connect them with virtual resources. As we continue to face obstacles due to COVID-19, our staff will pivot and innovate our work to support the state of Arkansas. In service,
Shelby Fiegel, PCED CCED Director
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Year at a Glance
791 1,507 186 20 45 13,995 $50,000+
ATTENDEES AT CENTER TRAINING EVENTS ATTENDEES AT TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE EVENTS
ATTENDED PRESENTATIONS BY CCED STAFF
CITIES AND COUNTIES RECEIVED DIRECT ASSISTANCE ARTICLES FEATURED CCED ATTENDEES AT CENTER VIRUTAL TRAINING EVENTS
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RAISED
CORNING
BENTON COUNTY
HARRISON INDEPENDENCE COUNTY
VAN BUREN BOONEVILLE
SEARCY CONWAY
BEEBE CABOT LONOKE
WYNNE
LITTLE ROCK STUTTGART
HOT SPRING COUNTY
BOSSIER CITY MITCHELLVILLE CAMDEN
MAGNOLIA
MONTICELLO EUDORA
CCED 2019 Trainings - 2020 Trainings & Technical Assistance 2019-2020 & Technical Assistance Community Catalyst
Strategic ActionFall Planning Wynne, Arkansas 2019/Spring 2020 Hot Spring County, Arkansas
Magnolia, Arkansas Spring/Summer 2020
Community Catalyst Searcy, Arkansas Spring/Summer 2020 Wynne, Arkansas Magnolia, Arkansas Harrison, Arkansas Summer/Fall 2020 Searcy, Arkansas Harrison, Monticello,Arkansas Arkansas Summer/Fall 2020 Monticello, Arkansas Training Events
Strategic Doing September 10, 2019 Camden, Arkansas Independence County, Arkansas CAYLI World of Work November 6, 2020
Regional Training Bossier City, Louisiana April 8, 2020 Camden, Arkansas
StrengthsQuest
Walk Audit Bossier City, Louisiana October 2019 Lonoke, Arkansas Stuttgart, Arkansas CED Fellowship Fall 2019 and Spring 2020
StrengthsQuest Bossier Chamber in Bossier City, Louisiana Community Branding Van Buren, Arkansas Spring 2020
Community Branding VanNonprofit Buren, Arkansas Regional Spring Training2020 Cabot, Arkansas April 29, 2020
Newtonia Go! Cabot YouthGo! Council in Conway, Arkansas Newtonia CAYLI in Youth Conway, Arkansas Cabot at UCA September 24, 2019 Leadership Benton County in Bentonville, Arkansas Benton, Arkansas January 21, 2020
Poverty Simulations Poverty Simulation UCA Minority Mentorship PrograminAugust 24, 2019 Minority Mentorship Program Conway, Arkansas CAYLI at UCA September 4, 2019 Booneville, Arkansas CALI inUCA Conway, Arkansas CALI at September 5, 2019 CAYLI in Conway, Arkansas UCA Faculty, Staff and Students Conway, Booneville, Arkansas September 17,in 2019 Arkansas DLI in LittleFebruary Rock, Arkansas On-Campus 27, 2020
CALI Arkansas at UCA MayRegional 24, 2020 COHORT South Eudora, Arkansas Walk AuditsArkansas Mitchellville,
DLI inFellowship Little Rock, Arkansas March 10, 2020 CED Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 in Conway, Bossier City, Louisiana April 7, 2020 Arkansas
Nonprofit Capacity Building Online Events and Programs Corning, Arkansas Fall 2019 and Spring 2020 Impacted leaders throughout Arkansas and the Mid-South
Lonoke, Arkansas April 24, 2020
Nonprofit Capacity Building Stuttgart, Arkansas April 28, 2020 Corning, Arkansas Regional COHORT CDISouth 2020Arkansas Advanced Year Community Eudora and Mitchellville, Arkansas September 2019 Beebe, Arkansas
CDI 2020 August 3 - 7, 2020
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Partners Thank you to our partners! • AEP SWEPCO
• Delta Regional Authority
• Arkansas Center for Health Improvement
• East Arkansas Crossroads Coalition
• Arkansas Community Development Society
• Electric Cooperatives of Arkansas
• AR Conductor
• Entergy
• Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism
• Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
• Arkansas Economic Development Commission
• Fort Smith Regional Alliance
• Arkansas Economic Developers and Chamber Executives
• Harrison Chamber of Commerce
• Arkansas Municipal League
• Heifer International
• Bank OZK
• Hot Spring County Judge’s Office
• Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce
• Innovate Arkansas
• Beebe Chamber of Commerce
• Leadership Benton County
• Booneville Chamber of Commerce
• Magnolia - Columbia County Chamber of Commerce
• Bossier Chamber of Commerce
• Metroplan
• Cabot Chamber of Commerce
• Monticello Economic Development Commission
• Camden Area Chamber of Commerce
• Newport Economic Development Commission
• City of Beebe
• Ouachita Partnership for Economic Development
• City of Camden
• Retail Strategies
• City of Corning
• Rural Community Alliance
• City of Lonoke
• Searcy Regional Chamber of Commerce
• City of Eudora
• Siloam Springs Chamber of Commerce
• City of Harrison
• Stennis Institute at Mississippi State University
• City of Magnolia
• Stuttgart Chamber of Commerce
• City of Maumelle
• Thrive
• City of Monticello
• UCA Department of Leadership Studies
• City of Stuttgart
• UCA Minority Mentorship Program
• City of Wynne
• UCA Outreach
• City of Van Buren
• UCA Poverty Studies Working Group
• City of Hope Outreach
• UCA Service-Learning
• Conway Area Chamber of Commerce
• UCA University Training
• Conway Development Corporation
• University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service
• Conway Convention and Visitors Bureau
• University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
• Crafton Tull
• Van Buren Chamber of Commerce
• Cross County Chamber of Commerce and Economic
• Winthrop Rockefeller Institute
Development
• Winrock International
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Community Development Institute It is with great sadness our staff decided to cancel the Community Development Institute (CDI) 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. CDI is one of the most impactful, unique community and economic development training programs in the Mid-South because of our high-quality curriculum and speakers, focus on interactivity, simulations and networking opportunities. Because of this, CDI could not effectively take place virtually. Due to the strenuous planning that goes into developing CDI and the continued rise in COVID-19 projections, we also decided not to reschedule CDI 2020.
Fortunately, the CDI 2020 Advanced Year class was able to move forward! During the week of August 3 - 6, the Advanced Year traveled to Beebe, Arkansas to conduct an in-depth assessment of the community based on online research, a driving tour, focus groups with citizens and interviews with community leaders. Through their work, they shared a community presentation that outlined key opportunities. The city was also provided a report that they can utilize in future planning efforts.
The CDI staff will continue to follow up with Beebe leaders to help them identify key opportunities and quick wins. A printed report of the CDI 2020 Advanced Year's findings will be shared with Beebe community leaders.
We hope you will plan to join us for CDI 2021 on August 2 – 6, 2021! Registration is open at www.uca.edu/cdi.
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CDI Advisory Board Members The CDI Advisory Board was established in 2002 to assist UCA with the development of CDI curriculum, marketing, resource development and external stakeholder support. We are excited to announce CDI Class Directors will now hold positions on the Advisory Board. They are as follows:
Lisa Johnson
Bill Luther, PCED
Talicia Richardson, PCED
President/CEO,
President/CEO,
Executive Director,
Bossier Chamber of Commerce
El Dorado Union County
64.6 Downtown
CDI 2016 Graduate
Chamber of Commerce
CDI 2018 Graduate
CDI 2007 Graduate
Lorie Robertson, PCED
Kevin Sexton, PCED
Amy Williams, PCED
Director of Marketing,
Director of Tourism and
President/CEO,
Chaffee Crossing
Community Affairs,
Cabot Chamber of Commerce
CDI 2016 Graduate
Hot Springs Village
CDI 2017 Graduate
CDI 2010 Graduate Thank you to all CDI Advisory Board members for their outstanding service! The complete list of board members can be found at uca.edu/cdi/advisoryboard.
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Project Highlights Hot Spring County Conversations - Hot Spring County, Arkansas After two years of planning, Hot Spring County Conversations (HSCC) unveiled their strategic action plan "Our Vision for the Future" to the public in August 2019. Governor Asa Hutchinson, Rex Nelson of the Arkansas Democrat Gazette, Jon Chadwell of the Newport Economic Development Commission and other special guests celebrated the unveiling alongside the HSCC executive committee and the citizens of Hot Spring County. Since November 2017, CCED assisted in grassroots organizing efforts in Hot Spring County and the development of the plan. Thousands of Hot Spring County citizens engaged in the HSCC process. We will continue to support HSCC in the future through UCA's new AmeriCorps VISTA program and other efforts. You can learn more about Hot Spring County Conversations and the "Our Vision for the Future" action plan at www.facebook.com/HSCconversations or www.uaex.edu/counties/hot-spring/hot-spring-county-conversations.aspx.
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Community Catalyst - Wynne, Searcy, Magnolia, Harrison and Monticello, Arkansas Through the Community Catalyst program, CCED, in partnership with Entergy Arkansas (Entergy) and the John C. Stennis Institute of Government at Mississippi State University, is assisting five Arkansas communities in Entergy’s service territory. The program focuses on grassroots citizen engagement and technical assistance training to develop small, actionable community and economic development goals and to serve as a catalyst for longer-term economic development engagements and priorities. The Catalyst program utilizes a process called Strategic Doing. Strategic Doing is an innovative community development tool that, unlike traditional strategic planning, focuses on immediate, impactful small wins and goals to create transformation in communities. Strategic Doing enables people to form collaborations quickly, guide them toward measurable outcomes and make adjustments along the way. Strategic Doing enables leaders to design and guide new networks that generate innovative solutions. It is a new strategy discipline that is lean, agile and fast – which is what communities need to survive and thrive in our current global economy. The following Arkansas communities were selected for the Community Catalyst program: Wynne, Searcy, Magnolia, Monticello and Harrison. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Community Catalyst program is currently paused, but we are hoping to resume all operations in 2021. CCED, Entergy and MSU will explore options to continue asssiting these communities in the interim.
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Walk Audits - Lonoke, Arkansas and Stuttgart, Arkansas CCED partnered with Crafton Tull to complete walk audits in the cities of Lonoke and Stuttgart. The goal of walk audits is to help develop placemaking concepts and solutions for circulation (vehicular, pedestrian and bike), parking, universal access, low-impact development concepts, wayfinding, beautification and community character improvement. The walk audits included one-on-one interaction and assessment of a three-by-three block area of each community’s downtown or other selected area. Crafton Tull provided each community with a brief summary of the audit that outlined potential opportunities.
Community Branding - Van Buren, Arkansas CCED partnered with nonprofit design firm Thrive to assist the City of Van Buren, Arkansas with a community branding initiative. Van Buren has not had a city logo since its incorporation in 1845. The city previously used the Van Buren city seal on all marketing materials. The branding development process engaged city leaders, the Van Buren Chamber of Commerce, the Van Buren Advertising and Promotion Commission and other local stakeholders. Based on feedback and research, Thrive developed a one-page creative brief, brand standards guide, tagline, logo for both print and digital contexts, social media icons, banner imagery, as well as other supplemental materials. The final deliverable was a fresh identity for the city that could also be utilized as a logo for other community-affiliated organizations.
Nonprofit Development – Corning, Arkansas In partnership with City of Hope Outreach (COHO), the CCED team assisted the nonprofit Growing Corning Together in strengthening its structure and planning for the future. The work done with Growing Corning Together included: the development of a strategic plan, best practices for engaging and developing volunteers, fundraising basics, marketing assistance, building organizational capacity, program development and evaluation techniques and collaboration with other organizations.
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Arkansas Municipal League CCED continued its partnership with Arkansas Municipal League’s City & Town magazine to contribute articles for the Community Development section. Articles in 2019 – 2020 covered topics such as: the 2020 Census, smart technology in cities, downtown development, local leadership programs and innovative projects and programs across the state. You can read our community development submissions from City & Town magazine at: www.uca.edu/cced/media
Community and Economic Development Fellowship – Conway, Arkansas The Community and Economic Development Fellowship program aims to prepare UCA students for careers in the field of community and economic development. The program exposes UCA students to a variety of community or economic development careers and provides networking, coaching and mentoring to enhance career preparedness. During the program, fellows participate in three site visits that showcase community and economic development activities at the local and state levels of government and in the nonprofit sector. Activities include job shadowing, organization tours, mock interviews and mentorship from CCED staff. Fellows have the opportunity to join the Arkansas Community Development Society and attend the 2020 Community Development Institute free of charge. Three students were selected for the Fellowship in fall 2019, and five students were selected for spring 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the five students selected for the spring 2020 Fellowship were not able to complete their Fellowship. Graduating seniors from the spring 2020 group were offered online resources from CCED staff and the remaining students were offered to continue their Fellowship in fall 2020.
Ariel Smith Conway, AR Fall 2019 Fellow
Kennedy Neely Weiner, AR Fall 2019 Fellow
Ophelia Akoto Ghana, West Africa Fall 2019 Fellow
Not pictured Spring 2020 Fellows: Mya Hall, Lauren McCabe, Lauren McLemore, Raven Nobles, and Logan Smedley.
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Training Events
Regional Training - Camden, Arkansas In Camden, CCED hosted the “Community Development Summit: Southwest Arkansas� (the Summit). The Summit was a community and economic development training event provided by UCA in partnership with the City of Camden, Ouachita Partnership for Economic Development, Camden Chamber of Commerce and Southwest Arkansas Planning and Development District. The Summit covered topics such as: leadership in community and economic development, housing, quality of life and place, how to engage young leaders and informational sessions. Fifty-six community leaders from across southern Arkansas attended the event.
Strategic Doing - Independence County, Arkansas CCED Director Shelby Fiegel and Monieca West with the Arkansas Division of Higher Education led an IMPACT Independence County leadership group through a Strategic Doing simulation and training. The Batesville Area Chamber of Commerce and IMPACT leadership are preparing to undergo an update of their current community and economic development strategic plan and will use Strategic Doing to develop new goals. Learn more about IMPACT Independence County at www.impact.batesvilleareaalliance.com.
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Poverty Simulations Six Poverty Simulations were held in partnership with the Booneville Chamber of Commerce, Conway Area Youth Leadership Institute (CAYLI), Conway Area Leadership Institute (CALI), the Delta Leadership Institute (DLI), Minority Mentorship Program and on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas for faculty, staff and students. A Poverty Simulation is an immersive experience intended to move community leaders to think about the harsh realities of poverty and to talk about how communities can address the problem. The simulation is a unique, interactive experience that helps people begin to understand what life is like with a shortage of money and an abundance of stress. If you are interested in hosting a Poverty Simulation in your community, please go to www.uca.edu/cced/training-opportunities.
Newtonia Go! CCED staff continued to host Newtonia Go! simulations, based off of the Newtonia simulation CDI Year 1 participants experience. Newtonia Go! is a community and economic development simulation that allows participants to experience the development of a community from the ground up and some of the real-life challenges that community leaders and citizens face. The Center presented Newtonia Go! for Leadership Benton County, Cabot Chamber of Commerce Youth Leadership Council and the Conway Area Youth Leadership Institute (CAYLI). If you are interested in bringing Newtonia Go! to your community, contact Shelby Fiegel at sfiegel@uca.edu.
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Virtual Training and Technical Assistance Beginning in March 2020, CCED transitioned the majority of training and technical assistance work to a virtual format due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Over 10,000 individuals across Arkansas and the Mid-South were impacted through CCED’s virtual programming. What Cities and Towns Should Know During the Covid-19 Pandemic Webinars CCED, in partnership with the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement (ACHI), Arkansas Municipal League (ARML) and other statewide community and economic development organizations, presented a weekly COVID-19 webinar on Thursdays at 11:30 a.m. Dr. Joe Thompson (former Surgeon General for the State of Arkansas 2005-2015) of ACHI and Mark Hayes of ARML briefed community leaders across the state about COVID-19 and what community leaders can do to provide leadership during this difficult time.
Arkansplorer Trivia Show The Arkansplorer Trivia Show was a weekly, live Arkansas-themed trivia event held on Fridays at noon on the CDI Facebook page. Twelve episodes of the show were broadcast in April, May and June. Guests included representatives from organizations such as: UCA, Arkansas Economic Development Commission, Conway Area Chamber of Commerce, Carl Stuart Middle School, AR Conductor, Fort Chaffee Redevelopment Authority, City of Cabot, Cabot Chamber of Commerce, University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension, Winthrop Rockefeller Institute, Winrock International, Innovate Arkansas and Thrive. There was also an episode celebrating frontline healthcare workers. In addition to the Facebook live stream, all recorded episodes are available via YouTube at www.youtube.com/CDIcentral. Understanding the CARES Act and What it Means for Your Community Webinar Congress’s $2 trillion coronavirus relief package will have an immediate and lasting impact on ordinary citizens around the country. State governments received $150 billion, and the package also included thousands of dollars in direct payments to most Americans. Congress also voted to replenish a huge loan package designed to help keep small businesses afloat as Main Streets across America struggle. Hosted by CCED and Retail Strategies, this webinar dissected the CARES (Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act relief package and explored what local communities, businesses and industry need to know to position themselves for federal funding.
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First Impressions Tour: Stuttgart and Newport A small group of community leaders in Stuttgart and Newport traveled to one another’s communities to conduct a driving tour to assess each city’s physical, social and economic infrastructure. Participants also completed an online assessment. The completed assessments were then reviewed by CCED and our partners at the Arkansas Economic Developers and Chamber Executives to generate a report that included an assessment of each community and next steps. The leaders then debriefed on their experiences virtually. Community Development Institute Podcast The CDI Podcast launched its first episode in May 2020. The podcast strives to expand the reach of CCED by connecting with community leaders and citizens to explore a broad range of community and economic development topics and engage in real conversations with leaders across the state of Arkansas and beyond. Episodes are released on a weekly basis and can be found at www.uca.edu/cced/cdi-podcast or on Apple Podcasts or Google Play.
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Staff Highlights Shelby Fiegel, PCED • Hired as CCED/CDI Director in September 2019 • Certified as a Strategic Doing Workshop Leader • Served as Secretary of UCA Staff Senate • Served as the Arkansas Community Development Society Ex-Officio • Served as a Conway Historic District Commissioner
Dylan Edgell • Hired as CCED Assistant Director in November 2019 • Appointed to the Metroplan Livable Communities Regional Advisory Committee
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Emily Cooper-Yates • Hired as CCED Project Coordinator in May 2020 • Appointed to UCA 2020 Homecoming Committee
Will Gloster • Hired as CCED Graduate Assistant in August 2019 • Pursing his Master of Business Administration at UCA • Hired as the UCA Outreach Arkansas Coding Academy Administrative & Marketing Assistant in August 2020
CCED would like to congratulate former Project Coordinator Moriah Bruner on her appointment as the UCA Wellness Coordinator. Moriah transitioned to her new role in January 2020. Three interns also served on the CCED team throughout the 2019 - 2020 year: Emily Montrose, Victoria Hayes and Javier Hernandez.
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uca.edu/cced | cced@uca.edu | 501-450-5269
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