SOME KEY QUESTIONS CONCERNING PUBLIC SERVICE ORGANIZATION (PSO) EFFORTS TO PROMOTE COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT How should Public Sevice Organizations (PSOs) go about identifying the professional and technical skills necessary for successful community economic development, and then proceed to build increasing levels of staff capability in these areas? What kinds of training concerning community economic development would be most appropriate for the members of PSO policy-making boards and committees? What centers of expertise in community economic development can be called upon to provide training and technical assistance? How should a PSO community economic development component be organized and staffed? Where should it be situated within the PSO organizational structure? What research instruments and techniques are available to study the existing economic structure of a given community in order to analyze its needs, opportunities, and resources, and to identify its most promising economic venture possibilities? What staff and budgetary assets will be needed to carry out such preliminary studies? How can a PSO become fully informed and "plugged in" with regard to the existing and on-going economic development processes that are continually taking place within the community's private sector? How can a PSO serve most effectively as a broker, catalyst, and/or facilitator between the low-income/disadvantaged segments of the community and existing businesses and industries in the area? Are there any types of commercial, service, and/or manufacturing enterprises that are particularly well suited for implementation by PSOs? What guidelines or standards can be used to help ensure that PSO- sponsored economic development ventures are environmentally sound and sustainable? To what extent should community economic development strategies emphasize: Job readiness and vocational training; Business incubator facilities and services; Micro-business enterprise development; Cooperatives and Credit Unions; Franchise enterprises; Industrial park development; Main street/downtown area/blighted neighborhood revitalization; PSO roles in serving as a coordinating center and/or clearing house to encourage or facilitate community economic activity without becoming directly involved in it in the role of venture owner/operator? What procedures are best suited for conducting feasibility studies concerning the personnel, physical plant, technological, financial, marketing, and organizational requirements of any given economic development proposal? What specialized methodologies may be most effective for planning, programming, budgeting, implementing, and managing PSO economic development projects? What procedures should be used to monitor the progress and/or evaluate the performance of PSO economic development ventures, so that problems can be identified and remedied before they become serious? What types of training, technical assistance are likely to be needed from external sources to support PSO economic development projects? To what extent can college or university schools of business administration or other academic departments provide needed expertise and consultation? What supportive programs and/or sources of funding are available from governmental agencies such as the Small Business Administration, the Economic Development Administration, and/or other federal and state agencies for the purpose of assisting PSO economic development projects? What sources of assistance and/or venture loan/grant funding can be identified from among charitable foundations, major corporate sponsors, church groups, and/or banking and financial institutions? How can PSO projects receiving government or foundation funding operate in such a way as to avoid engaging in unfair subsidized competition with traditional private enterprises? How can PSO's effectively involve representatives of poor/disadvantaged segments of the communities being served in the processes of planning, implementing, and evaluating economic development projects, without excessive conflict with the technical and professional management expertise necessary to ensure business venture survival in the arena of competitive enterprise? Source: Dave Matthews - dmatthews@acf.dhhs.gov Return to the NGO Page Comments and suggestions: Hari Srinivas - hsrinivas@gdrc.org