HomeMy WebLinkAbout29. 12-615
DECEMBER 11, 2012 12-615 RESOLUTION
(CARRIED___6-0___LOST_______LAID OVER_______WITHDRAWN_______)
PURPOSE: RECEIVE AND FILE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS & DIRECTION REPORT
(THE PRAGER STUDY)
INITIATED BY: CITY ADMINISTRATION
WHEREAS, an "Organizational Analysis and Direction" report was prepared by
The Prager Team to examine Oshkosh’s existing economic development structure, with
input from local economic development stakeholders and the community at large; and
WHEREAS, the Study sets forth recommendations for a public-private economic
development partnership, as well as a strategy for implementation of said
recommendation.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Common Council of the City of
Oshkosh that the "Organizational Analysis and Direction" report (a/k/a The Prager
Study) on file at the City Clerk's Office, is hereby received and filed.
City of Oshkosh
Community Development Department 01HK01H
215 Church Avenue, Oshkosh,WI 54901 ON THE WATER
TO: Honorable Mayor and Members of the Common Council
FROM: Allen Davis, Community Development Director
DATE: December 6, 2012
SUBJECT: Receive and File — Economic Development Organizational Analysis and
Direction Report (Prager Study).
BACKGROUND
The City contracted with the Prager Team in July, 2012 to develop an economic
development strategy and recommend an organizational structure for a unified,
community-wide approach to economic development.
ANALYSIS
The Prager Team has provided a report that is divided into 4 chapters:
I. Project Intent and Perspective
II. Organizational Analysis
III. Recommended Operating Characteristics
IV. Recommended Organizational Adjustment
The recommended economic development model for success in the Oshkosh area is a
"formal public-private partnership with widespread commitment and outside the control
of any one current organization".
RECOMMENDATION
The City Council receives and files the Report.
Staff is planning a City Council Workshop for January 8, 2013 to discuss the report with
Prager.
Approved,
City Manager
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ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS AND DIRECTION
Prepared for
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Prepared by:
Prager Team
November 2012
ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS AND
DIRECTION
CONTENTS
EXECUTIVESUMMARY ................................................................................ 1
1. PROJECT INTENT AND PERSPECTIVE ................... ..............................5
11. ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS .............................................................. 10
Ill. RECOMMENDED OPERATING CHARACTERISTICS ......................... 26
IV. RECOMMENDED ORGANIZATIONAL ADJUSTMENT ........................ 45
Organizational Analysis and Direction
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Oshkosh Area has many enviable characteristics. It possesses considerable location
attributes for business investors, an attractive quality of life, a strong industrial heritage,
widespread name recognition, and a spirit of commitment and volunteerism. These are
many of the pillars that effective economic development is built upon.
Economic development has long been a prominent part of the Oshkosh Area's history. This
can be traced back to the early stage commitment of the Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce
and the spawning of two economic development organizations -- Chamco and the Oshkosh
Area Economic Development Corporation (OAEDC). These two organizations continue to
commit themselves to economic development, albeit the latter now from within the
Chamber of Commerce. However, today, economic development action emanates from
many other organizations as well. This includes the City of Oshkosh, Oshkosh Area
Community Foundation, Oshkosh Convention and Visitors Bureau, Fox Valley Technical
College, University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh, Winnebago County, Fox Valley Workforce
Development Board and others.
Today perhaps more than ever, economic development in the Oshkosh Area is the domain
of organizations throughout the community rather than any single one. Never- the -less, for
well over two years the Oshkosh Area has been distracted by deliberations over economic
development structure and ownership, particularly who should house and own the principle
responsibility of economic development. This debate has centered around Chamco and
OAEDC. These conversations have become increasingly divisive and stand in the way of
the Oshkosh Area moving forward in any unified fashion.
In economic development, although form is important, it must always follow function. That
which needs to be accomplished for the economy, for existing businesses, and for job -
seeking residents must always take precedence over structure and ownership. While the
Oshkosh Area has much to offer, it has much work to do. Moving beyond this debate in a
collaborative, mutually beneficial way is absolutely essential.
The Prager Team was retained to help the community get beyond this structural impasse so
that it can return fully to the business of economic development. The purpose of this
project is to examine the Area's existing structures and efforts deployed in the name of
economic development, and help determine the optimal approach for maximizing
resources, securing commitment and achieving the community's economic development
goals. This is a healthy and not uncommon exercise undertaken by communities around the
country who desire even more effective, efficient, collaborative and sustainable economic
development.
The Prager Team is comprised of national experts in the fields of economic development
and corporate site selection. Our team members have helped more than 100 communities
and regions elevate their economic development efforts, and have guided more than 600
major corporations through the site selection process throughout the U.S. and around the
world. The Prager Team firmly believes that no single organizational structure fits all
communities. We have seen Chamber of Commerce - centered efforts, Government -driven
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Organizational Analysis and Direction
economic development, public- private partnerships and a host of variations all work well in
the right settings. The optimal structure is the one that is best for that particular community.
Over a four -month period, the Prager Team applied its experience to evaluating the
economic development structure and efforts in the Oshkosh Area. This included
examination and dozens of conversations with the many economic development- minded
organizations in the community. It also included interviews with local employers served by
those performing economic development, and discussions with national site selection
consultants the Area seeks to entice. Further, in collaboration with the Wisconsin
Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), it included a mock site selection Request
for Information (RFI) to learn first -hand how the Oshkosh Area responds to business
investment opportunities presented.
To be sure, the Oshkosh Area possesses a plethora of physical and economic attributes, and
whereas some communities struggle to get an economic development effort off the ground,
the Area has had two in place for decades. However, the tangible output of these efforts in
recent years has been minimal. This is not a function of that which the Area has to offer but
rather how it goes about harnessing these advantages and working in partnership to move
the community forward. Economic development effectiveness (i.e. the accomplishments of
the economic development organizations themselves) should not be confused with macro
changes in the economy, much of which has been positive.
From an organizational standpoint, the community excels in its broad commitment to
economic development and the willingness of volunteers to dedicate untold time and effort.
City elected leadership is exceedingly committed to economic development as is staff. The
Chamber, County and others contribute essential financial resources. Partners, most notably
the exemplary efforts of the Technical College and the University, are the economic
development stalwarts of the community.
Economic development in the Oshkosh Area is a dichotomy of sorts. On one hand the
community is exceedingly creative and willing to take risks to further job creation and
attract new investment. Entrepreneurial networking, creative property representation,
University -led technology advancement and more are commendable and all too rare
elsewhere. On the other hand, the community falls short on fundamental initiatives -- the
"blocking and tackling" of economic development -- including research, opportunity
discovery and lead identification, project tracking, coordination, resource sharing and
communication.
Inefficiency exists as the Area's two economic development organizations (Chamco and
OAEDC) divide responsibilities loosely along sector lines, namely industrial and
commercial, respectively. This division fails to recognize today's market realities which
stress service line integration and the blurring of these traditional borders. Further, it makes
target marketing challenging, confuses outside entities, eliminates the possibility of
economies of scale, and hampers pursuit of the many opportunities which do not fit neatly
in any historic category. Further, while many in the U.S. are gravitating toward multi -
jurisdictional (i.e. regional) efforts, the Oshkosh Area's initiatives are still overwhelmingly
geared toward the City of Oshkosh. Nearby municipalities in southern Winnebago County
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Organizational Analysis and Direction
which would otherwise reap the many direct business development benefits of a unified
service delivery territory, are left to their own devices to seek economic development
assistance or cultivate it from within.
The community seems at its best when under pressure to respond. At these times,
differences are set aside and the task at hand is addressed. However, this may be eroding,
as was witnessed in a response to the Prager Team's mock site selection drill. But in
economic development, these periods of urgency are rare. Far more common are extensive
periods of calm when thoughtful strategy, preparation and clear delegation of responsibility
should take place and the business of economic development should move forward. It is
here where the community seems to fall short. The Oshkosh Area has no well - articulated
economic development strategy and plan of action. Each organization operates on its own
set of rules, often with its own dedicated financial and staffing resources. Discussion and
networking is common place, but collective, well -oiled action under a common plan does
not exist. The end result is inefficient resource utilization, internal and external confusion,
and the absence of legitimate performance measures to guide progress and adjust
accordingly. The quality of the community's approach — whether attracting outside
investment or serving companies within — has no consistency.
The decentralized nature of economic development and resource deployment in the
Oshkosh Area lessens its ability to deliver comprehensive services and to do so at a high
level. With few exceptions (most notably in the area of location capacity building),
research activities, business attraction and business retention & expansion are all rather
pedestrian and lacking sophistication found elsewhere. The issue here is not the availability
of resources. The aggregate staff dedicated to economic development from the
Chamber /OAEDC, Chamco and the City is adequate. The total funds earmarked for
economic development, while perhaps not enough, are not insignificant. In fact, many of
those who commit to economic development, including the Chamber, the County, and the
Community Foundation do so generously. However, because these funds are not
sufficiently bundled, because economic development professionals do not coordinate as
part of the same team, and because neither works under a common plan of action, the
efforts of the Oshkosh Area resemble those of communities considerably smaller.
Historically, economic development in the Oshkosh Area was characterized by bold tactics
and broad collaboration to address fleeting opportunities and challenges. The bedrock for
economic development today remains strong and the opportunities for growth and
development are undeniable. However, current actions appear fairly minimal and tactics
undertaken are not necessarily likely to lead to major accomplishment or generate
excitement. In interviews with the Prager Team, Oshkosh Area businesses have
characterized the economic development efforts as having limited value or focus.
Whereas many communities lack the location attributes for economic development success
or the commitment and volunteerism from within, these are among the Oshkosh Area's
greatest strengths. Whereas some have few legitimate economic development partners, the
Oshkosh Area has top notch and wholly engaged higher education, a dedicated Chamber of
Commerce, savvy City Government, committed County support, and scores of other
partners waiting in the wings. Whereas many communities have insufficient economic
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Organizational Analysis and Direction
development staff and scant financial resources, the Oshkosh Area has sizable (albeit
poorly aligned) commitment to both.
The issue is not the absence of the right ingredients, it is the way in which these ingredients
have or have not been assembled, leveraged and deployed. If the Oshkosh Area is to
achieve its full economic development potential, these are the areas that must be addressed.
Doing so requires multiple organizations working in lockstep, with shared commitment,
shared credit and shared accountability.
In some communities, this can be accomplished via a Chamber of Commerce - driven
initiative. In others, a Government- centric approach works best. If a comprehensive
economic development approach is to succeed and be widely embraced in the Oshkosh
Area, it needs to be a departure from any that preceded it. But, with that said, this
departure cannot be so great as to disenfranchise those who have and still commit
themselves to economic development.
In the Oshkosh Area, the optimal model for success is a formal public- private partnership
with widespread commitment and outside the control of any one current organization This
model most effectively marries government influence with business market savvy, and
leverages critical expertise found in organizations throughout the community. This is the
model most commonly created today nationally and the one most appropriate for the
Oshkosh Area.
Achieving this vision and creating a centralized, public - private organization for the
Oshkosh Area, warrants embrace by the many individuals who have always placed
community economic development ahead of control or recognition. Accomplishing this
requires a thoughtful approach to governance via a balanced Board of Directors, staff
alignment with well defined responsibility, optimal executive leadership, working
partnerships and partner agreements, centralized and unencumbered funding, proper
performance measures and accountability, and systematic communication. While
exceedingly impactful, none of this is particularly challenging or complicated.
A fully developed public - private partnership will:
• Allow the community to grow its efforts and accomplish far more
• Take bold steps to attract new investment and help diversify the economy
• Anticipate, uncover and rapidly respond to existing business opportunities /challenges
• Deliver more consistently effective responses to site seeker inquiries
• Follow a unified plan of action and, thus, allow staff and partners to work in lockstep
• Engender complete buy -in from all essential parties
• With proper governance, ensure legitimate transparency and accountability
• Generate additional financial commitment and in -kind support
• Restore enthusiasm throughout the community
The Oshkosh Area should shelve the notion of singular economic development ownership
and control, and embrace legitimate public - private partnership. This structure provides the
greatest opportunity for the Oshkosh Area to reach its full economic development potential.
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Organizational Analysis and Direction
I. PROJECT INTENT AND PERSPECTIVE
A. Overview
The Oshkosh Area has a plethora of location attributes, name recognition, a storied
industrial history, considerable volunteerism in support of economic development, and an
outstanding quality of life. These are attributes many communities would envy and those
upon which a robust economic development effort can be built.
Economic development is deeply imbedded in the history of the Oshkosh Area. For more
than 50 years, community members have worked tirelessly to advance the Area. During
this half century, no organization has been more committed to economic development than
the Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce and the organizations it has spawned — Chamco and
the Oshkosh Area Economic Development Corporation (OAEDC). Whereas many
communities struggle to launch one economic development organization (EDO), for years
the Oshkosh Area has operated with two. In addition to these entities, economic
development is core to the mission of myriad other organizations including the City of
Oshkosh, Oshkosh Area Community Foundation, Oshkosh Convention and Visitors
Bureau, Fox Valley Technical College, University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh, Winnebago
County, Fox Valley Workforce Development Board and others.
To be sure, many throughout the community have committed themselves to economic
development. However, for more than two years the Oshkosh Area has been distracted by
heated debate over its structure and ownership. This debate has centered around Chamco
and OAEDC, two EDOs which have been stalwarts far longer than most of their
counterparts around the nation have been in existence. Although this debate may be
symptomatic of community interest in economic development, these conversations have
become increasingly divisive and stand in the way of the Oshkosh Area moving forward in
any unified fashion.
In economic development, although form is important, it must always follow function. In
its desire to arrive at the optimal form, the Oshkosh Area may have paid short shrift to the
function of economic development; that which it needs to accomplish. Many telling
questions seem to have gone unanswered.
• Has the Area been successful attracting new business and diversifying the economy?
• Are the needs of existing businesses anticipated and being properly addressed?
• Is the operating environment a highly competitive one and well positioned to capture
the next generation of investment opportunities?
• Do the physical characteristics of the operating climate match the needs of the
businesses the community seeks to attract?
• Have stated successes translated into tangible benefits for local residents and
businesses?
• Are economic development financial and other resources being used wisely?
• Are economic development efforts generating excitement and pride within the
community?
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The purpose of this project is to examine the Area's existing structures and efforts
deployed in the name of economic development, and help determine the optimal approach
for maximizing resources, securing commitment, and achieving the community's economic
development goals. This third -party examination is not only healthy but becoming more
and more commonplace throughout the U.S. Initiatives such as this shine a spotlight on
areas in need of improvement without being punitive, and elevate economic development
efforts for the benefit of the community as a whole. Over time, those closest to economic
development in a community can lose clarity and objectivity. For some it becomes difficult
to discern action from outcome, reaction to opportunities from proactive discovery of them,
control from shared ownership, participation from partnership, and efforts about business
from those customized for business.
The Prager Team was retained to perform this work because of its expertise and objectivity
in economic development, keen understanding of corporate investment decision - making,
and first -hand experience enhancing EDOs. Prager Team members have helped scores of
economic development organizations achieve success and have formed highly effective
organizations from the ground up. The Prager Team is led by the founder and past head of
Deloitte Consulting's Economic Development Services with experience aiding more than
100 communities and regions. The Team also includes the nation's foremost expert in
corporate site selection; past Partner -in- Charge of Deloitte Consulting's Corporate Site
Selection Practice and a founding member of the Site Selectors Guild.
The Prager Team enters this project with the firm belief that no single organizational model
is right for every community, and economic development at its finest is a team sport. To
succeed it requires well- orchestrated partnership and ownership by myriad players working
under a common plan of action. Economic development structure is certainly important to
success. However, far more important is the collaborative delivery and sustainability of
services for the attraction, retention, expansion and cultivation of job- generating business
investment. This can be accomplished irrespective of the structure utilized.
The public - private partnership has been the most common economic development model
created in the U.S. over the past few decades. The popularity of this collaborative model
has surged as financial resources have become more and more scarce. But it is by no means
the only effective model. Numerous Chambers of Commerce throughout the U.S.
spearhead highly successful economic development initiatives, especially those serving
large regions. Public sector EDOs housed in City or County Government have also proven
to be quite effective in certain settings. The most appropriate model in a given community
is the one that best harnesses and channels sustainable resources to the greatest
opportunities, responds rapidly and effectively to challenges, builds upon community
uniqueness and stakeholder' commitment, engenders community excitement and produces
legitimate success by virtue of its actions. Arriving at the approach which can accomplish
all this is far more important than who houses or controls it.
This document contains the Prager Team's findings and recommendations for moving
economic development forward in the Oshkosh Area. It provides suggestions for both
form and function. It also recognizes that tomorrow's best economic development efforts
are those built on yesterday's and today's accomplishments and commitments. Thankfully,
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Organizational Analysis and Direction
the Oshkosh Area has many. Consequently, our recommendations do not presuppose a
clean slate, but rather are designed to build upon that which is already in place and
working.
To inform our work, the Prager Team has performed extensive due diligence on the
economic development activities in the Oshkosh Area and the organizations delivering
them. Our insight is based on:
• More than two dozen conversations with public, private and not - for - profit economic
development participants
• Examination of data, and hard copy and electronic documents
• Review of agency self - reported information via their own websites, progress reports
and meeting notes
• Third party information on local organizations, including that from Guidestar and the
Federal Government
Economic development is first and foremost about unleashing the jobs, investment and
multiplier benefits of existing and prospective businesses. In order to gauge the Oshkosh
area's effectiveness in this regard, the Prager Team called upon the perspectives of among
the very organizations the Oshkosh Area seeks to serve — local area employers and national
site selectors. Prager Team members conducted one -on -one interviews with a sampling of
employers in the Oshkosh Area to garner their opinion of the community's economic
development efforts. We also sought the opinion of nationally recognized corporate site
selection professionals outside the State familiar with the Oshkosh Area.
In addition, with the help of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC),
the Prager Team performed a mock site selection drill in order to see the Oshkosh Area's
economic development professionals in action and assess their ability to respond to
opportunities presented. These inputs were supplemented by the Prager Team's first -hand
experience with more than 600 corporate decision- makers and successful EDOs around the
country and overseas.
The Prager Team wishes to thank the many individuals who committed time, effort and
insight to this project. Although their perspectives and experiences differ, their
observations and opinions were exceedingly similar. The input from these contributors is
woven throughout the pages of this document.
B. Rationale, for Improving Economic Development Structure and Processes
It is important to understand the significance of this consulting assignment and why it is
being undertaken now. The Oshkosh Area offers tremendous opportunities for investment
from businesses both outside and within the community. In recent years, some prominent
employers have demonstrated their commitment to the community through major facility
expansion.
Unlike many other locations, the Oshkosh Area possesses an array of building blocks
necessary for forming a lasting, highly effective economic development program. It has
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Organizational Analysis and Direction
legitimate commitment from City and County leadership and a private sector willing to
lend expertise and financial resources. Its higher education and not - for - profit community
already are serving economic development in myriad ways and ready to do more. In the
aggregate, substantial funds flow to economic development from public and private
sources.
The Oshkosh Area has recently taken several laudable steps to improve the economic
development landscape. If properly integrated into a collaborative approach, these
initiatives will pay dividends in the near -term. They include:
• The City of Oshkosh's recent hiring of a full -time economic development specialist and
dedication of a personnel position
• Streamlining of the Chamber's economic development efforts, namely the transition of
OAEDC into the Chamber's Economic Development Division
• The County Industrial Development Board's earmarking of funds for specific
initiatives, such as County -wide branding, as well as proposed increase of per capita
dollars for municipal economic development
• Elevated interest and active involvement on the part of the Oshkosh Common Council
and Oshkosh Mayor to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of the Area's economic
development efforts
• Hiring of a new City Management team which has improved City business regulatory
and permitting processes and its past image as an unfriendly location for investment
• The University's commitments toward hotel and convention center management, and
business start-up support
• Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation's decision to hire an economic
development expert well versed in the Oshkosh Area, and place this individual in the
community
• The Chamber - coordinated, community - supported effort (known as Opportunity
Oshkosh) to target industry investment opportunities for collaborative business
attraction
In addition to the initiatives listed above, emerging efforts to create an aviation business
park, develop a business accelerator center, institute a virtual real estate development
process, among others portend brighter days for the Oshkosh Area. In combination, these
and other attributes and actions speak to the potential of the economic development
community.
But much of this potential has yet to be realized.
Economic development is all about highly targeted, proactive initiatives to attract, retain
and cultivate jobs, investment and the ancillary benefits derived from them. Collaborative
promotion and direct marketing is the cornerstone of business attraction efforts geared
toward "growing the economic pie" for the community. Emphasis is placed on uncovering
and converting a large percentage of business leads into actual business investment. This
involves precise industry targeting that leverages the capabilities of the location. The intent
is to diversify the economic base through new domestic and foreign investment, attract the
next generation of businesses, and infuse the area with added tax revenue and higher
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Organizational Analysis and Direction
paying jobs for the local workforce. The mark of business attraction success is the
opportunities uncovered by the economic development organization and its partners, and
the extent to which direct action leads to the attraction of new business.
Effective business retention and expansion initiatives are built on extensive employer
outreach, leverage of expert service providers, and rapid response to business issues and
opportunities. The intent is to avert business outmigration or downsizing, neutralize
business pirating from competitors and encourage expansion - minded firms to invest locally
rather than outside the area. A well - connected business retention and expansion program
also focuses on entrepreneurial development, enhancing supplier- consumer relations and
facilitating business solutions to business problems. Accomplishment is determined not by
the number of contacts made, but by the extent to which the needs of business are met,
whether satisfaction among those served is high and the extent to which recurring problems
are mitigated over time.
With some notable exceptions, namely in the area of business retention and expansion, the
economic successes of the Oshkosh Area have been muted and not the sorts of things that
spur excitement and a drive for more. Macro economic change and growth of the Area,
while sought after, should not be confused with economic development accomplishment.
The former is mostly influenced by variables beyond the control of any single organization
or partnership, however the latter is by definition the direct result of organizational effort. It
is the latter which define the true success or failure of an economic development program
and, therefore, that which requires most careful examination.
Whereas other communities and competitors have moved to develop comprehensive
economic development programs, the Oshkosh Area has only adjusted economic
development around the edges. For several years, two organizations have existed with the
charge of economic development. Although both are truly committed to moving the
economy forward, neither provides the breadth of service and depth of resource - backed
expertise demanded by a community the size and complexity of the Oshkosh Area. A
number of organizations in the community support economic development, but they
operate in a fragmented fashion and, thus, lack the power of legitimate collaboration. Many
within the community are quick to term the economic development efforts "disjointed"
"passive" and "without focus."
The Oshkosh Area has multiple reasons to succeed, but the current structure and approach
is squandering finite resources and preventing it from achieving true success. The
allocation of economic development dollars and staff to multiple organizations breeds
tremendous inefficiency and duplication. The end result is a community that functions like
those considerably smaller with only a fraction of its resource base.
The Area is a diverse marketplace overflowing with potential. However, efforts to capture
new investment and rapidly address business issues are hamstrung by one major
shortcoming: the Oshkosh Area does not behave like a unified economic development
community. With that said, recent efforts, such as those of the Chamber of Commerce,
should be applauded. The absorption of OAEDC will eliminate some confusion and may
allow for more efficient use of Chamber resources and personnel. Further, the Chamber-
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Organizational Analysis and Direction
initiated effort to uncover target industry opportunities for future investment (via a
collection of public and private contributors) is more forward thinking and proactive than
in many years. Still, these initiatives fail to address the root problems; the absence of
sufficient collaboration and partnered service delivery.
In the Oshkosh Area, infighting may be trumping collaboration. Dispersed funding
prevents economies of scale and squanders limited dollars. Poor staff alignment prohibits
proactive initiatives from taking shape. Superficial efforts fail to sufficiently benefit
business and stakeholders. The absence of long -term planning prevents momentum year
over year. Public bickering discourages investment from the outside and squelches
enthusiasm from within. All this prevents the Oshkosh Area from reaching its full potential.
H. ORGANIZATIONAL ANALYSIS
A. Organizational Diagnostics
The Prager Team examined the operating structure and economic development processes in
the Oshkosh Area. This Organizational Diagnostic follows six tracks that, in combination,
help gauge the Oshkosh Area's process and structural integrity associated with economic
development. The tracks are:
• Commitment
• Focus and Orientation
• Collaboration
• Strategic Direction
• Financial Support
• Accountability and Governance
The Oshkosh Area possesses a plethora of physical and economic attributes which others
would envy. Whereas some communities struggle to get an economic development effort
off the ground, Oshkosh Area has had two in place for decades. However, the tangible
output of these efforts in recent years has been minimal. This is not a function of that which
the Area has to offer but rather how it goes about harnessing these advantages and working
in partnership to move the community forward. If the community is to achieve its full
economic development potential, these are the areas that must be addressed. Doing so
requires multiple organizations working in lockstep, with shared commitment, shared credit
and shared accountability.
The table below highlights some of the results of the organizational diagnostics performed
on the Oshkosh Area. The community excels in its Commitment to economic development
and the willingness of volunteers to dedicate untold time and effort. Focus and Orientation
in the most appropriate areas is somewhat hit or miss. Regarding Collaboration, although
organizations are willing to mobilize for essential initiatives, the level of day -to -day
partnership is in need of improvement. However, ad hoc collaboration on high impact
opportunities appears more appropriate. The Oshkosh Area lacks a unified Strategic
Direction or plan which all organizations can rally behind and work together to
accomplish. Consequently, it has no roadmap and, therefore, no way to prioritize actions,
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Organizational Analysis and Direction
measure progress and adjust over time. Financing and Staffing Support, albeit less than
ideal, is certainly workable if properly aligned. This is particularly the case with dedicated
economic development staff among the various organizations. Lastly, legitimate
Accountability and Governance, that which ensures that economic development runs
smoothly and efficiency toward the right agreed-upon objectives, is inadequate.
ORGANIZATIONAL DIAGNOSTICS SUMMARY
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1. Commitment
The extent to which organizations and individuals are sufficiently dedicated to Oshkosh
Area economic development and apply themselves as needed and appropriate
The Oshkosh Area has an impressive level of economic development volunteerism that is
all too rare in many other communities. Individuals will commit countless hours to
planning, deliberation and brainstorming in the name of economic development. Economic
development is an accepted and clearly stated mission of many organizations in the
Oshkosh Area. This embrace goes well beyond the two EDOs (Chamco and OAEDC)
formed solely for this purpose, and the Chamber who exists in part to advance the
economy. It includes the tangible and highly valued roles of the University, Technical
College, Convention and Visitors Bureau, Community Foundation, County Government,
City Government and others. Support for economic development in the community
(defined as the deliberate advancement of the local economy) is virtually universal.
Prager Team Page 11
Organizational Analysis and Direction
While conversations tend to revolve around the financial commitment of one organization
or another, the truth is that many contribute financially to economic development. This
includes the Chamber of Commerce and City Government. It also includes County
Government whose funds support a number of notable efforts in the Oshkosh Area, local
businesses whose Chamber member dues help to underwrite economic development, the
Community Foundation that supports worthy projects and initiatives, and others.
Although recent attention has been dedicated to the two principle economic development
organizations, among the greatest economic development value may, in fact, be generated
elsewhere, namely from the Area's educational institutions. The customized training
initiatives of Fox Valley Technical College and its commitment to flexibility and
responsiveness have been the backbone of area business expansion. The Technical College
is roundly praised as a shining star in the Oshkosh Area economic development landscape.
Similarly, the University of Wisconsin - Oshkosh delivers economic development value in
ways that far exceed its counterparts elsewhere. The practical application of knowledge at
the University -- ranging from its bio gas testing, Business Success Center, hotel
management and redevelopment, and internship initiatives -- is a higher education model
for economic development activism. The University is an under - appreciated champion of
economic development in the Oshkosh Area.
Many organizations perform services which help to advance economic development. The
table below lists a number of these efforts. Those mentioned provide varying levels of
direct and indirect (i.e. networking and service brokerage) assistance. As stated, these
initiatives would be far more impactful if properly aligned and delivered collaboratively
under one strategic plan of action for the Oshkosh Area.
Local
Economic Developineiit Valtie-Added
Organization
Direct Service
City of Oshkosh
Property Development
TIF, IRB and Other Project Financing
Business Regulatory and Permitting Guidance and Hand - Holding
Business Process Streamlining
Support to Prospective Investors
Existing Business Outreach
Winnebago County
Per Capita Economic Development Municipal Funding
Discretionary Funding (Branding, etc.)
CDBG and Economic Development Revolving Loan Funds
Infrastructure and Real Estate Support
Oshkosh Chamber of
Business Climate Advocacy
Commerce
Partners in Education Committee Facilitation
Human Resources Council Facilitation
Leadership Oshkosh
Community Branding (pending)
OAEDC /Chamber E.D.
Management of Existing Business Outreach (Executive Pulse)
Division
Demographic and Economic Data Gathering and Maintenance
Property Database Management
Universal Business Park Management/Support
ORIGIN Facilitation
Revolving Loan Fund Management
Prager Team Page 12
Organizational Analysis and Direction
Local
Economic Developineiit Value-Added
Finance and Tax Credit Administrative Support
Leadership in WEDA, Workforce Board, New Rep, and others
Chamco
Community and Economic Data Gathering and Maintenance
Industrial Parks Management/Support
Aviation Business Park (in discussion)
Existing Business Outreach and Direct Assistance
Finance and Tax Credit Administrative Support
Angels on the Water Venture Funding (in formation)
Deal Analysis, Structuring and Transaction Assistance
Foreign Trade Zone Management
Business Project Advocacy and Hand - Holding
Turn -Key Build-to-Suit Facilitation
Speculative Development Assistance
Virtual Development Mechanism (in formation)
Oshkosh Convention
Community Branding
and Visitors Bureau
Advertising and Destination Marketing
Event Scheduling and Management
Quality of Life Information Management
Community Image Surveying
Frontline Ambassador Training and Development (in process)
Fox Valley Technical
Customized, Industry- Specific Training for Employers
College
Manufacturing Assessment /Continuous Improvement
Work -Based Learning for Students
Workforce -Based Employer Advisory
Workforce Pipeline Development with School District
Workforce Data Support
Fox Valley Workforce
Small Business Workforce Assistance
Development Board
Employee Recruitment and Prescreening Support
Labor Market Information Gathering and Maintenance
Work Readiness (Work Keys) Assistance
University of
Business Success Center (Direct Business Assistance)
Wisconsin-
Family Business Advisory Services
Oshkosh /University
Industry- Specific Start-Up Support (such as with AeroInnovate)
Foundation/SBDC
Student Internships for Local Businesses
Faculty /Student Innovation Support
Business Innovation Demonstration Projects
Partnered Business Accelerator Program (in development)
Property (Hotel and Convention Center) Management
Wisconsin Public
Building and Power Cost Estimates
Service
Business Procurement Seminar Facilitation
The business community — the very stakeholders the economic development professionals
seek to serve — are insufficiently engaged in the economic development process. Interviews
with business leaders reveal a deep commitment to advancing the Oshkosh Area economy
but declining faith in those charged with economic development. A cadre of business
leaders remain active in the economic development process, but countless others are
disengaged, in part, because they fail to see the benefits to their businesses, industries or
the economy. Shallow business involvement prevents services, tactics and messages from
being sufficiently honed and deployed.
Prager Team Page 13
Organizational Analysis and Direction
2. Focus and Orientation
The extent to which those charged with economic development are channeling their efforts
appropriately to the intended audience
The drawn out, well publicized debate surrounding control and ownership of economic
development has shifted attention away from that which matters most — customizing
services and deploying tactics that grow and diversify the economy. Emphasis remains on
form over function.
Economic development in the Oshkosh Area is a dichotomy of sorts. On one hand the
community is exceedingly creative and willing to take risks to further job creation and
attract new investment. On the other hand, it falls short on fundamental initiatives: the
"blocking and tackling" of economic development.
The community has a long history of building speculative structures, guaranteeing loans
and addressing gaps that would otherwise prevent business investment from occurring. It
creates footloose entrepreneurial development networks, assembles angel funders, and is
devising a virtual property development mechanism. It is advancing industry- specific
initiatives (such as AeroInnovate and a proposed aerospace - oriented business park). The
City enters into land management arrangements with economic development organizations
and structures compensation on a commission structure. The University pilots new
technologies, takes on property development and management responsibilities, and fosters
relationships with entities in other countries. These initiatives are highly commendable and,
in combination, extremely rare. However, on the other end of the spectrum, fundamental
research, lead identification, project tracking, coordination, resource sharing and
communication are all lacking.
Inefficiency exists as the Area's two EDOs (Chamco and OAEDC) divide responsibilities
loosely along sector lines, namely industrial and commercial, respectively. This division of
responsibility seems to be an archaic holdover from Chamco's days as a real estate - oriented
industrial developer and OAEDC's Chamber - influenced commercial and retail orientation.
The division of sector responsibility between Chamco and OAEDC (now the Chamber's
Economic Development Division) fails to recognize today's market realities which stress
service line integration and the blurring of these traditional lines. It also presents challenges
when pursuing and supporting: headquarters operations; back office arrangements;
transportation, distribution and logistics (TDL); emerging technology businesses; and the
many others that cannot be neatly categorized as industrial or commercial. Further, this
alignment makes target marketing quite challenging, confuses outside entities, eliminates
the possibility of economies of scale, and hampers pursuit of the many opportunities which
do not fit neatly in any historic category.
While myriad other EDOs are gravitating toward multi jurisdictional (i.e. regional) efforts,
the Oshkosh Area's initiatives are still overwhelmingly geared toward the City of Oshkosh.
Nearby municipalities in southern Winnebago County, which would otherwise reap the
many direct business development benefits of a unified service delivery territory, are left to
their own devices to seek economic development assistance or cultivate it from within.
Prager Team Page 14
QManizational Analysis and Direction
Winnebago County's philosophy toward providing economic development dollars to each
individual municipality, albeit quite generous, perpetuates this condition.
Although some may claim the Chamber is over - asserting itself into economic development,
there is actually a need for even greater Chamber leadership and involvement in certain
areas. Following the lead of other high performing Chambers, this includes, but is not
limited to:
• Facilitating roundtable discussions with business leaders to solve vexing problems
• Establishing B -to -B mentoring arrangements and peer -to -peer networks beyond the
Chamber's Human Resources Council
• Cultivating business executives as Ambassadors to help market the community (not just
the Chamber)
• Devising (perhaps with the University) an Economic Dashboard to track and publicize
community progress
Effective EDOs nationally have a clearly defined geographic territory and serve all
appropriate businesses within. Whereas both Chamco and OAEDC reference the Oshkosh
Area, the definition of the actual territory served remains unclear. The real or perceived
business attraction orientation appears skewed more toward properties these entities are
charged with promoting or their member base (as in the case of the Chamber - affiliated
OAEDC). They will support other needs within the City, but far less so in outlying
communities except with revolving loan funds.
As has been stated, communities which would otherwise be considered part of an Oshkosh
Area are not afforded the same level of service or commitment from the economic
development providers. Embracing and serving a defined territory larger than the City of
Oshkosh would make for more effective marketing (as business needs do not stop at
political boundaries) and may prevent encroachment from other regional organizations that
may be inclined to grow their own service territory.
3. Collaboration
The extent to which the various economic development professionals and partners work
together toward a common goal
With some exception, the Oshkosh Area economic development community is considered
to be at its best when pressured to respond to time - sensitive challenges or opportunities.
Based on the Prager Team's conversations with certain stakeholders, territorial preferences
and infighting are mostly set aside when an urgent economic development matter presents
itself. At these times, appropriate parties mobilize quickly and the community bands
together to address the issue with dispatch and common purpose. This dynamic of
collaboration in the heat of the moment has, however, been eroding as relationships
between the various players have soured. Still, it is assumed that when need or opportunity
is at its peak, the various players will look past their current differences.
Prager Team Page 15
Organizational Analysis and Direction
The Area is least effective when thoughtful strategy, preparation and delegation of
responsibility is required. This defines the majority of the economic development lifecycle.
Times of pressure - packed, time - sensitive response are actually quite rare.
The Oshkosh Area has too many economic development intermediaries and brokers of the
services of others. The shorter and straighter the line between the businesses in need and
those providing services to them, the faster the response, the more effective the controls,
and the more efficient the use of scarce resources. Economic development providers are at
their best when they are delivering services directly rather than brokered through
intermediaries.
Although the community is wholly committed to critical aspects of economic development,
its organizational disconnect has led to poor alignment and coordination in areas that
should otherwise be neatly and inexorably aligned. Case in point is Entrepreneurial
Development which includes the Chamber /OAEDC- facilitated ORIGIN virtual network of
service providers, the Chamco- facilitated Angels on the Water venture fund, Technical
College venture assistance efforts, AeroInnovate and others.
Similarly, an inordinate amount of Oshkosh Area economic development effort is in the
creation, staffing and attendance of networks. This includes, but is not limited to those for
entrepreneurial support, venture capital, education and workforce development and target
market discovery. Collaboration with tangible near -term output is essential, but excessive
network development and deliberation can become tedious.
Economic development strategic planning in the Oshkosh Area is performed at the
organization level absent an eye toward collaboration or efficient resource utilization. The
end result is strategies which are not part of a cohesive plan, dueling or overlapping
activities and networks, squandered personnel and financial resources, and limited means to
gauge true effectiveness.
Many organizations and individuals connect to economic development in the community,
but a few in particular appear conspicuous in their absence. For instance, elsewhere, the
private sector real estate community provides ongoing opportunity intelligence and direct
marketing support. Here, perhaps because of the City's property marketing arrangements
with Chamco and OAEDC, the real estate community is peripheral to economic
development at best.
4. Strategic Direction
The extent to which those charged with economic development are channeling their efforts
toward the areas with greatest potential return on investment
The absence of a unified strategic plan for Oshkosh Area economic development means
that many actions are performed in isolation, rather than working sequentially toward an
ultimate outcome. Uncovering existing business needs is of limited value if customized
solutions are not put in place to address them. Developing marketing messages and
materials are not effective unless designed to address specific investor preferences and
Prager Team Page 16
Organizational Analysis and Direction
differentiate the community. Financial programs work best when properly bundled and
delivered collectively, not managed independently.
After years without such a plan of action, the community may be closer to doing something
about it. The identification of target investment opportunities under Opportunity Oshkosh
is intended as the precursor to a more focused promotional effort via the loosely affiliated
Marketing Group. If developed to its fullest, this initiative will get the community part of
the way to a more collaborative economic development arrangement. But it will first need
to overcome many organizational, process, accountability and resource deployment
problems that stand in the way.
The backbone of any effective economic development effort is research. Quantifying
competitive advantages, tracking industry and company trends, making available site
selection decision data, monitoring program effectiveness all lead to results- oriented
strategies. Although some information is gathered and maintained, the research efforts of
the Oshkosh Area EDOs are lean compared to the norm and that which is necessary to be
effective. With that said, there is considerable potential to improve this arrangement and
build upon the data sources that have already been assembled or procured.
The greatest economic development emphasis in the Oshkosh Area is on the retention and
expansion of existing local businesses (BR&E). Existing business growth is, in fact, the
backbone of most economic development and this emphasis should be commended.
However, the actions of the Oshkosh Area are neither systematic nor comprehensive. The
community provides effective services in the areas of tax credit, financing/loan
procurement, and real estate development support. It also performs business outreach and
visitation efforts with regularity. However, many highly beneficial services provided to
business in other communities are either not provided here or done so superficially. BR &E
accomplishment appears gauged more by the number of businesses visited rather than 1)
the effectiveness and speed by which problems are solved, 2) the level of business
satisfaction, or 3) the inception of solutions that lessen problems from occurring in the
future. Further, the Oshkosh Area economy is heavily reliant on a handful of very large
corporations. Forward thinking business retention & expansion efforts should actively seek
ways to lessen this reliance and plan for the possibility that these dynamics may change
over time. This game planning does not appear to be a part of the economic development
process in the Oshkosh Area.
Targeted, proactive business attraction efforts are rare in the Oshkosh Area. Whereas many
communities systematically target and pursue outside investment, to date, the Oshkosh
Area has been overwhelmingly reactive and presently relies upon the State for a majority of
investment leads. Those charged with economic development in the community are well
aware of this shortcoming. The target cluster study currently underway and pending direct
marketing is an attempt to fill this void.
Unlike many locations, Oshkosh has national name recognition and as a host to major
events, is a known commodity. If it wishes to fully capitalize, it must erase yesterday's
image as a challenging place to do business and work to building its self -image internally
(i.e. that from its own residents).
Prager Team Page 17
Organizational Analysis and Direction
Whereas the community is deficient in direct service delivery, it shines in preparation and
development of its location in support of business development, often termed "Location
Capacity Building." Its efforts and plans related to transportation/airport and infrastructure
development, workforce development, property development and other enhancements to
the operating environment all show a keen appreciation for the importance of a
competitive, marketable business environment. Dialog surrounding the creation of an
aviation-related business park, a virtual property development initiative and other physical
enhancements are testament to the Area's commitment to elevate the competitiveness of its
operating climate.
The chart below shows the general continuum of Basic, Moderate and Advanced activities
of high performing EDOs nationally. Bolded and italicized are the sorts of activities
undertaken in the Oshkosh Area. With some exception, the activities of the Oshkosh Area
tend to be more of the Basic variety rather than Moderate or Advanced. They are
comprised of many actions designed to improve the operating climate, and others oriented
toward existing business and entrepreneurial development. Those associated with business
attraction as well as research and information development are quite limited. Note that the
performance of an activity as shown below is not an indication of its quality or value to the
intended audience.
Continuum of Tactics of High Performing Economic Development Organizations
(Oshkosh Area Tactics in Bold and Italics)
Basic Moderate Advanced
-Site Selection Database -Target Industry Intelligence -Competitor Cost Modeling
-Property Database -Competitor Intelligence -Real-time Property Inventory
Research and -Gen.Brochures/Materials -Target Industry Messaging -Business Decision Tracking
Information Gen Economy Tracking -New Investment Reporting -Performance Measurement
-De\clopment _Incentive Clearinghouse -Interactive/Responsive Web (Output&Outcome)
-Static Website -Electronic Project Mgmt.
-Periodic Bus. Outreach -Systematic Bus.Visits/Survey-B-to-B Mentoring
-Bus.Referrals/Brokerage -Red Flag Identification -Creative Real Estate Finance
Business Business Advocacy -Business-Gov't Roundtables -Contract Procurement Aid
Retention. -Ad Hoc Mobilization -Rapid Response Team -Bus. Satisfaction/Measures
Expansion & -Small Bus. Center Service -Trade and JV Assistance -Entrepreneur Nurturing
Entrepren. -Permit/Regulatory Guidance-Angel/Seed Financing
-Direct Financing Assistance -Business Accelerator
-Business Incubator
-Non-Specific Promotion -Target Industry Messaging -Electronic Lead Discovery
-Response to Inquiries -Unique Value Messaging -E-Marketing
Business -Mayoral Marketing -Industry Trade Shows -Marketing/Bus. Ambassadors
Attraction -Ambassador -Local Event Hosting/Tours -Customized Outreach
-Basic Trade Shows -Marketing Missions -Alumni Target Marketing
-Site Selector Outreach -Bus.Pursuit Media -International Development
-Basic Fin.,Job Training - Workforce Solutions -Cost-Benefit Analyses
Location -Incentive Procure.Aid -Incentive Development -Economic Impact Analysis
-Property Enhancement -Shovel-Ready Site Develop.
Capacity -Elected Official Workshops - Virtual Property Preparation
Building -Routine Grant/Fund Procure.
-Impact Fund Development
Prager Team Page 18
Organizational Analysis and Direction
5. Financial and Staffing Support
The extent to which dollars and staffing are appropriate, and funds are accessible and
properly leveraged from private, philanthropic and government sources
The collective funds available for economic development in the Oshkosh Area are not
insignificant, however, they may not be enough. OAEDC (via the Chamber), Chamco
(largely via the City /County per capita funds), other City economic development funds,
County financial contributions, project - specific Community Foundation dollars, and others
all exist to support economic development. However, much of these funds are controlled by
organizations with their own individual stipulations and restrictions. Because they cannot
be bundled and applied efficiently to one agreed upon plan of action, the community's
economic development financial resources are used with far less efficiency and
effectiveness. This is contrary to how high performing organizations pool their general
operating financial resources.
Appropriate economic development planning often works on a three -year time horizon.
This allows for all- important momentum to be established (i.e. for efforts in the earlier
years to bear fruit in subsequent ones). By contrast, funds in the Oshkosh Area are
allocated annually and always subject to change. This makes long range, or even midrange,
planning quite challenging.
Some of the tools used to fund economic development, albeit creative, are not reliable
sources of revenue. The City of Oshkosh supports OAEDC and Chamco in part via
commission on sales of property within its business parks. This is a creative performance-
based incentive. However, in practice, these funds are far from reliable and fail to take into
account economic fluctuation. They also may be inflicting collateral damage by
discouraging participation in the economic development process by the real estate
community.
County resources are a valuable supplement to economic development budgets. This
includes both those dollars passed through to the economic development organizations by
the municipalities, as well as those provided directly in a fee - for - service arrangement (such
as revolving loan management). However, these are also unreliable and restricted as
municipalities can use these funds as they see fit, and some must go to underwrite specific
tasks, rather than be used more flexibly as general operating dollars.
The community is not lacking in direct economic development staff. Roughly five
professionals from Chamco, OAEDC (now a Chamber division) and the City dedicate
themselves mostly full -time to the practice of economic development. Independently, the
staff of these organizations lack that which is needed to perform at a comprehensive level.
However, collectively they possess many of the skills and experiences that are essential.
When combined with the other organizations that commit themselves part-time to
economic development, the community has a sizable number of FTEs for moving
economic development forward.
Prager Team Page 19
Organizational Analysis and Direction
Oshkosh Area business, not - for - profit and government leaders are more than willing to
commit their time to economic development. Their involvement is often limited to meeting
attendance and occasional brainstorming. Going further by tapping their specific expertise,
market knowledge and connections in the form of in -kind assistance would greatly expand
the capacity of the economic development community to deliver valuable services.
6. Accountability and Governance
Whether the right measures, controls and structures are in place to ensure appropriate use
of resources and accountability of those involved
Effective economic development requires a pyramidal structure with one central
organization and partners who provide defined services under the direction of the lead
entity. This allows for functions to be delegated among staff and allies, yet managed in a
centralized fashion. The absence of such a structure in the Oshkosh Area means that
different organizations are going their separate ways without the guidelines necessary to
ensure proper collaboration or elimination of duplication.
The absence of this central, single point of contact for existing businesses and prospective
investors also breeds confusion. It is unknown whether this has led to lost investment for
the Oshkosh Area. However, it is a stated source of frustration among the very businesses
these organizations are seeking to serve and a caution flag for prospective investors who
seek a well- organized, nurturing environment in which to operate.
The Oshkosh Area includes several Boards focused on economic development, including
those for Chamco, the Chamber of Commerce, OAEDC (now part of the Chamber) and the
Convention and Visitors Bureau. The City appears to sit on three of these boards, and the
County, Chamber, Chamco, OAEDC and the University each appear to sit on three to four.
This is a cumbersome arrangement.
The Boards of the respective economic development entities in the Oshkosh Area function
more as advisory bodies to executive staff rather than having more typical board controls.
Typical controls include providing governance, policy direction, evaluation of staff and
organization performance, to name a few. Additionally, Board meetings are more oriented
toward staff updates than careful Board -level deliberation and vetting. In addition, there is
an absence at the Board level of function- specific committees which would help to guide
certain processes, evaluate performance and support core functions. Valuable committees
that seem to be lacking include those for Finance, Personnel and Marketing.
Legitimate performance measures -- those designed to ensure accountability — are also
inadequate among the Oshkosh Area's EDOs. Performance measures should be an
important part of economic development accountability, but they do not seem to be in the
Oshkosh Area. These include measures associated with Output (i.e. whether the
organization is performing functions appropriately and according to a plan) and Outcome
(i.e. whether these strategies in whole or in part are achieving their intended results).
Appropriate outcome measures tend to focus on things within the control of the
organization (such as whether the expressed needs of a business have been met) rather than
Prager Team Page 20
Organizational Analysis and Direction
broadly characterized measures associated with community economic or employment
change. To the extent they exist in the Oshkosh Area, performance measures placed on the
EDOs are sketchy and do not sufficiently focus on that which these organizations have
control or influence over.
B. Oshkosh Area Employer Comments
As part of its due diligence, the Prager Team sought input from Oshkosh Area employers
with regard to the economic development efforts. Each of the companies with whom the
Prager Team met was familiar with the community's economic development efforts. The
comments that follow concerning economic development were provided by employers
interviewed by the Prager Team.
General Employer Critique
"There is no single focus, no go -to group."
"They seem to be totally separate groups that don't work together, with different agendas."
"Too much squabbling."
"It seems the City and Chamco collaborate."
" Chamco has been very helpful."
"Oshkosh has always been a tough place for business, but it has been getting better."
"The City used to be a major roadblock and big bureaucracy. That has thankfully changed."
"Fox Valley Tech has advanced the ball with their great focus on training needs."
"The economic development organizations are sitting on a goldmine. UW Oshkosh has a
fantastic computer science program and business school. Fox Valley has excellent
programming. But they are not taking advantage of these assets. They are sitting on gold
but insist on mining copper."
"Overall, economic development seems disjointed and duplicative."
"I think it's a leadership issue; they don't have focus. They don't want outside influence.
They are comfortable with the way things are and that's dangerous."
"Overall, I don't see much value in the economic development efforts."
"Right now there is no there there when it comes to economic development."
General Employer Suggestions
"What they need is a one -stop stop; an economic development czar."
"We need more leadership from those in economic development. They need to be educated
on business needs and realities."
"Those in economic development here need to get ahead of the issues facing business, not
just react to problems."
"We should have a public - private effort. Not just the City and not just private."
Prager Team Page 21
Organizational Analysis and Direction
"They need to be more visible, easier for the public to understand, especially what they are
doing and why. They need to be accountable."
"We need more touches from them. They need to come out here and understand what we
do and what we need. How can they offer assistance if they don't know what we need?
The Technical College does it, why not the City or Economic Development?
"The City plays small ball only. They need a grander vision for Oshkosh."
"Oshkosh has too many eggs in one basket. They are too focused on a few manufacturing
players. It is good to have these backbone players, but we need a broader base."
"They need to centralize their efforts."
C. Economic Development in Action
1. Mock Site Selection RFI Response
EDOs are often best examined when in the act of service delivery. To see the Oshkosh
Area in action, the Prager Team with support from the Wisconsin Economic Development
Corporation (WEDC) performed a mock site selection Request for Information (RFI). This
was designed to see first -hand the community's response to a time - sensitive business
attraction opportunity. The fact that this was a mock exercise was concealed by the Prager
Team and WEDC so that a true response could be examined.
For the mock drill, the Prager Team created a profile of a representative company seeking a
new location using specifications and criteria from previous Prager Team site selection
clients. After developing the company profile, the Prager Team drafted an RFI seeking
community and property - specific information essential for investment decision - making.
RFIs are generally a community's best opportunity to attract outside investment in that the
location has already been short- listed by the site consultant or company decision - maker.
Consequently, this is when communities tend to put their best foot forward to match their
attributes with the expressed needs of the company.
RFI inquiries are often made to the State before reaching the community. The Prager Team
elicited the support of WEDC to submit the RFI to the Oshkosh Area. Per normal
procedure, WEDC sent the RFI to both Chamco and OAEDC. Chamco and OAEDC have
different industry sector orientations; industrial for the former and commercial for the
latter. However, many prospective investment opportunities either do not fall neatly in
either category or straddle both. To test this relationship and response, the Prager Team
selected Back Office /Shared Services, a rapidly growing operation not easily categorized.
Chamco and OAEDC jointly decided that the latter was a more appropriate respondent. As
is not unusual, the community was given one week to reply with all appropriate
information, plus a few extra days to gather and send supporting data and exhibits. The
mock company profile is provided below.
Prager Team Page 22
Organizational Analysis and Direction
To follow is an assessment of the OAEDC mock site selection RFI response. It has been
evaluated to gauge quality, responsiveness, depth of knowledge and appropriateness of
response. It is graded against a backdrop of high performing EDOs elsewhere rather than
compared one to the other.
Back Office/Sliared Services Center
Resolve
(Code Name: Project Resolve)
Projected
• Initially 125 employees with longer -term growth to 250 or more
Headcount
. Occupations: management, finance, accounts receivables /payable, human
Comments
resources, customer service and general administrative
Required Space
• Initially require 25,000 square feet with growth expectations to 40,000
square feet or more
Facility
• Within 45 minutes of commercial air service; preferably within 1.5 hours
Location
of a hub airport with domestic and international flights
• Adjacent to a primary highway (Interstate, four -lane limited access)
community promotion
• Proximate to hotels, restaurants and other amenities
C+
• Proximate to professional services (i.e., HR, legal, banking, accounting
Information
and consulting)
Other Facility
• Class A or B
Requirements
. Campus - setting preferred
Downsizing
• Multi- tenant, multi -floor facility acceptable for initial requirement,
though less preferable as a long -term solution
• Greenfield sites acceptable, but less preferable for initial, near term
operations. Greenfield build- to- suit/lease -back arrangements in campus
setting accepted as a long -term solution
• Approximately five acre site
• Excellent transportation system access
• Fiber optic and high - quality electric power service
• All other utility services provided to the building or site
Other Details
• High quality professional office setting conducive to attracting
professionals
• Ability to serve as a client showcase site
• Highway visibility preferable, albeit not required
• Outside flood plains and designated wetlands
• Flat to slightly rolling topography if Greenfield sites
• Able to accommodate future expansion potential
• Capable of seven -day /week, 24 -hour operation
To follow is an assessment of the OAEDC mock site selection RFI response. It has been
evaluated to gauge quality, responsiveness, depth of knowledge and appropriateness of
response. It is graded against a backdrop of high performing EDOs elsewhere rather than
compared one to the other.
Prager Team Page 23
Project
Resolve
"Examination Factor `
Grade
Comments
Timeliness
B-
On deadline, however, absent sufficient time for
State input, supplement and enhancement
General Format & Presentation
D-
Lacking cover letter, summary of attributes or any
community promotion
Employer
C+
Good list, albeit absent details
Information
Information on Expansions,
D
Incomplete and minimal
Downsizing
Prager Team Page 23
Organizational Analysis and Direction
The results of the Prager Team's mock site selection drill show an inadequate response to
an investment opportunity presented to the community. Had this been a real, competitive
project, the Oshkosh Area would have struggled to advance in the face of what are
typically more comprehensive and customized responses by communities desirous of new
jobs and investment.
2. Previous Manufacturing Site Selection RH Response
In addition to reviewing the results of the mock site selection drill, the Prager Team also
reviewed a confidential manufacturing project response that had been submitted by the
Oshkosh Area to WEDC shortly before our mock RFI was submitted. WEDC withheld
confidential client and project description information from the Prager Team, and not all
other potentially submitted materials were submitted for review (such as educational
institution and quality of life information); however, all pertinent aspects of the RFI
response could be examined. The depth of inquiry and required level of effort were similar,
although the manufacturing project required more detail on utilities and other supporting
infrastructure.
The response to this manufacturing opportunity, as opposed to the Prager Team's mock
drill, was provided by Chamco. Following is an assessment of the Chamco response to the
manufacturing RFI. It has been evaluated to gauge quality, responsiveness, depth of
knowledge, and appropriateness of response. It, as with the OAEDC response, is graded
using the Prager Team's more than 25 years of experience reviewing RFI responses from
economic development organizations throughout the U.S. As with the previous review, it is
graded against a backdrop of high performing EDOs elsewhere, rather than compared one
to the other.
Prager Team Page 24
Project
Resoh,e
Respondent:
Salary & Benefits Information
C+
Very broad and generic with insufficient relevance
to the project
Advanced Education
D+
Graduate data, absent information on higher
Information
education, programs and accomplishments
Air Service Information
C
Travel distance, but nothing on connection cities,
travel times or other essential data
General Incentive Information
B-
Basic information with minimal description/no detail
Utility Incentives Information
D+
No incentives, just basic marketing message and
offer for non - incentives support
Building & Site Submissions
C+
Sufficient detail with some photos. But inconsistent
with minimal thought to project
Property Tax Information
B+
Included calculation and estimated bill. Absent other
rate detail
Contact/Organization
D-
Contact name /phone number only. No email,
Information
website, organization information or other contacts
Final Grade
C-
Incomplete. Nonresponsive. Uninspiring
The results of the Prager Team's mock site selection drill show an inadequate response to
an investment opportunity presented to the community. Had this been a real, competitive
project, the Oshkosh Area would have struggled to advance in the face of what are
typically more comprehensive and customized responses by communities desirous of new
jobs and investment.
2. Previous Manufacturing Site Selection RH Response
In addition to reviewing the results of the mock site selection drill, the Prager Team also
reviewed a confidential manufacturing project response that had been submitted by the
Oshkosh Area to WEDC shortly before our mock RFI was submitted. WEDC withheld
confidential client and project description information from the Prager Team, and not all
other potentially submitted materials were submitted for review (such as educational
institution and quality of life information); however, all pertinent aspects of the RFI
response could be examined. The depth of inquiry and required level of effort were similar,
although the manufacturing project required more detail on utilities and other supporting
infrastructure.
The response to this manufacturing opportunity, as opposed to the Prager Team's mock
drill, was provided by Chamco. Following is an assessment of the Chamco response to the
manufacturing RFI. It has been evaluated to gauge quality, responsiveness, depth of
knowledge, and appropriateness of response. It, as with the OAEDC response, is graded
using the Prager Team's more than 25 years of experience reviewing RFI responses from
economic development organizations throughout the U.S. As with the previous review, it is
graded against a backdrop of high performing EDOs elsewhere, rather than compared one
to the other.
Prager Team Page 24
Organizational Analysis and Direction
Confidential
Manufacturing Project
Respondent:
Examination Factor
Grade Comments
Timeliness
A Materials received in time according to that
reported
General Format &
B Very detailed and organized, albeit but not all
Presentation
supporting materials were provided to the Prager
Team
Employer
B List of top 25 manufacturers and their products
Information
with unionization status, but employment size in a
range only
Information on Expansions
C 16 expansions from past two years listed, but only
and Downsizing
square feet and not employment. Downsizings not
included
Salary & Benefits
B+ Comprehensive and detailed wage and occupation
Information
spreadsheet from WI Workforce Development,
though relevant positions not highlighted
Advanced Education
C Enrollment listed for all area higher education
Information
institutions, but other detail on the institutions was
not shared for Prager Team review
Incentives Information
B Good, relatively detailed summary of incentives at
local and State level. Utility letter discusses rates
but not possible incentives, though credits based
on load discussed in utility service section
Building & Site Submissions
A Very good detail on three separate qualifying
sites, including maps, topos, aerials, and details on
supporting infrastructure
Utility Infrastructure
A Detailed utility capacity for each site by utility,
Supporting Site
including maps. Good description of typical
power, water and sewer rates
Permitting, Zoning and Fees
B+ Good zoning documentation and descriptions.
Acceptable information on permits and various
connection fees with contacts provided and
referral to other sites for detail
Property Tax
B+ Good detail on all taxes and rates, though
Information
calculation not provided
Contact/Organization
B Contacts for each section and subject, but some
Information
were only phone numbers (no email)
Other Supplemental Material
A Good general map of Oshkosh showing all sites
submitted, highways, institutions, etc. Very
detailed study provided on natural disaster threat,
particularly tornadoes. Zoning descriptions
p rovided, also flood plain maps and wetlands info
Final Grade
B+ Well documented and detailed. Professional RFI
presentation
By virtue of these two projects, the Prager Team was given the opportunity to examine the
two area economic development organizations in action for two different types of
operations. The results of the mock site selection drill and our review of a manufacturing
RFI submitted at nearly the same time by a different company, show an economic
Prager Team Page 25
Organizational Analysis and Direction
development community with significantly different response methods and abilities. While
one of the responses was professional and detailed, efforts overall are not consistently
showcasing the economic development and investment strengths of the Oshkosh Area and
do not appear to be leveraging one another's abilities and strengths.
• The back - office /shared services RFI response displays an organization that appears to
be insufficiently schooled in the art and science of responding to a live and meaningful
investment and job- creating opportunity. This is troublesome given that receiving an
RFI conveys that a location has been short- listed for more careful examination,
meaning the community /organization has a good chance at success. In additional to a
minimal response to the information requested, the organization did not take advantage
of the opportunity to showcase the Oshkosh Area's many location and quality of life
attributes. Had this been a real project, the quality of the submission may actually have
lessoned the Oshkosh Area's chances to attract the investment.
• The manufacturing RFI response was significantly better. Site and utility data were
detailed and well documented. Clear maps and photographs were provided as well as
contacts for the various types of information submitted. The Prager Team did not see
expected quality of life, educational institution or airport or rail information, but the
company may not have required this data or it may have been sent under separate
cover. Based on the Prager Team's review, it is expected that this response will give the
recipient confidence in the economic development team's capabilities and perhaps in
the location as well.
M. RECOMMENDED OPERATING CHARACTERISTICS
A. Overview
Several economic development organizational models exist in the U.S., most notably 1)
those housed within a Chamber of Commerce, 2) those that are strictly operated by the
private sector but not part of a Chamber, 3) those performed by municipal or county
government, and 4) those that are public - private partnerships. Far more important than the
organizational structure is how those committed to economic development conduct
themselves, collaborate, function proactively, properly utilize expertise within the
community, and leverage scarce financial resources.
A plethora of leaders in the Oshkosh Area embrace collaborative economic development,
but few are willing to fully entrust any existing organization with such a lofty task. If a
comprehensive economic development approach is to succeed and be widely embraced in
the Oshkosh Area, it needs to be a departure from any that preceded it. But, with that said,
this departure cannot be so great as to disenfranchise those who have and still commit
themselves to economic development.
The best and most equitable way to accomplish this is through one centralized organization
which marries government influence with business market savvy. This organization must
have shared control, transparency and full accountability thereby encouraging participation
and financial commitment from government, business and the not - for -profit sector.
Prager Team Page 26
Organizational Analysis and Direction
For more than two years, Chamco, OAEDC, the Chamber of Commerce and others have
deliberated the optimal economic development structure for the Oshkosh Area. The dialog
was recently on the right track before it stalled. It spoke of collaboration and coordination,
economic development speaking as one voice and a united front, action under a common
strategic plan, emphasis on major issues and areas of greatest impact, and the desire to
dream the "big idea."
The Oshkosh Area has too much to offer and too much at stake to not structure and perform
economic development properly and to its fullest. To follow are the Prager Team's
recommendations for accomplishing this. These recommendations are divided as follows:
• Partnered Action
• Performance Evaluation
• Governance and Committees
• Accountability Measures
• Staffing
• Alliances
• Financial Dedication
• Communication
A. Partnered Action
The Prager Team was not retained to develop a turnkey strategic plan for the Oshkosh
Area. However, it is difficult to talk about the structural changes that need to be made
without first discussing the sorts of activities the organization and its partners should
implement. Provided below is a composite of many of the economic development actions
undertaken by high performing communities. These actions have been customized to take
into account the Oskhosh Area's unique situation and attributes. It is important to note that
these activities cannot be performed in their entirety by any single organization. They
require a partnership of willing, committed organizations working under one common plan
of action, but guided by a respected centralized entity.
The actions outlined are divided into four categories and have not been prioritized. Some
are already being performed in the Oshkosh Area, but not to the extent necessary or in a
properly coordinated fashion.
• Research and Information Management
• Business Attraction
• Business Retention, Expansion and Entrepreneurship
• Location Capacity Building
The Oshkosh Area is in need of a comprehensive strategic plan inclusive of, but not limited
to, these initiatives. Planned research under the target market study will address some of
the actions outlined below and, therefore, will begin to fill information gaps that exist. But
Prager Team Page 27
Organizational Analysis and Direction
absent a unified strategic plan, the right structure, collaborative processes and shared
resources, adequately responding to that which is uncovered will be exceedingly difficult.
1. Research and Information Management
simpshot
Use up -to -date hard copy and electronic data to inform prospective investors and allies,
dispel misconceptions about the Oshkosh Area, and portray the community in the most
positive light.
• Site Selection Database — constantly replenish the inventory of labor, transportation,
utility, tax and other Oshkosh Area location variables important to prospective
investors
• Economic and Project Tracking — monitor changing economic conditions, emerging
industries, new business investment and major expansions /contractions of existing
firms. Publish an annual Economic Dashboard for the Oshkosh Area
• Common Ground Surveys — periodically survey the Area's citizens, businesses, elected
leaders and others to determine issues most important to them, as well as their future
economic desires. Seek "common ground" desires that lend themselves to policy -
making and action
• Economic Developer Orientation — hold presentations and host tours of the Oshkosh
Area for the State economic development representatives, utility representatives and
other allies
• Competitor Intelligence — track costs, conditions, incentives, targets and major project
successes of the Area's competitors
• Entrepreneur Needs Tracking — track requirements of entrepreneurs in order to develop
programs and policies to meet these requirements (such as "smarter" properties,
technology capital infrastructure, targeted skill training and recruitment, financing).
Inventory and monitor the State's high tech programs and resources
• Cost Modeling — estimate the factor - specific (labor, utilities, real estate, etc.) and
bottom line costs of operating in the Area versus in competing locations. Model costs
for each target industry unearthed via the ongoing industry targeting study
• Incentives Data Clearinghouse — track and maintain information on the availability,
usage, amounts, restrictions and requirements of business incentives on behalf of
prospective investors and existing firms
• Website Upkeep — maintain a current, professional website with compelling content
and testimonials. Align with Facebook content, and Twitter and YouTube
communication
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Organizational Analysis and Direction
• Industry and Cluster Targeting — annually review and update the results of the ongoing
industry targeting study. Continue apply data to seek out emerging industries and
clusters
• Company - Specific Research — identify companies whose expected operating needs
match the capabilities of the Area and its available properties. Tap industry directories,
association data, Internet materials, on -line services and industry experts
• Local Opportunity Discovery — perform research to uncover potential suppliers and
companies on the verge of/in need of expansions (based on capacity utilization, new
contracts, M &A activity, etc.)
• Target Market Communication — prepare salient messages, web and Facebook copy and
select hard copy materials that convey location advantages for the industry- specific
targeted audience. Use YouTube for visual promotion of assets
• Article Writing and Media Placement — prepare and submit articles and quotes for State
and national media, and for industry publications
• Cost - Benefit and Economic Impact Analyses — determine potential project ROI to
inform incentive usage. Estimate the economic impact of projects and initiatives to
show benefits and to help tout accomplishments
• Real Time Property Inventorying — via partnership with the real estate community,
maintain a property database and gauge property readiness for marketing
• Organization - Specific Performance Monitoring — monitor and assess the activities and
accomplishments of EDO to improve approaches over time. Perform monitoring via the
University, consultant or other impartial source
• Performance Reporting — prepare performance reports to showcase the organization's
accomplishments and its alignment with the missions of the various philanthropic,
corporate, government and other contributors
2. Business Attraction
Devise salient marketing messages that convey the uniqueness of the Oshkosh Area and
create a compelling identity relevant to existing and next generation businesses. Via
public private marketing teams, perform aggressive and proactive outreach to attract
business investment.
Inquiry Response — provide information to interested parties using pre - assembled data
when appropriate
Prager Team Page 29
Organizational Analysis and Direction
• Site Consultant Relationship Development — maintain relationships with site
consultants individually and collectively (i.e. Site Selectors Guild) via visits and
submission of compelling information (new incentives, investments, properties etc.)
• Site Consultants Events and Familiarization Tours — host events in the Area that
encourage site consultants and others to experience the community firsthand
• Company Pursuit — pursue companies known to need a Wisconsin market presence,
able to serve an unmet product demand in the community (i.e. supply chain
opportunities), or in need of expansion. Uncover opportunities via company research,
business leader insights and media
• Business Advisor Courting — cultivate relationships with business location advisors
beyond typical site consultants. Include real estate firms, law firms and logistics and
freight forwarding companies
• Trade Show Participation — attend industry - specific trade shows, participating jointly
with the State, utilities and other allies. Seek sponsorship from (and attendance by)
local business leaders positioned to interact with their industry counterparts. Confine to
trade shows frequented by decision - makers or ranking company officials
• Marketing Missions — travel to the headquarters of prospective investors and perform
marketing missions to other cities. Do so, as warranted, with the involvement of major
business leaders and, perhaps, elected officials from the Area
• Ambassador -Led Promotion — encourage Oshkosh business leaders to promote the Area
at industry and trade events not open to the economic development community. Train
and provide compelling information to these Oshkosh Area Ambassadors
• Social Media Promotion— use Facebook to reach a wide audience and drive traffic to
the website, Twitter to "tweet" targeted audiences on specific topics of interest, and
YouTube for employer testimonials and to showcase investments, events and location
assets
• International Positioning — perform research; create marketing messages and foreign
language materials; and customize legal, tax, visa and related assistance for foreign
direct investors and foreign relocatees
• International Networking — develop relationships with American Chambers of
Commerce, overseas trade associations, international site selection firms, and U.S.
agencies (such as Department of Commerce SelectUSA and State Department of
Global Partnership Initiatives)
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Organizational Analysis and Direction
3. Business Retention, Expansion and Entrepreneurship
Visit Oshkosh Area firms to uncover needs and opportunities. Respond rapidly via
professional staff and public private experts versed in business development and cost
containment. Identify opportunities to commercialize products and services, and nurture
entrepreneurs via direct assistance, connection to resources and contract procurement.
• Professional Business Visitation — perform business outreach training and a schedule to
uncover opportunities and challenges. Only if necessary (if not inhibiting open dialog),
use outreach software (i.e. Executive Pulse)
• Business Intelligence Aggregation — record business responses and sort issues and
needs by type, location, company size and industry. Use to advocate for support in the
Oshkosh Area, such as State incentives, transportation, workforce training, etc.
• Functional Expertise for Business — recruit and maintain relationships with experts to
help existing businesses. Include regulatory bodies, utilities, workforce, higher
education, job training, real estate, financial and service (legal and accounting).
Potential support includes:
- Identification of future land, buildings for purchase or lease opportunities
- Provision of low -cost capital
- Energy audits and /or facility diagnostics to identify cost savings
- Labor recruitment and support with employment training programs
- Streamlining of existing government regulations
- Support with government contract procurement and product exporting
- Machinery modernization or manufacturing process support
• B -2 -B Mentoring — establish a B -2 -B mentorng program whereby businesses that have
addressed certain problems mentor those now encountering them. These include
permitting, hiring, incentive procurement and ownership succession
• CEO/Plant Manager Roundtables — conduct roundtable discussions to ascertain the
greatest issues hampering Oshkosh Area businesses and work toward collaborative
solutions. Reconsider forming and staffing a local Facility Managers Association
• Predictive Modeling/Early Warning Detection — detect business warning signs,
including layoffs, unusual electric power fluctuation and pending lease /incentive
expiration in partnership with trained government personnel, utilities, banks, brokers
and others
• Business Solution Inventory — arrive at a compendium of solutions for the most
pressing problems and maintain relationships with solutions providers (workforce
placement, facility /machinery modernization, energy efficiency, real estate assistance,
low cost financing, etc.)
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Organizational Analysis and Direction
• Employee Recruitment — help companies recruit pivotal, highly skilled employees and
executives from the outside when not available within the Area. Use business allies to
help find employment for trailing spouses of these pivotal relocatees
• Rapid Response Team Mobilization — assemble experts to help with pending business
closure, downsizing or other issues requiring an immediate response. Include experts in
finance and accounting, real estate, facility planning, regulations, logistics and more
• Remote Headquarters Visitation — as relevant, travel to the U.S. headquarters of
Oshkosh Area firms when needed to stave off closure or downsizing, to advocate for
expansion within the Area, or just to maintain a working relationship with key decision -
makers
• Trade and Overseas Joint Venture Assistance — host trade and joint venture events and
help to research and facilitate partnerships in conjunction with local export and JV
experts, State and Federal trade authorities, and local businesses serving as mentors
• Technology Commercialization — partner with the State, innovation alliances, the
University and others to use programs which encourage entrepreneurs to participate in
Federal R &D and foster technology commercialization
• Entrepreneur Service Center — formalize the emerging entrepreneur force (ORIGIN) to
provide comprehensive entrepreneurial development assistance (i.e. business planning,
seed and venture financing, patent/copyright protection and advancement, facility
development, marketing and promotion, etc.). Position the Center to serve as the Area's
umbrella for programs designed for entrepreneurial development; the first response
mechanism to engage other activities or services as needed; the ombudsman between
entrepreneurs and state /federal/private business finance programs; and the coordinator
of services moving forward
4. Location Capacity Building
Help enhance sites so the Oshkosh Area can capture business investment and associated
jobs and tax revenue. Ensure sufficient resources and collaboration to further workforce
and real estate development. Help create and leverage incentives and develop incentive
decision- making processes.
• Elected Official Workshops — facilitate educational briefings for local and County
elected officials to share the value of collaboration and to find common ground for
advocacy
• Grant Procurement — serve as the principle economic development grant procurement
and management agency for the Oshkosh Area
Prager Team Page 32
Organizational Analysis and Direction
• Financial Program Development — help manage and coordinate programs designed to
enhance the physical environment, kick start new business (such as revolving loan) and
entice new investors
• Shovel -Ready Site Support — identify and advise on developing sites for manufacturing,
logistics, office and other projects, especially those aligning with the emerging targeted
industries
• Virtual Property Development Program — create a ready -to -be -built or acquired real
estate program. If feasible and potentially subsidized, begin work to prepare site and
building plans in conjunction with this program
• Workforce Development Dialog — facilitate forums to bring to light critical workforce
limitations hampering economic development and to arrive at solutions. Include Area
businesses, Technical College, University, placement agencies, K -12 leadership and
others
• Workforce Action Team — research exemplary national partnerships worth emulating
and lead the formation of a multi - disciplinary, public - private team to devise, pilot test
and put into motion measurable, near -term workforce solutions that advance economic
development
• Transportation and Infrastructure Advocacy — in partnership with elected and corporate
leaders, continue Chamber' advocacy for transportation, utility and other physical
improvements that further economic development
• Investment Attraction Impact Fund — consider philanthropic and governmental financial
support to create an Impact Fund and give the Oshkosh Area a competitive edge for the
attraction of job - generating investment impacting multiple counties
• Incentives Education — sponsor educational seminars for local elected officials to learn
of existing and emerging incentives as well as the most effective ways to use their own
programs
• Incentive Policy Formalization — develop formalized incentive policies. Include the
characteristics sought from targeted businesses, levels of investment and employment
triggering incentives, and performance safeguards including possible incentive
repayment provisions (i.e. clawbacks)
B. Performance Evaluation
The Oshkosh Area should continue to track the macro -level changes on its economy.
However, these indicators should not be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the EDOs
themselves. The latter evaluation should be confined to that which is in the direct control of
those performing economic development duties. This is the only way to accurately gauge
the effectiveness of these organizations. The evaluation of the Oshkosh Area's EDOs
should include:
Prager Team Page 33
Organizational Analysis and Direction
• Acceptance Measures -- extent to which economic development allies and the business
community trust the EDO, rely upon it, and value it and its programs
• Responsiveness Measures -- time required to mobilize the right resources, and
implement responses to business and community problems and opportunities identified
• Efficiency Measures -- resources and effort necessary to solve the problems and capture
opportunities identified, and extent to which resources and effort are reduced over time
as problems and solutions are better understood
• Effectiveness Measures -- review of the extent to which a particular action or initiative
is achieving its desired result (i.e. jobs, tax revenue, business efficiency, cost reduction,
funding procurement, etc.)
Performance measures should be arrived at jointly by the economic development staff and
Board and woven into an eventual strategic plan. These measures must be realistic but not
punitive. Performance examination should guide the activities of the implementing
organizations and make adjustments to priority, funding and tactics as required. The
Oshkosh Area should measure performance annually. The performance assessment should
include annual surveys to gauge the satisfaction of businesses, elected leadership and others
served by the EDO (i.e. its primary constituents). For objectivity, it may be beneficial for
an impartial third -party, such as the University, to facilitate the performance evaluation.
In addition to the measurement of the economic development organization and their efforts,
macro economic change should also be monitored. This includes:
• Net job creation
• Creation of jobs in key occupations
• Change in per capita or household income
• Change of families below poverty level or on public assistance
• Change in unemployment rate
• Net change in number of establishments
• Number of business start-ups and start-up success /survival rate
• New and existing facility capital investment
• Change in local tax revenue generation and type of tax generated
• Change in property occupancy rates and absorption by type
• Change in economic mix/sector diversity
C. Governance and Committees
To ensure proper oversight, the Oshkosh Area EDO should be governed by a Board of
Directors comprised of public, private and not - for -profit leaders. This is not merely an
advisory, body. The Board should be empowered to determine and oversee operating
policy, oversee organization and President & CEO performance, oversee the budget, and
approve large -scale spending decisions. The Board should not be involved in day -to -day
Prager Team Page 34
Organizational Analysis and Direction
programming or routine spending decisions. The authority of the Board must be reflected
in the enabling legislation and bylaws.
Board member selection should be designed to fill specific needs, rather than to meet
individual or political preferences. In the Oshkosh Area, the Board makeup should be
reflective of issues facing business today (workforce, real estate, transportation, finance,
government support, etc.), and the sorts of investment the Area seeks to attract. This will
help ensure that when changes occur (such as new government elected leadership or
relocation of corporate executives /plant managers) past Board members can be replaced
with similarly skilled or empowered individuals.
A suggested Board structure for the EDO follows. It is recommended that an objective,
impartial entity help to vet prospective Board candidates to arrive at a balanced,
appropriate slate. Those assembling the Board should endeavor to recruit new individuals
with fresh ideas and business leaders previously uninvolved.
Some Board seats should be permanent (such as the head of the Chamber of Commerce and
the University Chancellor). Others (such as the Manufacturing and Real Estate) should
rotate among different organizations of the same sector. To the extent possible, Board
members should serve three -year, staggered terms but be permitted to serve multiple
consecutive terms provided they are voted in again or re- appointed. This three -year cycle
would coincide with a strategic plan with a three -year time horizon and funding
commitments that should also span three years.
Ideally, an EDO Board would have one chairperson. However, in the Oshkosh Area it may
be beneficial to have co- chairs. This would likely consist of one member from the public
sector and another from the private sector. These positions should also rotate in three -year
cycles.
Board members should have specific responsibilities that vary depending upon expertise
and industry affiliation. Below are suggested Board responsibilities:
Prager Team Page 35
Potential Board
Private Sector Board Seats
Public & Not - For -Profit Board'' Seats
•
Chamber of Commerce
• City Government
•
Manufacturing
• Other Municipal Government
•
Transportation, Distribution, Logistics
• County Government
•
Service/Financial
• University
•
Utility
• Technical College
•
Real Estate
• Airport
•
Technology
• Philanthropy
•
Entrepreneur
• Faith -Based
•
Media
Some Board seats should be permanent (such as the head of the Chamber of Commerce and
the University Chancellor). Others (such as the Manufacturing and Real Estate) should
rotate among different organizations of the same sector. To the extent possible, Board
members should serve three -year, staggered terms but be permitted to serve multiple
consecutive terms provided they are voted in again or re- appointed. This three -year cycle
would coincide with a strategic plan with a three -year time horizon and funding
commitments that should also span three years.
Ideally, an EDO Board would have one chairperson. However, in the Oshkosh Area it may
be beneficial to have co- chairs. This would likely consist of one member from the public
sector and another from the private sector. These positions should also rotate in three -year
cycles.
Board members should have specific responsibilities that vary depending upon expertise
and industry affiliation. Below are suggested Board responsibilities:
Prager Team Page 35
Organizational Analysis and Direction
General Responsibilities
• Overall policy direction
• General fiscal oversight (not line item specific)
• Fundraising support
• Participation in year -end performance evaluation of the organization and President & CEO
• Attendance at critical meetings with site seekers and dignitaries
• Promotion of the organization at civic events, press events, etc.
Added Private Sector Board Responsibilities
• Participation in marketing presentations to investors
• Market intelligence and entrde into industries
• Leverage of pro bono support (financial, accommodations, legal, accounting, etc.)
• Bridge between the economic development entity, civic groups and associations
Added Public and Not - for - Profit Sector Board Responsibilities
• Project - specific coordination between departments and levels of Government
• Assignment of department personnel to projects as needed
• Incentive delivery and financial support to business
In addition to voting members of the Board, the organization may wish to designate
individuals as ex- officio Board members. These individuals would participate fully in
Board deliberations but without voting rights. To avoid conflict of interest, both Board and
ex- officio members would need to recuse themselves from discussions that could unfairly
benefit their organizations.
Committees should be formed to help accomplish the mission of the EDO. Their structure
and responsibilities must be sensitive to the full -time employment demands of the
volunteers involved. Confidentiality agreements with these and other individuals may be
required to ensure that sensitive information is not shared without prior approval.
Suggested committees for the Oshkosh Area are provided.
Prager Team Page 36
Pr
Finance
Review and pre - approval of the budget, grant and financial program
usage. Contract approval and program oversight. Fundraising
support. Recommendations to the full Board.
Governance and
Accountability and operating procedures oversight. Personnel
Personnel
evaluation, personnel and compensation policy - making.
Recommendations to the full Board.
Location Capacity
Leadership on key business climate issues such as workforce
Building
development, property development and incentive enhancement.
Existing Business
Support dissecting existing business problems, developing business
solutions, forming rapid response teams and advising on targeted
response to businesses in need.
Marketing
Support with branding, media cultivation, website positioning,
message development, employer testimonials, targeted company
attraction and Ambassadors initiatives.
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Organizational Analysis and Direction
D. Accountability Measures
High performing EDOs have an accountability structure much like that of private
corporations. Board oversight is legitimate, transparency is mandated, and measures are in
place to ensure funds are spent wisely and staff is held accountable for their actions. The
organization facilitating economic development for the Oshkosh Area should be no
different. Provided are recommendations to help ensure accountability.
• Full Board meeting minutes should be recorded by the Secretary and submitted for
approval at the next Board meeting.
• Finance and other Committee meetings should be held as needed.
• Information to be discussed and decisions to be made in the Board meetings should be
circulated in advance with sufficient time for review.
• Contracts for services should first be approved by the Executive Committee. No
employee, officer or agent should be able to bind the organization without prior
approval.
• Any purchase over (agreed upon amount) should first be approved by the Executive
Committee.
• The Executive Committee may authorize the President & CEO or another officer or
agent to enter into contracts provided they do not exceed (agreed upon amount).
• Requests for contract or spending approval beyond (agreed upon amount) must be
submitted in writing to an Executive Committee.
• The Governance and Personnel Committee should annually evaluate the President &
CEO and report their results to the Board.
• The Board should be responsible for hiring and firing the President & CEO. An annual
360 degree performance review should be conducted whereby the Board and President
& CEO review one another.
• Hiring, firing and routine performance review of the staff (excluding the President &
CEO) is the responsibility of the President & CEO. However, in advance of hiring or
firing, the President & CEO should seek input from the Executive Committee.
• The Executive Committee should report in each Board meeting actions taken since the
previous meeting.
• Executive Committee members should participate in conference calls, attend meetings,
review progress reports and otherwise commit sufficient time and attention to key
matters.
• The Finance Committee should review the annual budget and submit recommendations
to the Board for approval.
• A financial report should be provided at each Board meeting along with contracts let
and pending, and major expenditures incurred and proposed.
• All Board members should receive a formal orientation and materials explaining the
role of the organization, its activities and programs, its responsibilities versus those of
its allies, and their own responsibilities and obligations as Board members.
• Between Board meetings, the President & CEO should regularly submit to the Board
high -level written or email updates of activities, significant projects and opportunities
and challenges.
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• The President & CEO should provide periodic briefings to the City Council and elected
County officials provided the City and County fund the EDO.
• A quarterly electronic newsletter should be written by the President & CEO.
• A Year -End Report should be prepared by the President & CEO and presented at a
public meeting to be held annually.
E. Stang
The Oshkosh Area economic development organization should have a properly trained staff
with clearly delineated responsibilities. When Chamco, OAEDC, and the City are all taken
into account, the community has roughly five personnel plus administrative support
working in economic development. This is an ample staff size to address the economic
development needs and opportunities of the Oshkosh Area provided these individuals are
working in close collaboration under one common strategic plan.
Like any community, its EDO is only as good as the person at its helm. The experience and
qualifications of the President & CEO cannot be overstated. This individual must be
steeped in cutting edge economic development practice, able to cultivate new relationships,
engender the trust of the community, and function exceedingly well in a corporate board
room setting. It is highly recommended that the community retain a professional executive
recruiter to conduct a national search and find the right individual to lead the EDO. This
search should, of course, be open to those from within the community.
Provided are recommended staff responsibilities. This structure does not assume that the
Oshkosh Area's existing economic developers are all equipped to assume these
responsibilities without supplemental professional training. With a relatively small
organization, these individuals will serve varying roles depending upon need, opportunity
and urgency. The level of outside ally support will also impact the role of these individuals.
The descriptions below assume the placement of all existing economic development
personnel and positions under one organization's umbrella. With the hiring of a President
& CEO, this may be a staff size larger than that necessary.
• President & CEO -- will oversee all aspects of the organization, lead specific economic
development initiatives as needed (especially large -scale marketing activities) and play
a prominent, though manageable, role in fundraising. This person will also cultivate and
nurture relationships with, and help coordinate the activities of, ally organizations.
Vice President, Business Attraction -- will lead all efforts to market the Oshkosh Area
to businesses not presently in the community. This person will oversee an economic
development sales force of supplemental staff and economic development allies
dedicated to business attraction. When called upon, he or she will also support Existing
Business Development.
• Vice President, Existing Business Development -- will coordinate public and private
sector efforts to respond to the needs of the existing business community. This person
also will lead the implementation of an ongoing business visitation program. He or she
may also lead efforts associated with Location Capacity Building, such as support with
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Organizational Analysis and Direction
property development, incentive creation and workforce development facilitation.
When called upon, he or she will also support Business Attraction.
• Account Manager (if warranted) -- will function as the organization's principle account
manager and company liaison once investment opportunities or business issues have
been identified and qualified. This person will support companies through all facets of
location decision - making and/or facility development, including site selection, labor
procurement, regulatory guidance and financial assistance. Note that the two Vice
Presidents will also manage company- specific accounts when the workload warrants.
• Research and Grants Manager -- will develop and maintain a site seeker database,
coordinate all related research efforts performed by the organization and its ally
organizations, and prepare marketing and promotional materials and electronic tools.
This person will lead efforts to research targeted industries and competitor locations.
Grant writing will also be an important role of this individual. As appropriate, efforts
will be performed in concert with area research providers and higher education
institutions.
• Administrative Personnel -- will perform all primary administrative functions
including, but not limited to: e- mailings, data entry, website upkeep, research package
assembly, telephone response and reception, meeting scheduling and logistics, and
monthly and year -end reporting. This individual will also play an active role supporting
the research efforts, responding to business inquiries, and communicating to
organizational leadership and allies. Depending on need, he or she may be asked to
attend certain community meetings, serving as an observer.
F. Alliances
As is always the case, the economic development opportunities and needs in the Oshkosh
Area exceed the capacity of the economic development professionals, even if working in
concert under one plan. Like all high performing economic development communities,
economic development is a team sport which engages a whole host of individuals from
throughout the public, private and not - for -profit sectors.
The Oshkosh Area has a plethora of folks willing to support economic development.
However, in many cases, their expertise is underutilized. It is recommended that the
community develop an Ally Resource Matrix whereby all relevant skills and expertise are
recorded and categorized by:
• Function -- finance, marketing, engineering, etc.
• Industry -- information technology, automotive, biotechnology, etc.
The Matrix should be accessed when specific expertise not contained within the economic
development organization are required. Skills that may need to be accessed from outside
the organization include:
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Organizational Analysis and Direction
• Labor recruitment and job training
• Labor management relations
• Location/site selection and improvement
• Financing
• Accounting
• Legal
• Business cost reduction measures
• Permitting and regulatory assistance
• Supplier- consumer linkages
• Product marketing and promotion
• Trade and export services
• Facility modernization
• Technology development
For public and not - for -profit sector experts, it may be best to incorporate roles into their
formal job descriptions (with the approval of their supervisors). By contrast,
responsibilities of private sector experts may be less formal though no less valuable.
Advice and assistance requiring minimal private sector effort should be free of charge, but
more demanding and time - consuming responses required of the private sector may warrant
a fee.
A more deliberate campaign to solicit involvement of individuals with relevant expertise
would allow for broader and deeper service delivery throughout the Oshkosh Area.
Provided are some examples of how the expertise and experiences of others could be better
leveraged. This list is not exhaustive and no attempt has been made to discuss these roles
with organizations identified.
Research and Information Maintenance (Demographic, Economic and Industry-
Specific) -- At present, the EDOs have limited ability to perform customized research
for proactive marketing, investor response or economic development policy- making.
However, the library and University may be staffed with professional researchers and
fortified with sophisticated databases and search engines well suited for such purposes.
If properly directed, they could perform such functions as examining business and
company trends, monitoring changes in the economy, comparing the community's
business climate with that of its competitors, customizing data responses to prospective
investors, performing economic impact analysis on existing and proposed
developments and examining workforce changes.
Ongoing Business Needs Tracking and Monitoring -- Several organizations already
committed to economic development may have a good vantage point to detect business
expansion opportunities and problems. For instance, the customer service staffs of
utilities interact with their customers to troubleshoot and evaluate energy needs, and
professionals within financial institutions routinely track the financial condition of their
clients. If properly trained, fortified with the right questions to ask, and given a simple
reporting mechanism, these organizations could serve as on- the - ground information
gatherers working on behalf of the business retention and expansion effort. They also
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Organizational Analysis and Direction
could function as "Ambassadors" of the retention and expansion programs by providing
businesses in need with information on available services and connections to service
providers. With safeguards, these functions could be performed without compromising
client confidentiality.
• Investment Lead Identification -- Only a small percentage of business investment (site
selection) leads come directly to the Oshkosh Area economic development
professionals. But other organizations already operating in the Area may be
unknowingly confronted with investment opportunities (from both existing and outside
employers). These organizations include government permitting bodies, workforce
development /training authorities and banks. Most focus on the issue at hand (loan
processing, customs support, permit inquiry) but may not be conditioned to see the
implications for large scale facility investment. Each should be considered a potential
source of leads.
• Assembly of Business Response Teams and Target Marketing -- Companies in need and
prospective investors often feel a greater connection with the existing business
community than with economic development professionals or government employees.
Executives, facility managers and skilled professionals should be invited to:
- Help solve existing business problems that they themselves have addressed (as
business -to- business mentors)
- Supply market intelligence on their own industries for business attraction purposes
- Review marketing materials and messages before they are made public
- Assist with a host of other industry- specific activities
- Directly promote the community
• BR&E Program Awareness Building -- Through better awareness, use of State and
local business services might increase, such as those associated with workforce
recruitment and training, facility modernization, energy efficiency enhancement and
incentive procurement. Further, a general awareness of economic development efforts
and tangible benefits would engender more support among the citizenry. One way to
increase this awareness is for local media to regularly cover economic development
from a positive perspective, provide monthly column space for economic development
contributions, and help with press releases and article placement elsewhere.
• Municipality- Specific Capacity Building -- Due to limited financial resources, staffing
or experience, certain rural or more economically challenged communities in the Area
may be having difficulty with economic and land use policy- making, addressing
business needs, processing permits or incentives, procuring outside financial assistance,
and so on. Establishing a network of government experts from throughout the broader
service territory could be of great help to these locales. An effort such as this could be
facilitated in partnership with the County.
• Economic Development Fundraising /Grantsmanship -- The EDOs in the Oshkosh Area
frequently grapple with ways to procure funds. Grantwriting expertise can be found in
several places, most notably higher education and philanthropy. Using their expertise,
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Organizational Analysis and Direction
an inventory of external funding sources for (or related to) economic development
could be created, with guidelines provided for procurement. Once accomplished, these
organizations may be able to help with fund procurement.
G. Financial Dedication
Most well - structured EDOs have one general operating budget. Dollars received -- whether
public, private or not - for - profit -- are centralized, pooled. They are allocated by category
and line -item under a carefully crafted, multi -year strategic plan. Some monies received
(such as via federal agencies) must be earmarked for specific purpose. However, these
funds are typically a small percentage of the overall budget and should never be relied upon
for general operations.
By contrast, the Oshkosh Area has no economic development strategic plan and, thus, no
formal process for prioritizing actions, pricing them, and allocating dollars accordingly.
Funds received come from myriad sources, go to different EDOs and are often required to
be used for a specific purpose. Further, some of these funds are passed through other
organizations before making their way to the entity charged with implementation. This is a
cumbersome, inefficient approach which fails to leverage the considerable dollars
provided. The absence of economies of scale and sufficient coordination means that funds
are insufficiently stretched or leveraged.
In the Oshkosh Area, a considerable amount of funds already flow to economic
development. The first order of business should be to determine the dollar amount, track
their uses, and re- channel resources where appropriate. To maximize finite resources, all
unencumbered (i.e. non - grant) dollars should be pooled and placed into one general
operating fund. A budget should be devised for the best use of these dollars as per a
mutually agreed upon strategic plan. A sample of customary expenditures for budgeting
purposes is provided.
Ctistomary Expenditures
I. Salaries
A. President & CEO
B. VP, Business Attraction
C. VP, Existing Business Development
D. Account Manager (if warranted)
E. Research and Grants Manager
F. Administrative Personnel
IL Fringe Benefits and Bonus
A. Fringe Benefits
B. Performance Bonus
III. Primary Marketing, Promotion and Outreach
A. Advertising
B. External Trade Shows and Conferences
C. Business Visits (Targeted Companies /Site Consultants)
D. Business & Elected Leadership Roundtables and Issue Forums
E. Customized Target Industry and Company Intelligence
F. Familiarization Tours
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Organizational Analysis and Direction
Customary Expenditures
IV. Marketing Visuals, Web and Data Management
A. Electronic Brochures, Target Pieces, Annual Report, etc.
B. Trade Show and Event Displays
C. Electronic Property and Customized Prospect Marketing Pieces
D. Routine Data Purchase and Database Subscriptions
E. Periodical Subscriptions (Industry - Specific and Other)
F. Website Development, Hosting, Maintenance and Optimization
V. Miscellaneous Office and Operation Expenditures
A. Rent and Electricity
B. Misc. Office Supplies
C. Mobile Phones, PDAs, Projector, Computers, etc.
D. Telephone/Telecommunications/Networking Telephone/Telecommunications/Networking Service
E. Software
F. Business Insurance
G. Vehicle Allowance and Mileage
H. Accounting and Auditing Services
I. Legal Services
J. Association Dues and Professional Development/Training
K. Board, Committee Meetings, Internal Briefings, etc.
Ideally, funding should be provided by the business community, the not- for - profit sector
and government. In the Oshkosh Area, funds for economic development are provided by
the private sector (Chamber of Commerce and direct corporate contributions), Government
(City direct dollars, City property management contracts, County revolving loan
management and other fee - for - service, etc.), and the philanthropic community. These
dollars should still be provided for economic development, but ideally, earmarked for
general operations left to the Board and staff of the organization to decide how best to
allocate them.
The goal should be an operating budget funded 50% by government and not - for - profit
entities and 50% by the private sector. However, this split could take several years to
achieve. Funding should come in three -year commitments so as to confidently plan
beyond the near -term and avoid perpetual fundraising and collections. This could be
supplemented by State and other grants and philanthropic contributions for specific
initiatives (rather than general operating revenues).
On a national scale, dollars available for economic development can be found from myriad
sources, well beyond State economic development organizations and businesses.
Government transportation authorities, workforce development authorities, Homeland
Security- oriented organizations, and many others in addition to more traditional sources
(like the U.S. Economic Development Administration) contribute on a regular basis. A
function of the EDO must be to pursue financing from traditional State sources, the
philanthropic community, as well as emerging benefactors. Doing so requires internal
grant writing expertise and, perhaps, assistance from higher educational entities or others
experienced at procuring grants.
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Organizational Analysis and Direction
H. Communication
It is essential that the EDO undertake internal (among allies) and external (to the broader
community and beyond) communication routinely and systematically. Having one central
organization charged with coordinating all economic development will go a long way, but a
formal communications plan will still be needed. To follow are some recommendations to
ensure the role of the economic development organization and its partner is clearly
understood.
• Have one individual (the President & CEO) serve as the sole spokesperson for the
organization (with a proxy as needed). All inquiries, projects and pending
announcements should be referred to the spokesperson before being made public or
disseminated
• Consider retaining the services of a media/PR professional to craft messages, insert
quotes in key publications, coordinate press briefings and plan important events
• Establish email and voice mail networks for rapid messaging, information exchange
and updates
• Create "hip pocket facts" (wallet size) on the EDO. Circulate them to all Board
members and allies to ensure that consistent messages are conveyed
• For all materials, business cards, presentations and electronic documents, use the same
logo and color scheme. Over time, add the logo to materials of allies (such as Technical
College, University, CVB, etc.)
• Prepare /disseminate (via print and email) a Quarterly Electronic Newsletter on the
organization and Oshkosh Area economic development happenings
• Develop an Annual Report complete with all major activities, successes, pending
changes for the following year. Include results of client satisfaction surveys and other
performance metrics to be performed by an objective, impartial source. Hold a public,
year -end meeting to discuss /promote findings of these surveys
• Prepare a PPT for Board members to present to their other civic organizations, trade
associations, etc.
• Encourage City and County elected officials to reference the organization in relevant
public addresses (like "State of the City" or "State of the County ")
• Hold quarterly press briefings for media. Coordinate with Quarterly Electronic
Newsletters
• Publish a monthly or quarterly economic development column in the local newspaper.
Use this to promote business services (via examples), profile accomplishments of
partners, etc.
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Organizational Analysis and Direction
IV. RECOMMENDED ORGANIZATIONAL ADJUSTMENT
As high performing communities learned long ago, effective economic development
demands extensive research and constant opportunity discovery, unceasing collaboration,
shared resources, transparency, accountability and action of many under a common strategy
plan. The absence of this prevents local businesses from being served to their fullest and
job-generating opportunities from being discovered and captured. It squanders existing
finite resources and discourages financial commitment from others.
The Oshkosh Area has deliberated the optimal organizational structure for far too long.
After more than two years of dialog, the community remains at a stalemate. Provided are
recommended organizational changes designed to move beyond its current state and enable
the Oshkosh Area to achieve its full economic development potential.
Effective economic development requires a comprehensive approach with agreed upon
objectives. The chart to follow lists many of the objectives high performing organizations
seek to achieve and those the Oshkosh Area may wish to adopt.
Economic Development Objectives
° `^' • To promote the Oshkosh Area as a unique,sought after business
1 destination
• To entice new investment and tax revenue from outside the Area
Business ("grow the pie")
Attraction • To help diversify the industrial base for economic stability
• To attract well paying jobs for existing community residents and new
Li entrants
• To stimulate new investment from existing Oshkosh Area companies
i- 4 • To harness local entrepreneurial spirit for home grown investment
Existing Business
j • To forge supplier-consumer connections and support business
} Retention i revenue generation
'. & Expansion
• To help reduce company outmigration and downsizing
• To anticipate,uncover and respond rapidly to business challenges
C and opportunities
• To efficiently allocate economic development funding and staffing
under a unified plan
• To partner with and deploy private,public and not-for-profit
Resource expertise and experience
Utilization • To harness philanthropic and other financial resources
• To maintain an accountable,central point of contact and coordinated
service delivery
• To align workforce capabilities with the needs of existing and
' prospective employers
c Location f • To elevate underutilized financial tools,real estate,transportation
Capacit■ and other local assets
Building • To prepare the community to capture unique opportunities in the
New Economy
• To engender local enthusiasm and pride in the Oshkosh Area
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Organizational Analysis and Direction
The Prager Team recommends a public - private organizational model for the Oshkosh Area.
This economic development organization should be free standing and not part of the
Chamber or any other organization. It is, however, essential that the Chamber of
Commerce remain an integral part of economic development. In fact, its direct role in
economic development should grow. Whereas some communities may be well suited for a
Chamber of Commerce economic development organization, the Prager Team believes that
the best model for the Oshkosh Area is one "owned," embraced and supported by the entire
community.
Achieving this vision and creating a centralized public - private organization the Oshkosh
Area, warrants commitment from the many individuals who have always placed
community economic development above control or recognition. It may also require an
impartial, objective entity to help redesign this organization and serve as the facilitator to
bring this process to fruition. Specific recommendations follow for the advancement of this
public - private partnership.
Organizational Name and Geographic Focus
Consider renaming the organization "Opportunity Oshkosh" for community -wide
branding and to leverage the pending target market efforts and marketing alliance
Expand service territory to define the Oshkosh Area as the City of Oshkosh and
southern Winnebago County (precise geography TBD)
Governance
• Assemble an agreed upon Board with public, private and not - for - profit individuals
selected impartially, irrespective of past /present OAEDC, Chamber or Chamco
affiliation
• Establish a co- chairmanship Board structure, comprised of one City Government and
one corporate leader (a current Chamber Board member)
• Establish three -year revolving and renewable Board terms
• Form Finance and Governance & Personnel Committees
• Subsequently, form Existing Business, Marketing, and Location Capacity Building
Committees
• Empower the Board and its committees to oversee the budget, contract approval, major
expenditures, organizational performance reviews, President & CEO hiring/firing, and
other essential responsibilities
• Retain Chamco, but strictly as a real estate holding entity. Transfer its other
responsibilities to this new entity
Staff
• Blend previous OAEDC and Chamco staff into the reconstituted organization
• Assign the City's economic development position full -time to the public - private
partnership
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Organizational Analysis and Direction
• Retain a professional executive placement firm and conduct a national search to recruit
the organization's President & CEO. Open the search to individuals from within and
outside the Oshkosh Area
• Fund professional economic development training for all personnel from President &
CEO to administrative person
Ally Leverage and Alignment
• Form a rapid response team of public and private sector individuals based on their
unique expertise. Reach agreement for their rapid response
• Establish a business -to- business mentoring program aligned with the University's
Business Success Center, SCORE and other assistance providers
• Expand the Chamber's Leadership Oshkosh program to develop Ambassadors (mainly
from the corporate community) to serve as front line marketers on behalf of the
Oshkosh Area
• Leverage University interns for supplemental research, business solutions and
opportunity identification
• Increase the Chamber's direct involvement. Consider:
- Annual Oshkosh Area Economic Dashboard and Business Summit
- Business Ambassador's Program
- CEO/Plant Manager Roundtables
- Articles jointly published with Chamber promoting Oshkosh as a place for business
- International development via leverage of overseas "sister" chambers as entrees into
new international markets
• Align all small business and entrepreneurial development entities under one common
plan of action with staff support provided by the new organization. Consider ORIGIN,
Angels on the Water, SBDC, University's Business Success Center and others as
appropriate
• Coordinate business financial and incentive programs. Include revolving loan funds, the
Foreign Trade Zone and City financial programs as appropriate
• Transfer OAEDC and Chamco management /marketing of City business and industrial
properties to private real estate brokers to 1) eliminate the perceived unfair advantage
and 2) restore real estate community commitment
• Consider using the EDO to help promote new Chamber membership
Funding
• Channel economic development funding to the general operating budget of the new
organization. Ensure flexibility so that funds can be used as warranted under an agreed
upon strategic plan
• Secure a conditional three -year matching contribution from philanthropy to underwrite
economic development operations. Conditions may include financial match, support of
Oshkosh and southern Winnebago County, a three -year strategic plan, an acceptable
Board structure, and other accountability and transparency measures
• City to provide direct funding as well as in -kind support in the form of on -loan staff
salary and benefits
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Organizational Analysis and Direction
• Chamco to reassign its assets and remaining fees for service
• Winnebago County to provide its per capita economic development contribution
directly to the new organization, supplemental funds for marketing and branding, and
transfer of CDBG and Economic Development Revolving Loan management fees
• Chamber to attach its economic development financial contribution to this new entity,
matched by the City
• Seek out nontraditional sources of funding to compensate for shrinking financial
resources. Consider hospitals, sports and entertainment venues, growing service
industry companies among others
• Establish formal Service Agreements between the new organization and government
entities providing funding. Agreements include promotion of locations and
coordination of financial and related programs
• Establish formal Service Agreements with the City, County and Chamber
• Secure three -year funding commitments from private and not - for -profit sources and
one -year funding commitments from Government with the expectation of renewal
Publicity
• All partners draft and sign a Memorandum of Understanding stating commitment to the
public - private partnership, collaboration and joint resource dedication
• Each governmental entity draft a proclamation conveying support for the new entity
• Hold a media event publicizing this groundbreaking organization and its value to the
Oshkosh Area
• Have an Annual Economic Development Day commemorating the decades of service
by Chamco, OAEDC and the Chamber, and the economic evolution of the City of
Oshkosh
• Publish a monthly or quarterly newspaper column and use other print and radio media
to tout the activities and accomplishments of the public - private entity and its founding
partners
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