2019-2020 Center for Community and Economic Development: Request for Assistance

The UCA Center for Community and Economic Development is taking Requests for Assistance (RFA) applications from communities across the state of Arkansas. The Center's staff is offering several different services to communities that will be implemented in 2019-2020. These services are provided at no-cost or low-cost to selected communities.

If your community is interested in participating in these services (descriptions below), please indicate your interest below by selecting the service(s) you are interested in, describe in detail why your community is interested in the service(s), and our staff will reach out to you to further discuss the opportunity.

Deadline for requests is September 6, 2019.

If you have questions, please contact Shelby Fiegel at sfiegel@uca.edu or 501-450-5269.

Question Title

* 1. Contact Information:

First Name

Last Name

Organization

Title

Address

City

Zip Code

Phone Number

Email Address

Question Title

* 2. Please check the service(s) you are interested in on behalf of your community.

Note: You may choose one option or several options. Choosing a service(s) does not guarantee your community will be selected for participation. A review process will determine selection.

Business Outreach Survey: The Center's staff will work with your community or organization (i.e. Chamber of Commerce) to generate a unique business outreach survey that will analyze your current business environment, gather aggregated business data, and pinpoint strengths and potential opportunities to create a better environment for businesses.

How to Manage and/or Build a Nonprofit: In partnership with City of Hope Outreach, the Center will work with a rural community or organization (less than 4,000 pop.) to teach them how to build a successful nonprofit or how to effectively manage a nonprofit currently in existence.

Nonprofit Capacity Building Regional Training: Our partners at the UCA Service-Learning Program and the University of Arkansas at Little Rock's Center for Nonprofit Organizations are looking for a community to host a regional nonprofit training event. The selected community will be the host site for this event and must have an adequate space to host up to 50 nonprofit leaders throughout the state, internet access, projector and screen, and catering available in the community. The selected community will be listed as a partner for the event. Topics may include grant writing, fundraising, outcomes assessment, board recruitment, volunteer management or other topics of interest to nonprofit organizations. UCA and UALR will provide all training facilitators and materials.

On-Site Walk Audit: Our partners at Crafton Tull will conduct an interactive walk audit with community leaders of the selected community to 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 audit will include one full day of one-on-one interaction and assessment of a 3x3 block area of the community's downtown. Experts at Crafton Tull will also share a presentation with the community that will focus on accessibility in the built environment to the walk audit attendees. The presentation will discuss best practice site planning methods with respect to complete streets, accessible parking, crosswalks, sidewalks, trails and other circulation facilities. The session will leave time for questions and answers on specific design consideration in the walk audit location. Finally, Crafton Tull will generate a brief summary and share it with community leaders.

Regional Training: The Center's staff is searching for a community to host our next regional community and economic development training event. These events are hosted across the state and are free to attend. The selected community must have space to accommodate up to 50 community leaders, internet access, projector and screen, and catering available in the community. The Center will work with the selected community to develop an agenda that addresses the region's key issues. These topics can range from a variety of subjects, such as: branding and marketing, site selection, workforce development, placemaking, strategic planning, how to engage young leaders, infrastructure, etc. The Center will be responsible for providing all training facilitators/speakers and materials.

Poverty Simulation: Community leadership, nonprofits or other organizations/groups can participate in a Poverty Simulation. The Poverty Simulation is not a game, but rather an experiential setting that allows participants to view poverty from different angles. The Poverty Simulation is intended to move participants 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.

Community Branding: In partnership with Thrive, one community or county will undergo a branding development process. Included in this service will be a branding workshop, tagline, logo, brand standards guide, one-page summary document, and other supplemental materials. The community will have to provide passionate community members to lead this process, venues for meetings, and potentially refreshments for meetings.

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* 3. Entrepreneurship Services (only applicable to the following 10-county region: Cleburne, Conway, Faulkner, Johnson, Logan, Pope, Pulaski, Van Buren, White, and Yell).

The Conductor, a public-private partnership between the University of Central Arkansas and Startup Junkie, empowers entrepreneurs, makers and innovators. The Conductor is dedicated to building a diverse and inclusive entrepreneurial ecosystem in Arkansas. The Conductor offers one-on-one consulting for entrepreneurs, educational workshops and community-building events, a 10X Growth Accelerator that supports scalable Arkansas-based companies, and Maker Trainings and rapid prototyping services in its free-of-charge Makerspace. All of the Conductor’s services are free. The Conductor collaborates closely with partners around the state, and its offerings are made possible with funding from the University of Central Arkansas, the Arkansas Economic Development Commission and the Small Business Administration.

Yes, my community is located in the 10-county region and I am interested in The Conductor's services.

No, I am not interested in The Conductor's services.

Question Title

* 1. Contact Information:

Question Title

* 2. Please check the service(s) you are interested in on behalf of your community. Note: You may choose one option or several options. Choosing a service(s) does not guarantee your community will be selected for participation. A review process will determine selection.

Question Title

Question Title

* 4. Why is your community/organization interested in the selected service(s)? Please be as detailed as possible.

* 2. Please check the service(s) you are interested in on behalf of your community.

Note: You may choose one option or several options. Choosing a service(s) does not guarantee your community will be selected for participation. A review process will determine selection.