Helping local businesses succeed
“Menahga is a more positive place to live, work and play as a result of the partnership with Extension’s BRE program. Over 52 businesses were surveyed in our city of 1,300. Community stakeholders took the information from surveys and created working teams that brought more affordable housing, entertainment, an awareness of our business community, and opportunities for our youth. Menahga now has a concerted effort to help businesses grow and prosper.”
— Liz Olson, Menahga business retention and expansion leadership team
Extension's connecting businesses and community program helps communities understand and respond to local business needs. This knowledge better informs your community decisions and helps businesses stay, grow and become more committed to your town.
Benefits to your community
Short-term, your community will:
- Show local businesses you want them to succeed
- Help local businesses solve immediate concerns
Long-term, your community will:
- Create and carry out an economic development plan
- Support businesses so they can better compete in the global economy
Ready to get started?
For more information, contact Michael Darger or a community economics educator.
“I wanted to shout out the (CBC) research retreat that you hosted … with so many impressive minds. It was quite humbling to get to work with them on our data, our city, and our projects. Between the professors, economists, researchers, and professionals — it was a huge ‘value add’ experience. It also helped break (along with the qualitative data, of course) through the numerical (what can be) monotony.”
— Emery John, Northfield CBC leader
Process for working with your community
Extension’s program takes a year or two to complete and follows a three-step process. View the below video for more details.
We can provide coaching and training to help your community through the connecting businesses and community initiative.
Learn more about who — and what — is involved in each part of the program below.
- Extension educators and specialists, who help you design your community-driven program. They provide:
- Interview guides
- Data analysis
- A meeting to review findings with University of Minnesota faculty and other experts
- An in-depth report of findings and possible projects
- A community retreat to prepare you ready to move forward
- A leadership team in your community that engages the community, coordinates the task force and organizes the initiative.
- A local task force that engages local leaders — including representatives of economic development organizations, chambers of commerce, business, government and educational institutions.
- Business visitation teams that include leaders from the task force and the community.
Available programs and cost
Our connecting businesses and community program maximizes Extension support, community organization, and applied research to support the business community. We offer three packages to communities. See details on what each package includes and costs below:
Complete research package
- A survey instrument
- Data tabulation/analysis
- Campus research review meeting that gathers University faculty and other experts to suggest projects that meet business concerns
- Two reports:
- Seven-chapter research report with narrative and graphs
- Summary report
- Planning retreat to “Set Priorities and Take Action”
Note: Extension consulting is not included in this package.
Standard package
- Complete research package features
- In-person consulting throughout the three major steps of business retention and expansion
- Quarterly meetings in the first year of implementation
Premium package
- Standard package features
- Customized assistance (i.e. custom survey instrument or advanced analysis)
Costs and financing
Extension's connecting businesses and community program costs $7,000 - $15,000, depending on location and complexity of the program. Our fees help alleviate the costs to Extension for providing technical assistance and research services. We absorb part of this cost to make the program affordable for Minnesota communities.
Urban/suburban programs typically are more complex, requiring more team-building, complex sampling to obtain representative sample sizes, and other specialized efforts. For this reason, prices are as follows:
Program costs
| Package | Location | Pricing |
|---|---|---|
| Complete Research | Urban/Suburban/Rural | $7,000 |
| Standard | Rural | $9,500 |
| Standard | Urban/Suburban | $12,000 |
| Premium | Rural | $12,000 |
| Premium | Urban/Suburban | $15,000 |
Participating communities have received help from a variety of sources, including electric utilities, foundations and industry organizations. We can help your community explore options to help finance the program.
Communities must complete an application for acceptance into the program.
“The Northfield EDA is looking to do their own strategic visioning in the new year, and they want to do things they currently are not doing. Chapter 3, as you know, is a gold mine of great ideas and best practices that are tailored to Northfield specifically … I want this EDA to really buy into their own initiatives … the resources and research of the CBC will be core to that brainstorming and project development."
— Emery John on Extension's applied research report for Northfield's Connecting Businesses and Community program in 2025.
Prefer a do-it-yourself option?
Do you enjoy handling projects and tasks on your own? Take a course, follow our self-paced learning guide, or use our online tools to get started and learn as you go.
Consult with us
Community economics • Leadership and civic engagement • Tourism
Extension educators work in communities with partners throughout Minnesota. Contact us for consultation, guidance and conversation about your community.