E5 Community & Economic Development

E5 Community & Economic Development®

Community colleges are reflections of the communities they serve and as communities go, so go the colleges.  Businesses and industries are moving to offshore locations, consolidating or closing.  This creates a downward spiral in rural America of outward migration, small business closings, empty industrial buildings, unoccupied homes, decline of quality of community life and a reduction in the tax base and government services.  As business and industry training declines, community colleges must develop new clients, services, revenue streams and innovative ways to provide visionary leadership for community and economic development.

 

Almost every citizen of the United States is a part of a community college’s service area. Community colleges are the only political entities that have the authority and responsibility to provide educational, community and economic development services across multiple political boundaries.  E5 does not require communities to consolidate, cooperate or agree on strategies. The community college can work with one or more than one community at a time. 

 

E5, our unique community and economic development formula, provides community colleges a way to proactively position themselves as regional leaders of community and economic development while identifying new community needs and services they can provide. 

E5 also provides community colleges the ability to reposition their cities, communities and themselves into being more vibrant, renewable, sustainable, and competitive in today’s global society and economy.  Developing and implementing strategies under each of the five areas of E5— (1) Education, (2) Entertainment, (3) Entrepreneurial, (4) Environment, and (5) Energy —creates synergy that enables cities and communities to transform themselves.

 

E5 methodology complements existing organizations and programs by focusing on quality of life issues that attract and are important to senior citizens, active retirees, healthcare workers, creative workers, professional workers, government workers, small business workers, knowledge workers, industrial workers and citizens. We utilize processes that address local environmental, leadership and political dynamics impacting communities.