Partnering to build a better pipeline between citizens and UGA resources

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The Archway Partnership Project
Partnering to build a better pipeline between
citizens and UGA resources
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Pilot Project

• Initiated July 01, 2005
• Driven by UGA desire to improve outreach
• Community centered approach in response to rapid
  change

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UGA Objectives

• Cooperative Extension changes to reflect
  contemporary issues in Georgia
• Public Service and Outreach and Cooperative
  Extension cooperate for the good of the larger
  institution

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Moultrie/Colquitt County Interests

• Impact of Sanderson Farms and other industry
  expansion
• Required full range of resources as it faces
  rapid growth.
• Better access to UGAs resources and expertise.
• Desire to participate as partner in the process.
  

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Who Was Involved/UGA

• Initial partnership
• Office of Public Service and Outreach
• Cooperative Extension
• UGA players
• Colleges Agricultural Environmental Sciences,
  Education, Environment Design, Family
  Consumer Sciences, Journalism Mass
  Communication
• Public Service Units Carl Vinson Institute of
  Government, Fanning Institute, International
  Public Service Outreach.

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• The pilot project partners
• Moultrie/Colquitt County
• University of Georgia
• Cooperative Extension
• Public Service Outreach

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Community Organization
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Who was Involved

• Community
• Funding Partners Board of Education, City of
  Moultrie, Colquitt County Commission, Colquitt
  County Hospital Authority
• Others Development Authority, Chamber of
  Commerce, Community Organizations
• State Agencies
• Dept. of Community Affairs
• Dept of Economic Development
• Dept. Human Resources
• Dept. of Labor
• Dept. Technical Adult Education
• Regional Development Center

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Apprehension--UGA

• Could we bust the silos?
• Could two large outreach entities effectively
  manage the project?
• Would the academic units respond?
• Could we really make a difference in the
  community?
• Distance
• Do we have the depth and breadth of resources
  required?
• Could we sustain the effort over time?
• What if we fail? What if we succeed?

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Apprehension--Community

• Suits briefcases--Experts from on high
• Lack of respect for the knowledge within the
  community
• Will we drive?
• Can we drive?
• Will they cut and run?
• Is this just another series of studies and
  reports further defining out problems or real
  assistance?

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Apprehension--Other Partners

• Will this duplicate services we already provide?
• Will we do all the work and they take all the
  credit?

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Original design thoughts

• Go to communities with a prevailing need--the
  perfect storm
• Make sure the communities needs are in line with
  our resources
• Go where there is strong community leadership
  with a history of good collaboration
• Situate the portals in a host community and grow
  outward organically to embrace the larger
  region
• Set a two year time period for the pilot project
• Keep the project truly as a grassroots effort

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Significant Challenges

• Distance from main campus
• Building effective working relationships with
  county extension personnel
• Faculty tenure processes
• Perceived competitiveness by other Public Service
  Outreach units

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Original design thoughts

• Dont just study, provide process assistance and
  help through implementation
• Better leverage the capabilities of students in
  the process
• Better organize a large decentralized University
  to work more effectively
• Provide real-time response, business timeframe
  rather than the academic timeframe
• Most importantly, make it easier for the client
  to access the resources of the University

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Work Projects

• Advancing student success in the Colquitt County
  schools
• Childcare/school-age care
• Workforce housing
• Leadership Development
• Water Management Conservation Plan
• Prospect visits

• Industrial park covenants
• Wastewater capacity study
• Brownfield Redevelopment
• Housing study
• Land use planning
• Home ownership
• Latino success in postsecondary institutions

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Work Projects

• Sustainability of the Arts
• Neighborhood revitalization
• Historic preservation
• Public safety
• Strategic planning for Economic Development
• Zoning/Code Enforcement Training for local
  officials
• Historic tourism

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Work Projects

• Poverty study/simulations
• Neighborhood meetings
• Leadership Summit
• Strategic Planning for Healthcare
• Medication Therapy Management Program in concert
  w existing industry
• Planning facilitation for SPLOST
• Vocational program redevelopment for High School

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Examples of UGA Faculty and Student Involvement

• Grady College of Journalism Mass Communication
• College of Environment Design.
• College of Family and Consumer Sciences
• College of Education
• College of Agricultural and Environmental
  Sciences
• College of Pharmacy
• Terry College of Business
• Warnell School of Forestry

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What transpired on Campus?

• Strong relationships were formed with the Office
  of Service Learning
• University Committee on Outreach Engagement was
  formed
• Presentations regarding community needs were made
  to senior administration, colleges, and units
• At the conclusion of the pilot, senior leaders
  went to the community and met with the community

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What transpired on Campus?

• We learned a great deal about branding--putting
  the UGA label first
• Tangible responses were received on campus from
  key political leaders who could feel the impact
  and value of this work out in the state

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The pilot concludesWhere to now?

• Community funding partners vote to continue local
  funding for the project
• Support from the Board of Regents results in
  funding to sustain the portal in
  Moultrie/Colquitt County and to open additional
  portal sites.
• Funding allows for the hiring of Archway
  Professionals for each of the sites, along with
  support positions necessary to sustain
  operations.
• My assignment to the process becomes permanent
  and I provide field support to the professionals
  in the field.
• We are also able to hire Issue Area positions to
  conduct work on key issues across a region from
  the portal hub

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New sites

• Fall of 2007 Washington County Portal established
• January of 2008 Archway begins work in Glynn
  County

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Washington County Issues

• Declining mining industry, need for economic
  diversification
• Air quality
• Survival of Regional Medical Center
• Lack of workforce housing
• Retail vacancy rates
• Improving Education/Workforce Development
• Advance historical/agricultural tourism

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Washington County Work

• Air quality work with NASA, Climatology faculty,
  and USDA Forest Service. Fanning Institue
  faculty faciliate community processes.
• Evaluated prospects for a LPN to RN bridge
  program within the community
• Established Education task force to work with
  College of Education in improving student
  retention, graduation rates.
• Department of Theatre and School of Music
  assisting Community Theatre to advance the arts,
  improve quality of life
• Public Health intern working within the community
  on comprehensive health and health service
  assessment

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Washington County Work

• Students from College of Environment Design
  conduct community design charrettes for hospital
  facility and grounds
• Leonard Scholars from Terry College of Business
  to perform retail study and analysis
• Fanning Institute faculty assists City of
  Tennille with planning for downtown
  revitalization
• Issue area faculty member secured to work with
  regional issues related to improving health and
  wellness
• Housing Demographics Research Institute to
  conduct housing needs analysis to guide
  development

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Glynn County Issues

• Rapid development of the Georgia Coast, expansion
  of area as bedroom communities for Jacksonville,
  Florida
• School system changes relative to creation of a
  new charter school
• Community college transitioning from a hybrid
  community/technical college to a college that
  will offer four-year degrees.
• Affluent Island communities but need for
  redevelopment of the mainland urban core

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Along the way

• New clients wanted Archway not primarily for
  technical resourcesbut for the value of the
  objective third-party platform and the ability to
  pull local leadership together--a significant
  shift from our original criteria
• Archways expanding role moves to include Clayton
  County in the south Atlanta Metropolitan
  Area--start date July 01, 2008
• Additional Board of Regents funding received in
  2008 to support furtherance of the Archway
  Partnership Project--new communities likely to be
  Hart County and Sumter County. New funding also
  advances the projects work as a UGA facilitated
  process for the University System of Georgia.

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Map
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What we still dont know

• How to roll-out effectively to serve the larger
  region
• What happens when the big stuff is done?
• How do we continue to serve without creating some
  sense of dependency??

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What we have learned

• Community based projects are valuable to many
  academic faculty as national funders demand more
  in terms of community outreach--even for
  hard-core research projects
• Students are a source of innovation and
  creativity
• Community leaders can make excellent teachers
• There is financial backing for grounded
  successful efforts

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We are certain that

• Leadership is the hitch-pin of all community
  progress

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Archway Benefits Recap..

• Benefits all of UGA
• Builds a better pipeline between citizens and UGA
  resources
• Improves customer service
• Delivers more UGA resources to the state
• Establishes community goodwill toward UGA

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and we continue to learnas the challenges are
significant
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• We will hire the best talent wherever it
  resides and can thrive as a company even if we
  never hire another American
• ---Craig
  Barrett, Chairman of Intel Corporation
• in Friedman, Thomas L. The World is Flat
• p.357.

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• Change has a considerable impact on the human
  mind. To the fearful it is threatening because
  things may get worse. To the hopeful it is
  encouraging because things may get better. To the
  confident it is inspiring because the challenge
  exists to make things better.
• --King Whitney, Jr.
• President, Personnel Laboratory Inc