Dave Ivan

Dave Ivan conducts community and economic development programs for MSU Extension.  Based in St. Johns, Michigan, Ivan is a frequent guest lecturer on small town success with state municipal associations and other regional small town conferences.  He has conducted previous research on community sustainability, including a 2002 USDA Fund for Rural America project entitled “Small Town Success Strategies,” and a 2005 MSU Land Policy study entitled “Can Small Towns Be Cool?”  Dave serves as a member of the Michigan State economic development, community development, and land use area of expertise teams.  His seminar topics have included community sustainability, downtown development strategies and community entrepreneurship strategies.

Monday

February 18, 2008

Plan now for aging boomers

Did you happen to see the University of Southern California study that estimated the ratio of seniors to working-age residents will increase by 67% in the next 20 years?  With more than 80 million boomers approaching retirement, the implications to communities will be tremendous—including demands for new types of housing, increased healthcare needs, different recreational options, and community walkability expectations, to name a few.  Remember, the baby boomer generation has become accustomed to getting what they want.

The smart communities aren’t waiting to play catch up; rather they are planning today to better position their community for perhaps the greatest demographic shift since World War II.  Some communities, such as Michigan’s Otsego County (Gaylord) recognize that early planning will not only benefit their current retiring population, but also potentially position their community as a haven for others looking to relocate.  Their broad-based planning committee includes county and city officials, health care representatives, education, human service providers, and business leaders.

Cuyahoga County, Ohio (home of Cleveland) has perhaps the most comprehensive plan I have seen.  Funded, in part, through a local foundation and coordinated by their regional planning commission, the plan is worth reviewing.

These communities clearly recognize the importance of adjusting to changing societal trends.  What about your community?

Check back tomorrow for Dave’s thoughts on growing your own.

You may contact Dave Ivan at 989-224-5296 or email ivand@msu.edu.

Tuesday

February 19, 2008

Growing our own

Virtually every newspaper today has a story outlining the difficult economic challenges facing Michigan.  From corporate downsizing and high unemployment levels to bank foreclosures, the news is causing many citizens to develop a jaded, almost fatalistic, attitude towards the future economic prospects of our state.  And while many of our economic development professionals are working overtime to change our fortunes through business expansion and recruitment efforts, there is another movement afoot that looks at our future from a different lens: the creation of an entrepreneurial culture.

A recent article in the Michigan Business Review spoke of efforts, such as Ann Arbor SPARK and Southwest Michigan First who are aggressively working with entrepreneurs.  My employer, MSU Extension, is working with nine pilot communities through coaching services and other training to develop an entrepreneurial friendly environment.  This initiative, entitled “Creating Entrepreneurial Communities,” followed a statewide conference where interest exceeded room capacity.

Creating a new culture takes time.  And it takes a community-wide effort.  Dr. Scott Loveridge, an MSU colleague, developed some fundamental questions communities need to consider:

• Is there a network of entrepreneurs (beyond chambers) for peer-to-peer support and idea generation within the community?

• Is the community welcoming to newcomers?

• Does the community support businesses that are risk takers?  (My local daily newspaper regularly publishes a listing of new bankruptcy filings—information that hardly creates an environment for risk taking.)

• Does the community help entrepreneurs understand finance, recordkeeping and government regulations?

• Does the educational system support entrepreneurship?

• Are entrepreneurial support systems customized to the community’s unique situation?

Communities can make a difference, an environment that supports the creation and nurturing of new business enterprises.  But it may require an attitude change.  Is your community up for the challenge?

Check back tomorrow for Dave’s thoughts on memories that last a lifetime.

You may contact Dave Ivan at 989-224-5296 or email ivand@msu.edu.

Wednesday

February 20, 2008

Memories last a lifetime

While driving my kids to school the other day, a couple of strange things happened.  First, rather than listening to their iPods, my just-turned 16-year-old son (to his discontent he doesn’t yet have a car) and 14-year-old daughter surprisingly decided to chat with their dad.  Secondly, the conversation focused on where they hoped to someday live within our community.  Music to my ears!  At a time when communities are struggling with “brain drain,” my kids were actually bantering with their old man about future plans that included their hometown.

Now I am not naïve enough from this 20-minute car chatter to scoop up a couple of bargain-priced houses on the market to ensure my kids don’t renege on their conversation.  I recognize that things change.  But I did ask my kids their motivation for wanting to stay closer to home.  Translating their teen speak, they essentially said that they liked growing up in our community, and that it was an “okay place to live.”  Hmm.  A few years ago a community in southwest Michigan asked their senior citizen population why they remained in the community.  Top response: we had a good experience growing up in the community.

Community after community that I visit complains on how they can’t retain their youth.  “The kids don’t want to stay here.”  “We don’t have anything to offer the younger generation.”  These same communities fail to have an authentic conversation with the youth of the community to ask them what they would like from their hometown, and equally important, to act upon those desires.

The Heartland Institute, located in Nebraska, has extensively studied youth migration.  They offer four strategies that communities can consider:

1. Create economic and career choices that are appealing to youth.

I know, easier said than done, but I am not convinced that we have not exposed our younger generation to all of the career choices that may exist within a community, including potential opportunities of owning/operating their own business (i.e. entrepreneurship).

2. Evolve community cultures that are progressive and embracing of youth, and the younger generation.

Perhaps in addition to the polka band that performs at the community festival, time should be allotted to allow the local garage bands to perform—despite how distasteful we may find that genre of music.

3. Proactively link community goals and strategies to the attraction of young people.

4. Focus your development efforts on those who may want to return to their hometown.

Communities such as Ord, Nebraska, and Preston, Iowa, have worked with their school systems to develop a comprehensive alumni listing.  They use these mailing lists to send a community newsletter to those who have moved from the area, in hopes that they may someday return.  Both communities can claim success from their efforts.

Memories do last a lifetime.  I’m hopeful that your community is creating a positive memory in your youth’s mind that will serve you in the future.

Check back tomorrow for Dave’s thoughts on not forgetting the arts.

You may contact Dave Ivan at 989-224-5296 or email ivand@msu.edu.

Thursday

February 21, 2008

Don’t forget the arts

Through the generous funding of the MSU Land Policy Institute, I have had the opportunity to visit more than 250 small towns (less than 20,000 in population) in a dozen states as part of an extensive research project entitled “Can Small Towns Be Cool?”  In each case I would ask the various stakeholders what is happening in their community?  What are areas of pride?  What initiatives are they pursuing that other communities can learn from?  Based on this analysis our project identified a series of “success themes.”  From community and youth engagement to a commitment to regionalism, these communities excelled on a number of fronts.

One of the major findings of our project was a commitment towards the arts.  Repeatedly, these best practice communities recognize that the arts can serve as a tool to add community vitality.  Commonly referred to as “cultural economic development,” these towns are utilizing their cultural assets to attract visitors; using their cultural assets to allow artisans to share resources and become economic engines within the community; and utilizing their cultural assets to create a sense of place within their community.

Colquitt, a town of approximately 800 in remote rural Georgia, capitalized on their rich history of storytelling to develop a musical production, entitled “Swamp Gravy,” that united the town and transformed the community into a regional destination.  Lanesboro, Minnesota, population 3,500, has re-invented their community as a cultural destination through the efforts of the Commonweal Theatre and the Cornucopia Arts Council.  Closer to home, the Crooked Tree Arts Association, in Petoskey, Michigan, has developed a cultural plan that has been adopted by the city commission and serves to coordinate their various cultural venues and activities.  And the “Box Factory” arts incubator, in St. Joseph, Michigan, has become an important element to their community’s tourism mix.

A key element among the successful initiatives is that they are authentic.  Their efforts are not overly contrived, and the communities aren’t trying to “theme” or become something that doesn’t represent their true heritage.  Secondly, the cultural players in many of the successful communities are heavily involved in community decision making.  It is not a top-down approach—government officials and cultural players are working collectively to improve their community.

Every community has its cultural assets that make it special and unique.  And while the pursuit of an intensive culturally based economic development plan may not be of interest for your community, simply recognizing the positive role of arts and culture in your overall community development efforts is the first step to successfully competing in the new economy.

Check back tomorrow for Dave’s thoughts on change or falter.

You may contact Dave Ivan at 989-224-5296 or email ivand@msu.edu.

Friday

February 22, 2008 

Change or falter

Last week, I had an opportunity to join nearly 250 community leaders from across the state at a summit, “Building Prosperity-Growing Michigan,” sponsored by the Land Policy Institute at Michigan State University and the Michigan Land Use Funders.  Ironically, the conference, which provided a platform for a day-long conversation about smart growth and models for change, was held the same day as newspapers across the state reported on finding from Michigan Future, Inc., a non partisan non profit think-tank, showing that Michigan lags in creating high-wage jobs.

Interestingly, the information discussed at the prosperity conference is closely linked to the Michigan Future, Inc. report which documented declining earning and our state’s inability to create high-wage jobs requiring a college education.  To bounce back, the report says, Michigan needs more residents with college degrees so that it can compete for high-pay jobs in finance, insurance, healthcare and other new-economy jobs.  Sounds like a no-brainer, but a recent poll of Michigan parents found that only 27% indicated that education was important to the success of their children—attitudes that underscore the challenges we face in trying to transform from an old economy state to a new economy state.

Meanwhile, the conversation at the prosperity conference focused on the importance of creating communities where young, educated talent want to live.  The globally competitive cities and regions (yes, we need to consider ourselves from a regional context) have distinctive neighborhoods, vibrant downtowns, quality environmental amenities and access to nature, and available mass transit options.

So what comes first, creating desirable communities that attract talent or striving to increase our state’s educational attainment?  Obviously it is not an either/or proposition.  As community leaders, we must set the tone to elevate the importance of education.  We must also look at our neighboring jurisdictions and create regional plans for success, much like the West Michigan Strategic Alliance or the efforts in greater Traverse City.  And we must look at our own internal efforts to foster smart growth and create a sense of place.

Michigan is at a critical juncture.  Hoping that things will improve while we conduct business as usual will only result in lower wages and further loss of competitiveness—a scenario none of us are willing to accept.  As Goeffrey Anderson, the former director of the EPA’s Smart Growth Program and new president and CEO of Smart Growth America, said in his summit keynote address “What, are you afraid it’s going to get worse?”

You may contact Dave Ivan at 989-224-5296 or email ivand@msu.edu.

Check back on Monday to hear from Michael McGee, Principal for Miller Canfield.