InnovatEC - Elizabeth City | Pasquotank County Economic

INNOVATEC
A Pathway to Entrepreneurship and
Innovation in Elizabeth City and
Pasquotank County
Prepared for:
Wayne Harris
Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County Economic Development Commission
Prepared by:
Jonathan Meyer
Sanford School of Public Policy, Duke University
Disclaimer: This student paper was prepared in 2016 in partial completion of the requirements for the Master’s
Project, a major assignment for the Master of Public Policy Program at the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke
University. The research, analysis, and policy alternatives and recommendations contained in this paper are the
work of the student who authored the document, and do not represent the official or unofficial views of the
Sanford School of Public Policy or of Duke University. Without the specific permission of its author, this paper
may not be used or cited for any purpose other than to inform the client organization about the subject matter.
The author relied in many instances on data provided by the client and related organizations and makes no
independent representations as to the accuracy of the data
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
As part of a Master’s Project for Duke University’s Sanford School of Public Policy, this report
provides analysis and recommendations to the Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County Economic
Development Commission on how best to stimulate regional entrepreneurial-and-innovationbased growth.
Quantitative and qualitative research allowed the author to identify gaps in achieving the
objective of stimulating entrepreneurship and innovation. The author ascertained primary
source data from both surveys and key-informant interviews. A primary survey was provided by
InnovateNC, a two-year, cross-city, learning collaborative tasked with establishing and
maintaining innovation ecosystems for its participant cities. A second, edited version of this
survey was created and administered by the author; both of which are included in this report
(APPENDICES A & B). The research answers several questions:
1. Why is regional entrepreneurship and innovation important?
2. What assets exist in Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County to create an
entrepreneurial-and-innovation-based ecosystem?
3. What are the regional challenges to entrepreneurship and innovation?
4. How can the Economic Development Commission of Elizabeth City and Pasquotank
County stimulate entrepreneurship and innovation?
Using a Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) Analysis, the author
identified community assets for potential growth opportunities, highlights challenges the client
faces in developing these assets and provides strategies to overcome said challenges. Results
of the data analyzed show that the region is suffers from a lack of digital communications
infrastructure, a declining labor force, a lack of affordable housing, high poverty rates, a
contraction of employment in its top three industries and out-migration. Moreover, there is a
lack of both venture capital accessibility and human capital capacity needed to establish and
drive an entrepreneurial-and-innovation-based economy. Lastly, the lack of a cohesive plan
amongst supportive organizations further inhabits this growth process, as similarly missioned
organizations compete for the same local assets and may suffer groupthink due to the fact that
they have the same members on their respective Boards.
Notwithstanding, there is opportunity for regional entrepreneurial-and-innovation-based
development. Elizabeth City is situated on the Pasquotank River, a geographic advantage for
attracting ecotourism and retirees. In addition, the city hosts a large Coast Guard base and the
only three post-secondary, educational institutions in the Northeast region, namely Elizabeth
City State University, the College of the Albemarle and Mid-Atlantic Christian University.
The concentration of high-skilled talent affiliated with these organizations provides the
opportunity for the city to become the intellectual bastion of the Northeast region. In addition,
if organized correctly, the region’s economic-development and social-support organizational
bodies have the potential to develop a talent pipeline into the local workforce. Lastly, there is
ample underutilized physical infrastructure in the city’s downtown area. These structures, if
I
renovated, could be converted to the maker and co-working spaces that subsidize
entrepreneurs and encourage innovation.
This report concludes that to foster entrepreneurship and innovation in Elizabeth City and
Pasquotank County there must be a concerted effort to build a talent pipeline, create an
enabling environment for small businesses and attract new sources of investment capital. This
must be a communal endeavor in which entrepreneurs, private businesses, nonprofits,
educational leadership and policymakers work together. Assuming this, the author makes the
following recommendations to the Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County Economic
Development Commission:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Follow through with current effort to bring affordable broadband to the area.
Establish an Entrepreneurship and Innovation Council.
Establish and subsidize a business incubator space/innovation hub downtown.
Draw capital to the region by providing tax credits to small businesses.
Implement a transportation initiative to bring people to Elizabeth City’s
downtown.
6. Encourage affordable housing policies and practices.
7. Hire a marketing firm to create and launch a new City website specifically geared
toward entrepreneurs and innovators.
The author acknowledges that this report is not an exhaustive analysis of every asset in the
Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County area, nor does it cover all gaps to stimulate regional
innovation and entrepreneurship. Some specific limitations include: a lack of primary data from
local entrepreneurs, an analysis of the city and county’s tax incentives for small businesses and
a comprehensive description of procurement and venture capital sources. Rather, this Master’s
Project provides strategies to be considered when drafting a road map to a more
entrepreneurial and innovative Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County and should serve as a
reference point for City leadership when building consensus on the chosen course of action.
II
TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .............................................................................. I
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................2
POLICY QUESTION ..................................................................................4
LITERATURE REVIEW ...............................................................................4
ENTREPRENEUR AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP.............................................................4
INNOVATION, INNOVATORS AND INNOVATION ECOSYSTEMS ...........................................4
INNOVATION DISTRICTS ..............................................................................5
ENTREPRENEURIAL AND INNOVATION-BASED DEVELOPMENT...........................................5
CONTROVERSY OVER EFFECTIVENESS .................................................................6
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ........................................................................6
OVERVIEW ..........................................................................................6
INNOVATENC ........................................................................................6
SURVEY AND KEY-INFORMANT INTERVIEWS ..........................................................7
ENTREPRENEURSHIP AND INNOVATION INDICATORS ..................................................8
ANALYSIS .............................................................................................9
STRENGTHS .........................................................................................9
WEAKNESSES ...................................................................................... 12
OPPORTUNITIES.................................................................................... 15
THREATS .......................................................................................... 17
CRITERIA ........................................................................................... 20
CONCLUSION ...................................................................................... 20
RECCOMMENDATIONS ............................................................................ 21
APPEXDIX A ....................................................................................... 29
APPEXDIX B ....................................................................................... 37
APPEXDIX C ....................................................................................... 38
APPEXDIX D ....................................................................................... 39
APPEXDIX E ....................................................................................... 41
APPEXDIX F ....................................................................................... 42
NOTES ............................................................................................. 45
BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................... 50
1
INTRODUCTION
In accordance with national trends, North Carolina finds itself in a slow, but steady-paced
recovery from the Great Recession.1 As recently as September of 2015, the U.S. Bureau of Labor
Statistics reported that nationwide unemployment rates were lower than in 2014 in 353 of the
country’s 387 Metropolitan Statistical Areas.2 In addition, forty-one states and the District of
Columbia had unemployment rates drop from 2014 to 2015. 3 North Carolina mirrors this trend.
The state’s adjusted unemployment rate was 5.8 percent in September, decreasing 0.1 of a
percentage point from the previous month; however, it remains unchanged since September of
2014.4
Unfortunately, not all areas experienced the “Carolina Comeback.”5 Rural growth has been slow
to return to pre-recession levels. According to a report produced by The North Carolina Rural
Economic Development Center, fewer rural-based North Carolinians are employed, and more
had lower household incomes in 2010 than in 2000.6 Additionally, half of rural renters’ housing
costs exceed the standard for affordability. Further, in 11 of North Carolina’s 80 rural counties,
more than half the population lives in poverty or near poverty.7
Elizabeth City, North Carolina is no exception. Of the 16,486 families8 living the in the Elizabeth
City Micropolitan Statistical Area (μSA),9 13.5 percent made incomes below the Federal Poverty
Line (FPL) in 2013. The largest population of the poor were single-parent, female-headed
households, and the µSA had a 26.8 percent child poverty rate. Over 36 percent of the total
population is considered either “poor” or “working poor.”10 In addition, the Elizabeth City µSA
homeowners are far more cost burdened11 than the rest of North Carolina, 54.6 to 43.1 percent,
respectively. These are symptoms of economic stagnation, which is largely due to the fact that
the nation, and North Carolina with it, is transitioning from a manufacturing to a service-based
economy.
Since 1998, North Carolina’s manufacturing sector has lost over 360,000 jobs; however, it
should be acknowledged that statewide manufacturing employment has climbed recently.12
Nevertheless, the delayed recovery may stem from the fact that the state, like much of the
country, is transitioning to a knowledge-based economy.13 For example, since September 2014,
“Professional & Business Services”14 added the largest number of new jobs (21,600 for a 3.7
percent increase) in North Carolina (Figure 1).15 Further, the high-tech sector is increasing in
employment opportunity and offers wages above the U.S. average. However, this transition is
largely occurring around its urban centers, i.e. Charlotte and the Research Triangle-area.
2
Figure 1. Changes in Employment by NAICS Industries September 2014 Compared to
September 2015 (Seasonally Adjusted)
Source: North Carolina Labor Market Conditions, NC Department Of Commerce
Keeping tax rates low makes North Carolina attractive to entrepreneurs and industries like
aerospace, aviation and manufacturing; however, MDC Inc., a think tank in Chapel Hill, NC,
claims that many rural communities concentrate on outdated concepts of industrial recruitment
while ignoring a lack the workforce, infrastructure, and amenities that industries require.16
The author would argue that traditional tax incentives should be supplemented with efforts to
spurn homegrown development.
Rural communities across the country are developing new approaches to ensure their economic
vitality. Among these approaches are efforts to foster entrepreneurship and innovation, such
as: cultivating talent pipelines, creating enabling environments for small businesses and
attracting sources of investment capital. However, these strategies are often driven by private
sector, nonprofit and education leaders, with policymakers lagging behind.17
This Master’s Project seeks to provide recommendations to further the homegrown approach to
the Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County Economic Development Commission. Specifically, it
identifies the author’s policy question, describes literature on creating an enabling
environment that stimulates entrepreneurship and innovation, outlines the author’s analytical
framework, identifies community assets for potential growth opportunities, identifies
challenges the community faces and recommends strategies to overcome said challenges based
on a detailed criteria.
The author’s research sought to answer several questions:
1. Why is regional entrepreneurship and innovation important?
2. What assets exist in Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County to establish an innovation
ecosystem?
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3. What are the regional challenges to entrepreneurship and innovation?
4. How can the Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County Economic Development
Commission stimulate entrepreneurship and innovation in the city and its greater
county region?
POLICY QUESTION
How should the Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County Economic Development Commission
stimulate entrepreneurship and innovation in the city and its greater county region?
LITERATURE REVIEW
Entrepreneur and Entrepreneurship
The term entrepreneurship is used ubiquitously and even interchangeably with innovation,
often with little clarification to what exactly it is referring. The truth is that entrepreneurship
can manifest itself in many ways within a larger organization or independently and often is not
associated with the creation of wealth.18 For the purposes of this report, entrepreneurs will be
defined as business owners who seek to generate value through the creation of economic
activity by identifying and exploiting new products, processes or markets.19 As an extension of
this definition, entrepreneurship is the human action in pursuit of the generation of value
through the creation of economic activity by identifying and exploiting new products,
processes, or markets.20
A key distinction must be made when dealing with the terms innovators, innovation,
entrepreneurs and entrepreneurship. Innovation is not necessarily entrepreneurship, and
logically, innovators are not necessarily entrepreneurs. Innovation can and often does occur
within large traditional firms. For example, the iPhone was a disruptive innovation that
occurred within the firm Apple Inc. Conversely, entrepreneurs often are single-employee
business owners. For example, an incorporated, self-employed hair stylist fulfills the definition
of an entrepreneur. These two terms often become conflated because the highest-valueproducing innovators are entrepreneurs. Small, incorporated, tech-firms creating innovative
applications are entrepreneurs that, if invested in or absorbed by a larger firm, have the highest
potential job and wealth creation.
Innovation, Innovators and Innovation Ecosystems
Varying definitions of innovation abound. For the purposes of this report, the author will refer
to innovation as the ability to create new products, services and business models that yield
value.21 Innovators are those who actively engage in innovation related activity. An “innovation
ecosystem” refers to the collection of people, organizations, policies, and programs that create
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innovative ideas, translate those ideas into products, build new companies to move those ideas
forward and nurture those new organizations to help them create jobs.22
These ecosystems require specific human capital, financial capital and collaboration. Often
innovation is associated with science, technology, engineering and mathematic (STEM) fields of
study. While students and employers involved in STEM-related fields are the primary group for
initiating innovation development, this project strives to further a culture of innovation by
creating opportunities to the Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County community at large.
Innovation Districts
The 1950’s saw the rise of the research park. These parks were the result of collaborative
efforts between universities, private developers and public leadership with the intention of
commercializing research and attracting scientists from industry and academia. 23 But the
sprawling exurban areas, epitomized by North Carolina’s Research Triangle Park (RTP), are now
adjusting their model. As recently as October 2015, RTP revealed plans for its “Park Center
Development.” This is an urban/park hybrid facility specifically geared to draw younger talent,
less attracted to isolated, car-dependent environments. 24 The development calls for a
centralized district with housing units, retail and the possibility of a light rail system connecting
the park to Raleigh, Durham and nearby universities. Many research parks are now evolving to
these hybrid models referred to as “Innovation Districts.”
Innovation districts are geographic, often urban, areas where anchor institutions and private
companies cluster together and connect with start-ups and business incubators. They enable
companies, entrepreneurs, workers, researchers and investors to work across disparate sectors
and institutions to commercialize ideas and foster innovation across industries by concentrating
people. 25 According to the North Carolina Board of Science, Technology & Innovation,
innovation districts fuel a knowledge-based economy by creating new industries, making
existing ones globally competitive and sustaining economic growth.26 Richard Florida’s recent
mapping of venture capital activity by ZIP codes and area codes, rather than metro areas, shows
that “high-tech development, startup activity, and venture investment have recently begun to
shift to urban centers and also to close-in, mixed-use, transit-oriented, walkable suburbs.”27
Entrepreneurial-and-Innovation-Based Development
In the face of slow economic recovery, many communities are developing new approaches to
sustainable development. These approaches engage with the innovation ecosystem and focus
primarily on skill building through STEM education.28 Nearly 20 percent of current U.S. jobs are
in STEM-related occupations.29 These occupations cut across a variety of industry fields, e.g.
pharmaceutical and medical device development, aerospace innovations as well as data
processing.30 These new approaches build on existing assets rather than rely on construction
projects, e.g. building sports arenas, which traditionally yield low-skilled jobs.31
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Controversy over Effectiveness
The effectiveness of innovation-based development efforts does not escape debate. Malecki
identifies the largest pitfall regarding innovation-based solutions as the shortage of human
capital.32 In addition, how businesses utilize the Internet and e-commerce is of vital importance
to the effectiveness of innovation planning. 33 American Underground, a Durham-based
innovation hub, recently repurposed its location in Raleigh to house Iron Yard Academy, a
coding school with roots in South Carolina. 34 Explaining why it recently displaced all 25
entrepreneurial teams from the hub, American Underground’s Chief Strategist Officer Adam
Klein, referred to a shift in planning, focused more on creating a talent pool to fit the needs
for emerging technology markets. The coding school built a relationship with local employers
Red Hat and Citrix to better align its curriculum to employment opportunities.
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Overview
Quantitative and qualitative research allowed the author to identify gaps in achieving the
stimulation of entrepreneurial-and-innovation-based growth and prescribe best-practice
recommendations to their client. The author ascertained primary source data from both surveys
and key-informant interviews. A primary survey was provided by InnovateNC, a program
described below. An edited version of this survey was created and administered by the author.
Surveys were administered in conjunction with key-informant interviews to identify local
assets. In addition, the author utilized secondary-sourced, scholarly literature as well as
national, state and regionally provided statistical data to provide context. Together, these were
used to perform a gap analysis, and case studies were referenced to ascertain best-practice
recommendations.
InnovateNC
The Institute for Emerging Issues (IEI) at North Carolina State University (NCSU) and nine other
public, private and nonprofit entities partnered to launch InnovateNC, a two-year, cross-city,
learning collaborative tasked with establishing and maintaining innovation ecosystems for its
participant cities. 35 Leading the project are Anita Brown-Graham and Sarah Langer Hall of
NCSU. This program was made possible by a grant given by the Kenan Creative Collaboratory.36
In order to enhance innovation-related, economic growth InnovateNC’s objectives are: 1) to
increase innovation capacity and connectivity, 2) broaden diversity in the innovation economy,
3) foster cross-city partnership, 4) increase visibility for innovation district efforts.37 To achieve
these goals InnovateNC provided best practices from innovation-stimulant programs, guidance
in developing a strategic plan for innovation, asset-mapping techniques and technical assistance
to advance local projects.38
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After an application process, five cities spread across North Carolina were chosen for the
program; however, Elizabeth City was not among those selected. Notwithstanding, the
preliminary organizational efforts for the application process by former Elizabeth City State
University Chancellor Stacy Franklin Jones and her assistant Russ Haddad laid the groundwork
for a promising implementation of InnovateNC. Wayne Harris of the Elizabeth City and
Pasquotank County Economic Development Commission agreed that the author would provide
for him an analysis of the region and best-practice recommendations to stimulate regional
entrepreneurship and innovation.
The author thought it best not to attempt to organize community members into any body
without a thorough understanding of region. Due to academic schedule restraints, this report
provides for the client an “Asset Map,” or an identification of innovation-related resources in
the region, a suggested membership list for a local “Innovation Council” and recommendations
for further consideration by the client.
Survey and Key-Informant Interviews
To identify the best path toward inclusive innovation, InnovateNC in partnership with RTI
International and the N.C. Board for Science, Technology and Innovation, developed a survey
to be administered to each of its participating communities. The specific objectives of this
survey were to assess stakeholders’ perspectives on the local innovation economy, to identify
assets which could foster innovation and entrepreneurship and to formulate strategies to
achieve outcomes of inclusive innovation. For the purposes of this report, this will be referred
to as the “Innovation Asset Map” (IAM).
The author was provided the IAM, and attempted to administer it to 30 community leaders.
These questions were categorized into 6 sections: vision, community assets, networking assets,
policy, media and culture. An example of this survey is provided (APPENDIX A). Unfortunately,
the response rate was extremely low at only 20 percent. Feedback from participants indicated
that the survey was too long at 30 questions, many of which were open ended, suffered
redundancies and used jargon that was difficult to understand. The author edited this survey
to 4, open-ended questions and re-administered it to the same 30 recipients with the positive
result of a 40 percent completion rate (APPENDIX B). These questions were qualitative in nature
in order to solicit well-rounded responses from all survey participants.39 They were broken into
4 categories: challenges of the community, community unification, potential for further
development and community culture. For the purposes of this report, this survey will be
referred to as the “Entrepreneur Survey” (ES). All toll, 12 surveys were completed.
In addition to administering the survey, the author consulted with the client and a spectrum of
key informants that were representative of the local education, business and entrepreneurial
communities. These interviews followed the same format as the ES. As a result of phone
conversations with these stakeholders and site visits on October 21st, November 11th, December
14th and February 19th, the author was able to better understand the region’s potential for an
entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem. Some participants both completed the survey and
agreed to be interviewed. In all, 21 interviews were conducted. The table below summarizes
the participants’ backgrounds.
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Table 1. Key Informants’ Title and Affiliated Organization
Entrepreneurship and Innovation Indicators
An enabling environment for entrepreneurship and innovation typically reflects specific
characteristics. While there are unique traits specific to enabling each entrepreneurs and
innovators, there is overlap. Moreover, one often leads to another. Entrepreneurial and
innovation indicators are one way of measuring an area’s potential for dynamic business churn,
idea generation and the prospect of commercialization.
While there are a myriad of traits that could indicate an entrepreneurial-enabling environment,
key amongst them include: a community’s investment in local education, local infrastructure,
the accessibility to government grants, the existence of venture capital funds, the existence of
incubator facilities and the legal structure.40 Similarly, innovation indicators can be ascertained
by surveying the area’s economic, physical, and networking assets. Economic assets are the
firms, institutions, and organizations that drive and support innovative environments. Physical
assets are both public and private spaces that stimulate connectivity, and networking assets
are relationships between firms and individuals and their ability to share ideas.
To assess Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County’s status of these indicators, the author pulled
data from statistical providers such as the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS),41 the Quarterly
Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW),42 and the American Community Survey (ACS).43 For
the purposes of this report, the author used the Elizabeth City Micropolitan Statistical Area
(μSA) to best understand the economic trends in the surrounding 3-county region. In addition
to these statistics, the author utilized the survey data described in the proceeding section to
best assess whether Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County are poised for entrepreneurship and
innovation.
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ANALYSIS
Due to the overlap in entrepreneurial and innovation indicators, the author used a Strengths,
Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) analysis to organize and clearly communicate
the information gathered from their research and surveys. The SWOT matrix best depicts
positive forces that work together to address an issue and the potential problems that need to
be recognized and possibly dealt with (APPENDIX C).44
STRENGTHS
Economic Assets
As stated earlier, economic assets are the firms, institutions and organizations that drive and
support innovative environments. The IAM was effective in identifying these. While there are a
multitude of assets in each of the categories detailed below, the author chose to highlight
several strengths which particularly stand out as enablers for entrepreneurship and innovation.
A more comprehensive list of community assets is provided (APPENDIX F).
The most cited answer to an inquiry regarding top, regional economic assets were educational
centers. This is not surprising considering ECSU and the local community college, College of the
Albemarle (COA), were the 4th and 5th largest employers in Pasquotank County in 2015,
respectively. 45 Specifically, 80 percent of respondents consider ECSU and COA to be
institutional drivers of innovation in the region. It should be noted that both ECSU Chancellor
Thomas Conway and COA President Kandi W. Deitemeyer expressed interest in playing a vital
role in fostering entrepreneurial and innovation development.
The Small Business Center (SBC), housed at COA, is the entrepreneurship training center of the
local community. The SBC is a state-funded organization that is part of the Small Business
Center Network, a group of 58 centers across the state supporting the development of new
businesses and the growth of existing businesses. The SBC provides small business owners with
training, skill seminars and workshops, resource services and free one-on-one confidential
counseling. 46 It is not an incubator space, but it does serve as a major educational and
networking asset for entrepreneurs. The Small Business and Technology Development Center
has a similar mission and is housed at the ECSU campus.
A third, post-secondary educational institution in the area is Mid-Atlantic Christian University,
a private university offering an undergraduate, faith-based curriculum. This is a growing
institution and is currently led by President Clay Perkins who is supportive of community
collaboration to stimulate entrepreneurial and innovative endeavors.
At the secondary level, there is the newly opened Northeast Academy of Aerospace and
Advanced Technologies (NEAAAT). This is an early-college high school, that has the single goal
of preparing and graduating students with the skills, knowledge and attitudes needed to pursue
the STEM-related jobs. An interview with a member of the school’s Board of Directors indicated
that consumer interest beyond the micropolitian, 3-county region has grown, resulting in a high
number of application submissions. At the elementary level, Port Discover is a hands-on science
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center with the goal of making specialized technology accessible to Elizabeth City-area youth.
For example, the school has launched Tech Café, a weekly onsite gathering spot featuring
themed programs that explore science in a relaxed and social environment.47
There are many economic-development organizations in the Elizabeth City and Pasquotank
County area. The author provides a list of these organizations (APPENDIX F). Below, the author
highlights several organizations that were adamant in playing a guiding role in the innovation
ecosystem. Of particular note are the Albemarle Commission and the River City Community
Development Corporation. The Albemarle Commission’s mission is to improve the abilities of
its member governments, one of which is Pasquotank, through workforce development, senior
programs and regional planning. Executive Director Cathy Davison expressed her support and
willingness to inquire about funding opportunities from the Economic Development
Administration to work with local actors in establishing an entrepreneurial and innovation hub.
The River City Community Development Corporation is a non-profit corporation, which is tasked
with providing opportunity to all members of the community. Specifically, they provide housing
counseling, minority business development, disadvantaged youth development and cultural
awareness. President Lenora Jarvis-Mackey and Youth Build Program Manager Angie Wills
expressed their interests in providing soft skills as well as trade skills as supplements to
entrepreneurial training.
In addition to the aforementioned universities, 2 major employers in the region should be part
of an effective, innovation-development plan. In 2015, the second and third largest employers
in Pasquotank County were Sentara Albemarle Medical Center and the Department of Homeland
Security, respectively. Again, a list is provided (APPENDIX F), but these organizations are worth
mentioning here.
Sentara as an organization that prides itself on embracing and fostering innovation. They
embrace pilots and rapid-cycle testing in the health field. 48 As part of their community
engagement and training initiatives, the organization offers the Administrative Fellowship
Program for a select group of health administration MHA, MHA/MBA, or MBA students/graduates
to gain valuable experience and elevate their potential.49 In addition, Sentara hosts a summer
Junior Volunteer Program for students ages 15-18, who have an interest in healthcare. 50
President of Sentara Albemarle Medical Center, Coleen Santa Ana, expressed her support of
entrepreneurial and innovation training within the local community.
The Department of Homeland Security employs personnel at Base Elizabeth City, a Coast Guard
base that provides a wide variety of mission support services to units and personnel, including
general administration and personnel management, medical/dental, supply, procurement and
warehousing, industrial services, facilities maintenance, computer/electronics support as well
as morale and recreational services. 51 Elizabeth City embraced the base and was recently
acknowledged as a “Coast Guard City.” The base is a source of human capital and educational
expertise. Specifically, the Aviation Technical Training Center in Elizabeth City is the United
States Coast Guard’s technical training provider for enlisted aviation forces.52 This is a center
of expertise and training for the military, but in his research, the author did not find any
internship or apprenticeship connections between city schools and the base.
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Physical Assets
Elizabeth City is situated along the Pasquotank River. When inquired about public spaces that
enabled entrepreneurial and innovation connectivity, the vast majority of respondents listed
Mariners’ Wharf. This is the city’s social center. The free public dock hosts a variety of events
annually, such as: the Downtown Waterfront Market, the Mariners’ Wharf Film Festival and the
Music on the Green Festival. In addition to the wharf, the local geography is peppered with
lakes, rivers, streams, swamps and sounds. There has been some effort to tap into eco-tourism.
Specially, an event titled “Paddle for the Border” took kayakers 7.5 miles along the Dismal
Swamp Canal. The access to the water is a vital community asset.
In addition, Elizabeth City’s downtown is underutilized infrastructure capacity. There are many
empty redbrick buildings with storefronts that could provide the nesting ground for
entrepreneurs. These structures, if renovated, could provide a symbol of a revitalization of the
city while retaining its charm. Durham has had particular success with repurposing industrial
spaces with its American Tobacco Campus, a former factory which now houses many businesses
and is the center of city-sponsored events.
When asked about the transportation to the downtown area, respondents referred to 2 options.
The first was the Downtown Loop and the other is the Inter-County Public Transportation
Authority (ICPTA). ICPTA is a private bus service intended to transport the public from the
surrounding counties to nutrition sites, medical appointments and other locations. 53 Some
survey respondents indicated a lack of confidence in public transportation and rely on privately
owned cars. Although not mentioned in consultation or survey data, the area has a free-bikeloan-program run out of the Elizabeth City Area Convention and Visitors Center.
Networking Assets
As detailed earlier in the report, networking assets are the events that foster relationships
between firms and individuals which enhance their ability to share and commercialize ideas.
Because of the high number of organizations dedicated to stimulating regional economic
development, a list of many of them is provided (APPENDIX F). Specifically, respondents
highlighted several community networking events such as: the Chamber of Commerce’s Business
Expo, the State of Education Breakfast, the Farmers Associations Meetings, Farm-City Week,
tourism conferences and Small Business Development Center events. One of particular interest
is the “5K Run to River” in Downtown Elizabeth City. This event is a collaboration between Port
Discover, Museum of the Albemarle and Arts of the Albemarle. Participants rotate between
each facility, engaging in the educational programs that feature history, art and science.54
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WEAKNESSES
Communications Infrastructure
Having a comprehensive communications infrastructure enables the greatest level of
entrepreneurial connectivity and increases community-wide participation. In addition, access
to inexpensive Internet service is key to small business attraction. With those objectives in
mind, Elizabeth City’s broadband infrastructure is in need of improvement. Affordable
broadband access should not be confused with free Wi-Fi networks, which provide benefits for
meeting spaces but cannot be used to conduct business because of insecure connections.55
Key informants cited difficulties of accessing the Internet in the community. One informant
described a scenario in which she hosted evening sessions at her home so that school-aged
children living on her block could use her Wi-Fi hotspot to complete their homework.
Apparently, the local school they attended distributed iPads to students, but did not consider
their personal access to the Internet. It should be noted, however, that pricing for residential
broadband has gotten more competitive. For example, a new costumer can get 3 Mbps Internet
from Time Warner for $14.99/month and 10 Mbps from CenturyLink for $19.95/month.56
Still, on a 2 to 10 point scale, survey respondents rated broadband access among the lowest of
all regional physical assets. This perception is likely due to the lack of broadband capacity for
business services. Time Warner offers the best deal for small businesses with a 10 Mbps Internet
Service and phone bundle at $99.98/month. According to a key informant, those who have this
service complain that they do not have access to the full 10 Mbps. Moreover, the lines are
oversubscribed and service slows substantially during peak business hours.57 This inconsistent,
expensive service hurts Elizabeth City in two ways: 1) by discouraging entrepreneurs who might
otherwise be attracted to the downtown and waterfront from locating in the city, and 2) by
discouraging existing business from using the Internet to its full advantage because their
connections are unreliable or slow.58
Lack of Affordable Housing
One key informant expressed the need for a greater focus on affordable housing for low-andmoderate-income households. This sentiment is congruent with housing statistics from the
American Community Survey in 2013.59 The data indicates a 17.2 percent vacancy rate in the
region. This is alarming when compared to a city like Durham, NC, which has an estimated
vacancy rate of 8 percent. Compounding this statistic is a trend of rising rent in the area.
Specifically, the median gross rent in 2007 was $751.00 (In inflation adjusted 2013 Dollars),
which rose to $887.00 by 2013.
In addition, the vast majority Elizabeth City residents are either “cost burdened” or “severelycost burdened” by their housing. 60 Specifically, 40.3 percent of the Elizabeth City μSA
homeowners are “cost-burdened,” while 14.3 percent are “severely cost burdened.” In short,
Elizabeth City μSA homeowners are becoming more cost-burdened over time (Figure 2).
12
Figure 2. Elizabeth City μSA homeowners are becoming more cost-burdened than renters.
Percentage of those Cost-burdened
Renters
Homeowners
54.6
51.3
49.7
45.4
2007
2013
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, Three-Year Estimates, 2008 – 2010 and 2011 –
2013
Legal Structure
Under the Telecommunications Act of 1996, cities and towns in North Carolina had the right to
provide broadband service to their citizens and businesses. This was practiced with great
success in Wilson and Salisbury, NC; however, the right was stripped from municipalities in 2011
with the passage of House Bill 129 (HB129), the “Level Playing Field/Local Government
Competition” Act.
HB129 limits service provision to within municipal boundaries, prevents subsidization of the
broadband system from other municipal fund sources, requires payment in lieu of taxes from
the broadband system to the municipal general fund, restricts public financing of the broadband
system to voted debt and requires cities to attempt to form a public private partnership prior
to entering the market themselves. 61 These obstacles make it all but impossible for
municipalities to provide broadband to their communities. While protecting established
broadband providers, like Time Warner and CenturyLink, the law creates an anti-competitive
market for consumers. Rural communities struggling to bring this necessary infrastructure to
their communities are thus put at an economic disadvantage.
Lack of Human Capital
Several survey respondents cited a lack of a critical mass of technically astute individuals to
build the culture of entrepreneurship and innovation. While this judgement is largely
subjective, there is statistical data that supports a bereft of educational attainment regionally.
According to the American Community Survey’s 2014, 5-year-estimate of the Elizabeth City μSA,
only 5.9 percent of adults over the age of 25 had Master's degrees or more. Moreover, 18.5
13
percent achieved Bachelor’s degrees or more. Of the µSA’s student body, 90.1 percent of
students are enrolled in public school, and 28.8 percent of them are at the university level.
This data indicates that a strong public school system and excellent postsecondary institutions
are necessary to produce the human capital capable of successful entrepreneurial and
innovative endeavors. While new leadership promises better results, ECSU has recently suffered
leadership turmoil, an auditing investigation and chronic shrinking enrollment.
Notably, there was an effort, spearheaded by former Chancellor Jones, to retool the ECSU
curriculum toward science and math training for in-demand, local industry. The purpose of this
was to create a talent pool more in-line with regional jobs of the future. These efforts have
not been definitively embraced post-Jones’ departure. The local school district has suffered
less catastrophic troubles, but this report does not extensively cover Pasquotank elementary or
secondary schools. Notwithstanding, the local school board recently replaced its superintendent with Larry Cartner, Ph. D., in hopes of transformational change.
Shrinking Labor Force
Data provided by the Labor Economic and Analysis Division of the North Carolina Department
of Commerce shows that the Elizabeth City μSA labor force grew until 2010 and declined for
the remainder of the Great Recession. This trend creates the misleading appearance of a
declining unemployment rate. It is declining, not because there are more people employed,
but because of a decrease in the total number of people who work in the Elizabeth City μSA.
While it is difficult to ascertain the precise rationale for the drop in labor force, one could
speculate that it is tied to the out-migration rate.
Figure 12. Elizabeth City μSA Labor Force and Unemployment Rate (Great Recession)
10.6
28,500
11
10.6
10.5
10.8
8.7
10
8
6.1
6
27,000
4
26,500
2
26,000
Unemployment (%)
Labor Force
28,000
27,500
12
0
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Year
Labor Force
Unemployment
Source: North Carolina Department of Commerce (http://d4.nccommerce.com/LausSelection.aspx)
14
Location Quotient
Location Quotients (LQ) are ratios that allow an area’s employment by industry to be compared
to a reference area that is the U.S. average for that employment by industry.62 If an LQ is equal
to 1, then the industry has the same share of its area employment as in the entire reference
area. A LQ greater than 1 indicates an industry has a greater share of the local area employment
than in the reference area. In 2014, the LQ for the “Professional and Technical Services”
industry was 1.33.63 This means there is a one-third, greater-than-average “Professional and
Technical Services” industry presence in Pasquotank County. While this number is positive when
compared to the national averages, it is only marginally so. In comparison, the “Health Care
and Social Assistance” industry earned a 2.51 LQ, which is likely due to the large, local health
care provider, Sentara.64
OPPORTUNITIES
Affordable Broadband
There was a recent initiative taken by City leadership to address the need for affordable,
broadband access. As described earlier in this report, HB129 requires cities to attempt to form
a public private partnership to gain broadband access, prior to entering the market themselves.
The City recently issued a Request For Proposals (RFP) to identify and select a private, thirdparty, broadband-service provider to offer reliable, high-capacity, broadband Internet services
to customers throughout the city.65
As stipulated in the RFP, the City will help to design and deploy a wireless infrastructure thus
reducing the capital expense the provider would incur to enter the Elizabeth City market.66
There was consensus amongst City leadership, university leadership and the director of a local
economic developing organization that this was the necessary first step to several businessstimulating and educational efforts.
According to the interviews performed, this initiative could act as a substantial human capital
attractor. Perhaps its biggest benefit would be that it allows the local, K-12 school system to
have cost-affordable Internet access, providing more potential to produce a globallycompetitive workforce.
Willing and Able Community Leadership
The author was surprised by the outpouring of support by community leadership for an
entrepreneurial and innovation initiative. This came from a spectrum of the local population,
spanning educational leadership, local economic development boards, local Church leaders and
business owners. There were different ideas about the best strategy to stimulate
entrepreneurship and innovation, but that is to be expected in early-planning stages without
centralized leadership. There was also a consensus amongst key informants that Elizabeth City,
specifically, must lead the way regarding this initiative. The region looks to the city for
leadership and sees it as “a center of commerce.”67
15
Retiree Population
A resource that survey respondents consistently cited as being underutilized was the local
retiree population. The City and County should investigate ways to further tap into their
experience and intellectual capital. Retirees could provide guest lectures, workshops and
mentoring at local elementary schools, high schools, colleges and universities. In return, these
retirees could receive the validation of a smarter Elizabeth City and stronger sense of
community purpose. The University of California at Davis recently implemented this type of
program with great success.
Educational Institutions
As stated before, the city hosts the largest concentration of knowledge-creating institutions in
Northeastern North Carolina. Because of new and like-minded leadership in at three, postsecondary educational institutions and at the school district level, the region currently has the
potential to rebrand itself as a “center for idea generation.”68
College of the Albemarle President, Kandi W. Deitemeyer, is well versed on what is needed to
foster entrepreneurship and innovation. ECSU Chancellor Thomas Conway is stepping into his
new role well as the head of the university. At the time of this report, he is handling the fallout
of an auditing investigation which proceeded his tenure, but he has the support of the
community and stands to make strides at the university. President of Mid-Atlantic Christian
University, Clay Perkins, also expressed his support for this initiative and was interested in
working further with the other two regional, educational institutions. Rounding out this group
is Larry W. Cartner, the new Elizabeth City-Pasquotank County Superintendent, who has a
reputation as a change-maker.
A collaboration between these schools, colleges and universities that enables the free flow of
resources and human capital between them, could set this region apart as a builder of
knowledge. This is the kind of culture that breeds entrepreneurship and innovation.
Manufacturing Potential
There may also be manufacturing potential on the Albemarle Sound and the Pasquotank River.
According to one community member surveyed, the river manufacturing companies always need
a large supply of water to run their operations. Trying to sell them on the potential of
undeveloped land in the far south end of the county could be beneficial.
16
THREATS
Poverty
As detailed earlier, the Elizabeth City µSA has a growing poverty problem (Figure 3).
Figure 3. Elizabeth City μSA Poverty Rate increases during the Great Recession
Year
2013
13.5%
2010
13.7%
2007
0.0%
12.9%
2.0%
4.0%
6.0%
8.0%
10.0%
12.0%
14.0%
16.0%
Poverty Rate
USA
North Carolina
Elizabeth City (mSA)
Source: US Census Bureau, American Community Survey, Three-Year Estimates, 2007 – 2010 and 2011 –
2013
Perhaps most alarming is the discrepancy between the poverty rates among Whites and Blacks.
The rate of white unemployment dropped below 11 percent since the Great Recession, but rose
to over 31 percent for the black community. High poverty rates often correlate with traits
detrimental to entrepreneurship and innovation, such as crime and low educational
achievement. Furthermore, the discrepancy in how poverty affects the community is a major
obstacle in achieving racial inclusivity in both the entrepreneurial-and-innovation-based
economy.
Out-migration
While the overall statewide population grew, according to research conducted by Jolley, Jason,
Aaron Nousaine, and Huang, rural depopulation and residential out-migration is a challenge
particularly prevalent in North Carolina’s Northeastern region.69 Out-migration trends lead to a
contraction of the local labor force and reductions in net household consumption. 70 The
population of the Elizabeth City µSA declined by 501 residents, or roughly 0.8 percent, between
2010 and 2014. While out-migration contributed to population decline, it should be noted that
international immigration and modest natural growth helped to offset this decline. Further, the
North Carolina Office of Budget and Management expects the population of Elizabeth City to
17
grow modestly from an estimated 63,866 residents in July of 2015 to 65,830 residents in July
of 2030.
Lack of Cohesion
Although the region has many of economic-development organizations. There is a lack of
cohesion amongst them. As noted by one key informant, many community boards and
commissions work on the same thing.71 For example, the Chamber of Commerce Board, the
Economic Development Board, the Tourism Board and the Downtown Board include many of the
same individuals and engage similar assets. In addition to these redundancies, some in the
community feel that there is a lack of support from the City Council to expand entrepreneurial
opportunities. Other respondents believe there is a need to fill the local leadership vacuum and
foster better strategic planning. Specifically, they complained about prior efforts to strategize
in that these efforts often favored only one the facilitator’s specific interests.
A lack of cohesion could be detrimental to a community plan for entrepreneurship and
innovation. For example, The Center for Competitive Economies at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill assisted Enfield, NC in drafting a strategic-economic-development
plan.72 The program brought together local business leaders and government officials to identify
and prioritize community goals; however, the organization was ineffective in generating
sustained participation from the community in part because of disparate interests.
Inclusivity
There is consensus in the community that whatever intervention pursued, it must include the
entire community. It is imperative that the effort not be perceived as benefitting an elite few,
and the correct tone on inclusiveness must be set early on.73 Furthermore, some informants
feel that some members of community most interested in entrepreneurship are generally
overlooked, but are in actuality, the strongest asset supporting local entrepreneurship and
innovation. These “would be” entrepreneurs are not associated with large-budget
organizations.
Additionally, there is a general consensus among respondents that improving race relations is
needed within the community. The area suffers a complicated history of segregation and racial
discrimination. There exists some animosity amongst political leadership, part of which may
have to do with racial differences.
Lastly, there could be more dialogue about entrepreneurship and innovation within the
community. Several respondents claimed a lack of dialogue on the topic, especially among
disadvantaged populations; however, there are ongoing efforts taking place in the form of
Youth Build (Science Center), the Northeast Academy of Aerospace and Advanced Technologies
and the proposed, refocused curriculum at ECSU.
18
Lack of Venture Capital
Entrepreneurs need early-stage financing to bring new ideas to the market place. In addition,
sustained funding is essential for the development of innovation clusters. 74 Survey data
indicates a wide consensus that a lack of access to funding and investors is the biggest challenge
to entrepreneurs in Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County. When asked to rate the financial
capital available for research and discovery as well as for commercialization on a 1 to 10 scale,
both survey results averaged below 3. This aligns with the responses to a question regarding
venture capital. When posed with the statement “Venture capital is easily available,” 60
percent of respondents “moderately disagreed” while the other 40 percent “strongly
disagreed.” This lack of capital is a major road block for start-ups and existing business looking
to expand. For example, the author learned of no regional “Angel Investors” to sponsor an
entrepreneurial endeavors.
Media
Elizabeth City has its own newspaper publication, The Daily Advance. There has been coverage
of entrepreneurial efforts by this publication, but one respondent described them as unhelpful,
“We have a local paper that is not interested in enhancing or working toward drawing businesses
and innovation to our area. They like negative stories mostly.” This report does not
comprehensively analyze regional media efforts to support entrepreneurship and innovation,
and The Daily Advance did not respond to requests to be interviewed or participate in the
author’s survey.
Culture
Many respondents feel that there is a large population of area residents who do not embrace
change. When asked to provide an example of this, a respondent referred to the resistance
from the City Council when garnering support for the original InnovateNC application. In
addition, while many in the community expressed support for this initiative, only a small
percentage took the time to reply to repeated attempts to speak about the topic of
entrepreneurship or innovation. Many informants expressed that the culture was reflective of
a lack of exposure to the topics of entrepreneurship and innovation.
19
CRITERIA
Following the guidelines provided by InnovateNC, the objectives of this project were to increase
entrepreneurial-and-innovation capacity, connectivity and inclusivity. Mindful of this,
recommendations to the client were made based on their ability to:
1. Stimulate entrepreneurial-and-innovation-based economic development.
2. Encourage community-wide inclusivity.
3. Be feasible.
CONCLUSION
Results of the data analyzed show that Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County suffer from a lack
of digital communications infrastructure, a declining labor force, a lack of affordable housing,
high poverty rates, a contraction of employment its top three industries and out-migration.
Most concerning is a lack of both venture capital accessibility and human capital capacity
needed to establish and drive an entrepreneurial-and-innovation-based economy. Moreover,
the lack of a cohesive plan amongst supportive organizations further inhabits this growth
process, as similarly missioned organizations compete for the same local assets.
Notwithstanding, there is opportunity for regional entrepreneurial-and-innovation-based
development. Elizabeth City is situated on the Pasquotank River, a geographic advantage for
attracting ecotourism and retirees. In addition, the city hosts a large Coast Guard base and the
only three, postsecondary educational institutions in the Northeast region, Elizabeth City State
University, the College of the Albemarle and Mid-Atlantic Christian University. This
concentration of talent provides opportunity for the city to become the intellectual bastion of
the Northeast region. If organized correctly, the region’s economic-development and socialsupport organizational bodies have the potential to grow and supply talent for the local
workforce. Lastly, there is ample underutilized, physical infrastructure in the city’s downtown
area. These structures, if renovated, could be converted to the maker and co-working spaces
that subsidize entrepreneurs and encourage innovation.
This report concludes that to foster entrepreneurship and innovation in Elizabeth City and
Pasquotank County there must be a concerted effort to build a talent pipeline, create an
enabling environment for small businesses and attract new sources of investment capital. This
must be a communal endeavor in which entrepreneurs, private businesses, nonprofits,
educational leadership and policymakers work together. Assuming this, the author makes the
following recommendations to the Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County Economic
Development Commission.
20
RECOMMENDATIONS
The author acknowledges that this report is not an exhaustive analysis of every asset in the
Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County area, nor does it cover all gaps to stimulate regional
innovation and entrepreneurship. Some specific limitations include: a lack of primary data from
local entrepreneurs, an analysis of the city and county’s tax incentives for small businesses and
a comprehensive description of procurement and venture capital sources. Rather, this Master’s
Project provides the following best practices to be considered when drafting a road map to a
more entrepreneurial and innovative Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County.
21
Follow through with current effort to bring affordable broadband to the area.
At the time that this report was written, the City was nearing the selection of 1 of the 3 RFP
bids from 3rd-party, broadband-service providers. Although detailed in prior sections of this
report, the importance of digital connectivity cannot be overstated in stimulating inclusive
entrepreneurship and innovation. No amount of digital literacy will transform the economic
landscape if businesses and households lack a state-of-the-art, digital network.
A public/private partnership (PPP), similar to the one described in Elizabeth City’s RFP, proved
very successful in Cleveland, OH. The City of Cleveland and OneCommunity, a nonprofit
organization which provides digital infrastructure for Northeast Ohio, partnered to establish a
100 gigabit network to connect Cleveland’s Health-Tech Corridor to University Circle.75 This
kind of capacity incentivizes local and national, fast-growing companies, especially those
involved with health technologies, to locate and remain in an area.
In conjunction with providing a backbone for broadband service, the City should work to expand
free Wi-Fi hotspots throughout the city to further bridge the digital-divide. After surveying
patrons, the New York Public Library (NYPL) learned that 55 percent of those using free Internet
at their branches lacked broadband access at home.76 This percentage rose as household income
fell. To remedy this, NYPL worked with Google and several nonprofit organizations to win a
grant that enabled them to provide families with the opportunity to borrow free Wi-Fi-providing
devices from their local libraries.77 Specifically, patrons are eligible to borrow devices for six
months if they don’t have broadband at home and are currently enrolled in one of several
library programs, including after-school programs or adult learning programs, such as ESOL or
literacy classes.78
22
Establish an Entrepreneurship and Innovation Council.
To address the disparate nature and decentralized leadership of the region’s entrepreneurshipand-innovation-stakeholder organizations, a representative council of the community’s
innovation ecosystem should be established. The purpose of this “Innovation Council” is to
foster cooperation between the City, nonprofits, educational institutions and prospective
developers to draft a plan that best advances their local entrepreneurial and innovation
economies.
The council could meet on a quarterly basis, when attainable short and long term goals would
be detailed and accounted for. This will require a data collection system, built in cooperation
with a regional data partner, which would include performance metrics. Further, the council
should involve but not be directly housed in a governmental capacity. A PPP may be the most
desirable arrangement because it is important that the head of the council, or “facilitator,” be
seen as a neutral party, disassociated with political affiliations and past partisanship. In
addition, this facilitator should be tightly networked, understand how the community works,
and appreciate the commercial potential for scientific discoveries.79
For example, Director of UNC Pembroke’s Entrepreneurship Incubator, James Woods, is a
research scientist by training. Woods came to Pembroke from Wake Forest Innovations, the
medical center’s accelerator for scientific discovery. As a business developer, his role was to
build partnerships between the university’s scientists and private industry.80 His understanding
of science, business, innovation and communities more generally, combined with his impartial
status as an outsider, may be a model for the type of leadership Elizabeth City needs.
The Innovation Council was a major aspect of the InnovateNC framework, which suggested the
number of council representatives to be anywhere between 25 and 30. However, in the attempt
to accomplish inclusivity, it is important to note that a spectrum of disparate perspectives early
on may lead to difficulty in establishing a unified vision. While the council should be welcoming
to any stakeholder interested in fostering entrepreneurship and innovation, forcing communitywide stakeholders to select one vision for innovation may be unrealistic in the earliest stages.
Successful innovation-based-economic development is often fostered by a small group of key
individuals bridging the space between science and commercialization.81 Rather than scattered
attempts to get the entire community behind one initiative, the innovative thinking that is
required to move forward needs to be streamlined and led by individuals beyond elected
officials.82 A small Council of dedicated individuals would have the flexibility to quickly identify
opportunities for innovation and coordinate the services to enable an entrepreneurial
environment.
23
Establish and subsidize a business incubator space/innovation hub downtown.
A repurposed industrial building in downtown Elizabeth City can provide a space that
encourages entrepreneurship, acts as a community educator and draws businesses and
costumers to a centralized area. Collaborative spaces that are subsidized by local government
and anchor institutions reduce overhead costs for startup companies by offering low-risk, work
spaces. In addition, incubator spaces can provide educational and mentorship opportunities
through community engagement. 83 For example, the recently opened Entrepreneurship
Incubator in Pembroke, NC taps into the expertise and resources of UNC Pembroke, the diversity
of the university students and the culture and heritage of the community.84
An Elizabeth City incubator space could provide educational support in the form of workshops,
an invited speaker series and online programs. As in Pembroke, clients could be made aware of
the community college’s Small Business Center seminars.85 In addition, Pembroke incubator’s
management partners with local consultants to offer their clients access to free business
planning and consulting. Elizabeth City could arrange similar connections, by tapping into the
wide array of expertise from its retiree and ex-military populations.
Mentorship, technical-service-provider connections (accounting, marketing, public relations,
finance, etc.) and networking events are some of the other opportunities to attract
entrepreneurs and investors with a centralized, incubator space. Incubator management should
also work closely with the college of the Albemarle, ECSU and Mid-Atlantic Christian University
to foster visits, co-sponsor events and host classes at the incubator. A coding school housed in
the space, similar to Iron Yard Academy, sponsored by a local university or college would boost
regional human capital and may draw business talent scouts to the area.86
Normally, incubators charge a small fee to its small businesses and entrepreneurs to cover a
portion of overhead costs. This may exclude some entrepreneurs in especially disadvantaged
areas like Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County. To remedy this type of problem, the City of
Seattle provides an incubator subsidy called the Technology Matching Fund for small companies
commercializing innovative ideas that improve city services and public access to digital
resources.87 Elizabeth City already provides some entrepreneurial subsidization, and this type
of program compliments those efforts.
24
Draw capital to the region by providing tax credits to small businesses.
To encourage capital investment, the City must enact policies to ensure that small businesses
can take risks and thrive. The current environment enables only large corporate chains to stay
open because they can absorb large overhead costs. These business provide majority low-wage
work, and their profits are not recycled through the local community, lowering overall GDP.
The City Council should provide tax credits for small businesses opening in the downtown and
Ehringhaus corridor.88 This would be helpful to slow the trend of businesses moving out to the
Tanglewood areas.
In addition, North Carolina provides a variety of tax credits for small STEM-related businesses,
such as: the Technology Development Tax Credit, the Renewable Energy Tax Credit and
Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit. 89 While this report does not provide a comprehensive
analysis of the state and regional tax structure, it is important that entrepreneurial-training
organizations and local educational institutions, from secondary to the university level, are
educating the community of tax-credit opportunities.
Moreover, the City should work with lobbying coalitions such as the NC League of Municipalities
to leverage the General Assembly to develop tax credits that entrepreneurs can actually take
advantage of. For example, some of the tax credits currently offered require that firms be
operating at a positive profit level to take advantage of them, which can be difficult for a
young, entrepreneurial firm. 90 These kind of intricacies that must be considered before
declaring the region “entrepreneur-or-innovation-friendly.”
25
Implement a transportation initiative to bring people to Elizabeth City’s downtown.
While technological advances allow micropolitan and less connected geographies to become
idea and wealth generators, modern and enjoyable transportation is key to a well-functioning,
entrepreneurial-and-innovation ecosystem. Clustering talent across sectors requires
accessibility, and drawing people to Elizabeth City’s downtown will require a multifaceted
transportation initiative. To address what some in the community claim as an unreliable and
inconvenient public transport system, the City should build transportation links to address the
needs of citizens of all generations.
For the able bodied, an inexpensive option may be the installation of bicycle lanes on all roads
leading downtown. Pittsburg’s Roadmap for Inclusive Innovation recommends installing
additions to existing bike routes like bright signs and painted asphalt to increase driver
noticeability and safety.91 Included in this plan should be bike lanes leading to all local colleges
and universities. Complimenting this is the installation of a bicycle sharing system, which have
been met with great success in cities across the country, namely Washington D.C. and New
York. For all physical abilities, there should be a shuttling service connecting the downtown
area to all regional colleges and universities.
Looking ahead, the City may want to solicit the ride-sharing service, Uber, to the area. The
company will move to almost any area which it has a market, which could be fostered with the
development of downtown establishments. After a public bus plan fell through, the City of
Altamonte Springs, Florida became the first in the country to partially subsidize Uber fares.
Specifically, the city covers 20 percent of any ride beginning or ending in Altamonte Springs. 92
The City Manager, Frank Martz, claims his residents and business owners like not having to rely
on public transit and fixed schedules.93
In addition, Uber brings flexible earning opportunities for community residents, especially parttime workers. More than half of Uber drivers in the U.S. choose to work 10 hours a week or
fewer.94 This presents a viable income option for local retirees, and cities of the future should
have job opportunities for aging populations. 95 Uber can revitalize local economies. For
example, in London, nearly a third of drivers live in areas where unemployment rates are
highest.96 Still, local taxi service would undoubtedly suffer market displacement from bringing
such a service to the area. The company received mixed reviews on its recent foray in
Greenville, NC.97
26
Encourage affordable housing policies and practices.
Affordable housing is key to stimulating regional in-migration, but for many residents in the
region there is limited choices between deteriorating housing and homes that necessitate long
commutes.98 Both of these effect the “quality of life” factors which companies consider before
moving to an area. To address this, there should be an expansion of workforce housing in areas
near employment centers and existing infrastructure.99 To decrease the high vacancy rate, the
City could explore restrictive covenants or agreements with vacant property homeowners to
rent at below-market prices to encourage in-migration. This provides inexpensive alternatives
to capital-intensive construction.
In addition, working with NC Housing Finance Agency, the City should encourage the utilization
of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC). While there is inconsistent evidence on the
positive effects of LIHTCs, a study of the neighborhoods around the LIHTCs in Santa Clara
County, CA found that they increased nearby property value.100 Regardless of the path chosen,
the City should work closely with local housing experts like Morris Autry of the ECSU Community
Development Program to investigate why there has been an increasing trend in housing
burdened homeowners and why that proportion is so much higher than other rural regions of
North Carolina.
27
Hire a marketing firm to create and launch a new City website specifically geared toward
entrepreneurs and innovators.
To address the lack of communication between the City, entrepreneurs, innovators and the
organizations that support economic development, the City should invest in a user friendly,
one-stop, website that communicates local, entrepreneurial-and-innovation-related activity
only. The current city website is comprehensive, but provides too much general information
and too little useful information specifically for entrepreneurs and innovators. Ideally, the
website would be closely tied to the aforementioned Innovation Council and incubator
space/innovation hub.
A new website of entrepreneurship and innovation could act as the center piece of a marketing
campaign to rebrand Elizabeth City as a regional center for idea generation. Pittsburg is using
their city website to address the digital-divide, empower city-to-citizen engagement and
promote the local business environment. 101 In addition, by highlighting the intellectual
accomplishments of Elizabeth City and Pasquotank County’s diaspora, this website could
incentivize former Northeastern North Carolinians to repatriate, start businesses or teach at
the local colleges or the university. This technique worked in Ireland with the tourism campaign
known as “The Gathering.”102
A comparable example of a nearby community that markets itself well via its website is New
Burn, NC. Besides being an attractive site with professionally-produced video highlighting the
local cuisine, it markets New Bern’s unique historic character. Elizabeth City, could combine a
modern user-friendly website with its own unique assets to market itself as the idea generator
of the region.
28
APPENDIX A – Innovation Asset Map
29
1.2.1. Physical Assets: What are the public and privately owned spaces designed to stimulate collaboration. Please
list.
Buildings
Innovation Centers
Parks/Plazas
Support Organizations
Others
1.2.1a Physical Assets: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = very poor, 5 = average, and 10 = excellent, how would you
rank the quality of each asset in its ability to advance the community’s innovation agenda?
1
2
3
4
5
6
6
7
8
9
10
Not
Applicable
Buildings
Innovation Center
Parks/Plazas
Support Organizations
Others
1.2.2. Talent Assets: What are the key talent assets of the community that drive thought? Please list.
K-12 schools
Community colleges
Universities
Training/research Centers
Others
Click 1.2.2a Talent Assets: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = very poor, 5 = average, and 10 = excellent, how would
you rank the quality of each asset in its ability to advance the community’s innovation agenda?
Not
30
1
2
3
4
5
6
6
7
8
9
10
Applicable
K-12 schools
Community colleges
Universities
Training/research
centers
Others
1.2.3 Infrastructure Assets: What are the key transportation and telecommunication networks in the community?
Please list.
Public transportation
Airports
Roads
Rail
Waterways
Broadband access
1.2.3a Infrastructure Assets: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = very poor, 5 = average, and 10 = excellent, how would
you rank the quality of each asset in its ability to advance the community’s innovation agenda?
Not Applicable
1
2
3
4
5
31
6
6
7
8
9
10
Public transportation
Airports
Roads
Rail
Waterways
Broadband access
1.2.4 Economic Assets: What are the financial resources in the community? Please list.
Financial Capital (R&D Commercialization)
Financial Capital (late stage)
1.2.4a Economic Assets: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = very poor, 5 = average, and 10 = excellent, how would you
rank the quality of each asset in its ability to advance the community’s innovation agenda?
1
2
3
4
5
6
6
7
8
9
10
Not
Applicable
Financial Capital (R&D
Commercialization)
Financial Capital (late
stage
1.2.5 Community Assets: What community assets exist that help facilitate innovation and entrepreneurship? Please
list.
Incubators
Accelerators
1.
2.5a Community Assets: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = very poor, 5 = average, and 10 = excellent, how
would you rank the quality of each asset in its ability to advance the community’s innovation agenda?
32
1
2
3
4
5
6
6
7
8
9
10
Not
Applicable
Incubators
Accelerators
2 - Networks
2.1.1 Associations and Events: What associations and events exist to bring innovators and entrepreneurs together in
the area? Please list.
Associations
Events
2.
1.1a Associations and Events: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = very poor, 5 = average, and 10 = excellent,
how would you rank the quality of each association or event in its ability to advance the community’s innovation
agenda?
1
2
3
4
5
6
6
7
8
9
10
Not
Applicable
Associations
Events
3 - Government
3.1.1 Government Assets: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = very poor, 5 = average, and 10 = excellent, how would
you rank the quality of each association in its ability to advance the Elizabeth City/Pasquotank Co.'s innovation
agenda?
33
1
2
3
4
5
6
6
7
8
9
10
Not
Applicable
City Government
Pasquotank County
State of NC
Federal
4 - Media
4.1.1 Media: Which print publications, TV, radio, or social media networks share the innovation story of your
community? Please list.
4.1.1a Media: On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 = very poor, 5 = average, and 10 = excellent, how would you rank the
quality of the local media in its ability to advance the community’s innovation agenda?
ApplicableNot 1 2
3
7
10
8
9
4
Local Media
5 - Asset Summary
Are there any other assets that you would include that have been overlooked?
34
5
6
6
6 - Self Assessment
Overall, local leadership supports innovation.
Strongly agree
Moderately agree
Moderately disagree
Strongly disagree
There is strong communication between innovation stakeholders.
Strongly agree
Moderately agree
Moderately disagree
35
36
APPENDIX B – ENTREPRENEUR SURVEY
CHALLENGES: What are the biggest challenges to entrepreneurs in Elizabeth City/Pasquotank
County?
COMMUNITY: What can the city do to unify the area's entrepreneurial community?
POTENTIAL: List any unique characteristics of Elizabeth City/Pasquotank County that could be
further developed?
THINK BIG: How would you envision competitively priced broadband benefitting businesses and
residents of Elizabeth City/Pasquotank County?
37
APPENDIX C – SWOT MATRIX
38
APPENDIX D – PROSPECTIVE INNOVATION COUNCIL
The following is a prospective Innovation Council (IC) for Elizabeth City/Pasquotank County,
North Carolina. This list serves as a suggestion to the client based on the author’s experience
and research. This list is representative of community members who overtly expressed interest
to the author in this endeavor. Regardless of the client’s decision, the IC should be a diverse
group of policymakers, entrepreneurs, neighborhood leaders, community support and research
organizations and media outlets.
Facilitator
Local Policymakers
Russ Haddad
Special Assistant to Chancellor/University
Project Management
ECSU
Joe Peel
Mayor
Elizabeth City
Executive Committee
Richard Olsen
City Manager
Elizabeth City
Kandi Deitemeyer
President
College of the Albemarle
Tony Stimatz
Second Ward Councilman
Elizabeth City
Cathy Davison
Executive Director
Albemarle Commission
Rodney Bunch
County Manager
Pasquotank County
Tim Ivey
Regional Industry Manager
Economic Development Partnership of
North Carolina
Local Business Leadership
Kelly Thorsby
Executive Director
EC Area Chamber of Commerce
Wayne Harris
Director
Economic Development Commission
Bob Brungard
President
Hockmeyer Equipment Corporation
Data Collection
Wayne Harris
Director
Economic Development Commission
Ken Hoffer
CEO
Hoffer Flow Controls
Joy Smith, Ph. D.
Chairperson, Dept. of Business &
Economics
ECSU
Coleen Santa Ana
President
Sentara Albemarle Medical Center
39
Robin Kelly-Goss
Executive Director
Port Discover
Education and Talent Developers
Dr. Thomas Conway
Chancellor
ECSU
Angie Wills
YouthBuild Program Manager
River City Community Development
Corporation
Kandi Deitemeyer
President
College of the Albemarle
Andrew Harris
CEO
NEAAAT
Clay Perkins, Ph. D.
President
MACU
Morris Autry
Program Specialist
Community Development Program
ECSU
Ernest R. Sutton
(Former) ECSU Board of Trustee
Larry Cartner, Ph. D.
Superintendent
EC and PC Schools
Ginger O’Neal
Director
Small Business Center
College of the Albemarle
Lenora Jarvis Mackey
President
River City Community Development
Corporation
Media Representatives
Robert Kelly-Gross
Director of Media Communications
ECSU
40
APPENDIX E – ADDITIONAL COUNCIL MEMBERS
(NOT CONTACTED BY AUTHOR)
This list identifies other community members that could be contacted to complete the IC.
Media Representatives
Funders of Entrepreneurial Activity
Mike Goodman
Executive Editor
The Daily Advance
Natalie Jenkins Peel
Regional Director
Northern Albemarle Community Foundation
William Varnier
Creative Services Director
WTKR-TV
Mark Brown
Director
Elizabeth City Foundation
Regional Entrepreneurs
Molly Brite
Executive Director
EC and PC Education Foundation
Jim Thomas
Senior Vice President
DLS Engineering
Russ Hull
Chairman
Committee of 100
Marcy Bergman
President
Motion Sensors
Dan Gerlach
President
GoldenLeaf Foundation
Kerry Krauss
Full Spectrum Works
41
APPENDIX F – LIST OF COMMUNITY ASSETS
Education
Port Discover
Northeastern High School
Pasquotank County High School
River Road Middle School
Elizabeth City Middle School
College of the Albemarle
Elizabeth City State University
Mid-Atlantic Christian University
Small Business & Technology Development Center @ ECSU
Small Business Center @ COA
Northeastern Workforce Development Board
Infrastructure
Tanglewood Pavilion
Educational buildings
TCOM Aerostat Balloon Hanger
KE White Center
Institutions
College of the Albemarle
Elizabeth City State University
River City Community Development Corporation
Mid-Atlantic Christian University
EC and PC Chamber of Commerce
Elizabeth City Downtown, Inc.
EC and PC Economic Development Commission
U.S. Coast Guard
Albemarle Commission
NC East Alliance
COA Small Business Centers
Elizabeth City State University
Commerce Parks
Committee of 100
Elizabeth City Rotary Club
42
Institutions (continued…)
Sentara Hospital
Full Spectrum Maker Space
Farmers Associations
City of Elizabeth City
Pasquotank County
Committee of 100
Incubators
Small Business & Technology Development Center @ ECSU
Small Business Center @ COA
LIST OF COMMUNITY ASSETS (continued…)
Financial Backers
Wells Fargo
Gateway Bank & Trust
First Citizens
Select Bank
First South Bank
Physical Assets
Parks
Mariners' Wharf
ECSU Courtyard
Albemarle Sound
Pasquotank River
Coast Guard Base
Networking Assets
Business Exposition
State of Education Breakfast
Farmers Associations Meetings
Farm-City Week
43
Networking Assets (continued…)
Tourism conferences
SBDC Events
Media Exposure
The Daily Advance
Outer Banks Voice
East Carolina Radio
WRVS - university public radio station
Max Radio Group
WSKY TV
WTKR TV
WAVY TV
WVEC
44
NOTES
1
For the purposes of this report this refers to the economic contraction that occurred between the
years 2008-2014.
2
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, A metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a county or set of
counties with at least one urbanized cluster of 50,000 or more residents & a high degree of economic &
social connectedness as measured by commuting ties.
3
United States Department of Labor, “Metropolitan Area Employment and Unemployment Summary,”
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/metro.nr0.htm
4
NC Department of Commerce, “North Carolina Labor Market Conditions,”
http://www.nccommerce.com/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=koMUNSFWfY0%3d&tabid=4427&mid=11279
5
The Observer editorial board, “A Carolina Comeback, for Some,” Charlotteobserver, accessed April
15, 2016, http://www.charlotteobserver.com/opinion/editorials/article52511765.html.
6
The North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center, “North Carolina Rural Profile; Economic and
Social Trends Affecting Rural North Carolina.”(February 2013),
http://www.ncruralcenter.org/images/PDFs/Publications/ruralprofile_2013-compressed.pdf.
7
Ibid.
8
A family consists of a householder and one or more other people living in the same household who are
related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption. All people in a household who are related
to the householder are regarded as members of his or her family. A family household may contain
people not related to the householder, but those people are not included as part of the householder's
family in tabulations. Thus, the number of family households is equal to the number of families, but
family households may include more members than do families. A household can contain only one
family for purposes of tabulations. Not all households contain families since a household may be
comprised of a group of unrelated people or of one person living alone - these are called nonfamily
households. Families are classified by type as either a "married-couple family" or "other family"
according to the sex of the householder and the presence of relatives. The data on family type are
based on answers to questions on sex and relationship that were asked of all people.
9
A Micropolitan Statistical Area (μSA) is a county or set of counties with at least one urbanized cluster
of 10,000 to 49,999 residents & a high degree of economic & social connectedness as measured by
commuting ties.
10
100 percent or 200 percent of the FPL income, respectively.
11
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) classifies any household paying over
30 percent of their income on housing (mortgage or rent) as “cost-burdened.” If a household is paying
over 50 percent of their income on housing they are classified as “severely cost- burdened.”
12
The North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center, “North Carolina Rural Profile; Economic and
Social Trends Affecting Rural North Carolina.”(February 2013),
http://www.ncruralcenter.org/images/PDFs/Publications/ruralprofile_2013-compressed.pdf.
13
Bruce Katz and Julie Wagner, “The Rise of Innovation Districts: A New Geography of Innovation in
America,” Washington: Brookings Institution, 2014.
14
According to the North American Industry Classification System, the Professional, Scientific, and
Technical Services sector comprises establishments that specialize in performing professional,
scientific, and technical activities for others. These activities require a high degree of expertise and
training. Activities performed include: legal advice and representation; accounting, bookkeeping, and
payroll services; architectural, engineering, and specialized design services; computer services;
consulting services; research services; advertising services; photographic services; translation and
interpretation services; veterinary services; and other professional, scientific, and technical services.
15
Ibid.
45
16
MDC, Inc. The Building Blocks of Community Development. 2002.
www.mdcinc.org.
17
Christopher Gergen and Stephen Martin Correspondents, “Tools Exist to Help NC Spur Local
Innovation, Entrepreneurship,” Newsobserver, accessed April 3, 2016,
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article68102277.html.
18
OECD (2011), Entrepreneurship at a Glance 2011, OECD Publishing.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264097711-en
19
Ibid.
20
Ibid.
21
“North Carolina Innovation Council; Making North Carolina the state where innovation thrives,” Last
modified December, 2010,
https://www.nccommerce.com/Portals/6/Documents/Resources/Innovation_Council_Initial_Recomme
ndations.pdf
22
Ibid.
23
Asa Lindholm Dahlstrand and Helen Lawton Smith, “Science Parks and Economic Development.” In
Prasada Reddy, ed., Globalization Of Technology: Issues In Technology Transfer And Technological
Capability Building (UNESCO-EOLSS).
24
Research Triangle Foundation of North Carolina, “Research Triangle Park: Master Plan” (2011).
25
Bruce Katz and Julie Wagner, “The Rise of Innovation Districts: A New Geography of Innovation in
America,” Washington: Brookings Institution, 2014.
26
John Hardin and Patrick Nerz, “Tracking Innovation; North Carolina Innovation Index” (North Carolina
Department of Commerce: 2013) Retrieved from:
http://www.nccommerce.com/Portals/6/Documents/Resources/TI_NC_2013_Report.pdf
27
Richard Florida, “Startup City: The Urban Shift in Venture Capital and High Technology” (Toronto:
Martin Prosperity Institute, 2014).
28
For more, see Bruce Katz and Jennifer Bradley, The Metropolitan Revolution: How Cities and Metros
are Fixing our Broken Politics and Economy, Washington: Brookings, 2014.
29
Jonathan Rothwell, “The Hidden STEM Economy,” Washington: Brookings Institution, 2013.
30
Mark Muro, Kenan Fikri, and Scott Andes, “Powering Advanced Industries State by State,”
Washington: Brookings Institution, 2014.
31
Bruce Katz and Julie Wagner, “The Rise of Innovation Districts: A New Geography of Innovation in
America,” Washington: Brookings Institution, 2014.
32
Malecki, Edward J. “Digital Development in Rural Areas: Potentials and Pitfalls,” Journal of Rural
Studies, vol. 19, no. 2 (April 2003), pp. 201-214.
33
Ibid.
34
Triangle Business Journal.
35
“Participating Communities Selected for Innovate NC, First-In-Nation Economic Development
Initiative,” Institute for Emerging Issues, accessed September 2015, http://iei.ncsu.edu/wpcontent/uploads/2015/09/Press-Release-InnovateNC-Communities-Announced.pdf.
36
Kenan Creative Collaboratory is an initiative of the four Kenan Institutes and their host institutions:
Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise (UNC-Chapel Hill), William R. Kenan Jr. Institute for Engineering,
Technology and Science (NC State University), Thomas S. Kenan Institute for the Arts (UNC School of
the Arts), and Kenan Institute for Ethics (Duke University).
37
“About Us,” accessed April 3, 2016, http://innovatenclearningcommunity.ning.com/about-us.
38
Ibid.
39
Patton, M.Q. 2002. Qualitative Research & Evaluation Methods 3rd Ed. London: Sage Publications.
46
40
Acs, Zoltan J., Edward L. Glaeser, Robert E. Litan, Lee Fleming, Stephan J. Goetz, William R. Kerr,
Steven Klepper, Stuart S. Rosenthal, Olav Sorenson, and William C. Strange. "Entrepreneurship and
Urban Success: Toward a Policy Consensus." Kauffman Foundation Research Report (January 2008).
41
The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor is the principal Federal agency
responsible for measuring labor market activity, working conditions, and price changes in the economy.
Its mission is to collect, analyze, and disseminate essential economic information to support public and
private decision-making. As an independent statistical agency, BLS serves its diverse user communities
by providing products and services that are objective, timely, accurate, and relevant.
42
The Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) program publishes a quarterly count of
employment and wages reported by employers covering 98 percent of U.S. jobs, available at the
county, MSA, state and national levels by industry.
43
The American Community Survey (ACS) is an ongoing survey by the U.S. Census Bureau that provides
information on a yearly basis about the nation and its people. Information from the survey generates
data that help determine how more than $400 billion in federal and state funds are distributed each
year.
44
Community Tool Box. Section 14. SWOT Analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats
Accessed at: http://ctb.ku.edu/en/table-of-contents/assessment/assessing-community-needs-andresources/swot-analysis/main
45
http://d4.nccommerce.com/QCEWLargestEmployers.aspx
46
“College of The Albemarle - Small Business Center,” accessed April 21, 2016,
http://www.albemarle.edu/sbc.
47
“Teens Talk Tech at Port Discover’s Tech Café | Discover Elizabeth City,” accessed April 6, 2016,
http://discoverelizabethcity.com/teens-talk-tech-at-port-discovers-tech-cafe/.
48
“Commitment to Innovation | Sentara Healthcare,” accessed April 6, 2016,
http://www.sentara.com/albemarle-north-carolina/aboutus/commitment-to-innovation.aspx.
49
“Working at Sentara - Explore Healthcare Career Opportunities,” Sentara CWS, September 9, 2015,
http://www.sentaracareers.com/working-at-sentara/.
50
Ibid.
51
“USCG Base Elizabeth City, NC,” accessed April 6, 2016, http://www.uscg.mil/BaseElizabethCity/.
52
“USCG Aviation Technical Training Center (ATTC),” accessed April 6, 2016,
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/cg1/attc/default.asp.
53
“About ICPTA,” accessed April 7, 2016, http://www.icpta.net/about/.
54
“Port Discover - Home,” accessed April 7, 2016, https://portdiscover.wildapricot.org/.
55
Key Informant Consultation
56
Ibid.
57
Ibid.
58
Ibid.
59
This is the most recent micropolitan statistical area data available on housing.
60
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, you are “cost-burdened” if
you spend more than 30% of income on housing (rent or mortgage). You are “severely cost-burdened” if
you spend more than 50% of your income on housing.
61
NCLM Website.
62
“Location Quotient Calculator - Field Definitions,” accessed April 9, 2016,
http://www.bls.gov/help/def/lq.htm.
63
“Location Quotient Results,” accessed April 9, 2016,
http://data.bls.gov/location_quotient/ControllerServlet.
64
“Location Quotient Results,” accessed April 9, 2016,
http://data.bls.gov/location_quotient/ControllerServlet.
47
65
RFP from Elizabeth City, NC
Ibid.
67
Key-informant interview.
68
Ibid.
69
Jolley, Jason, Aaron Nousaine, and Carolyn Huang, "Effective at the Margins: Outmigration and
Economic Development in Rural North Carolina," Sustainable Agriculture Research 1, no. 1 (02, 2012):
2-12, http://search.proquest.com/docview/1041249418?accountid=10598.
70
Ibid.
71
Key Informant Consultation.
72
Jolley, Jason, Aaron Nousaine, and Carolyn Huang. "Effective at the Margins: Outmigration and
Economic Development in Rural North Carolina." Sustainable Agriculture Research 1, no. 1 (02, 2012):
2-12, http://search.proquest.com/docview/1041249418?accountid=10598.
73
Key Informant Consultation.
74
National Research Council (US) Committee on Competing in the 21st Century: Best Practice in State
and Regional Innovation Initiatives; Wessner CW, editor. Washington (DC): National Academies Press
(US); 2013.
75
“About OneCommunity,” accessed April 20, 2016, http://www.onecommunity.org/aboutonecommunity/.
76
“Mayor Bill de Blasio, City Library Chiefs Announce Expansion of Library Hotspot Program,” The
Official Website of the City of New York, December 2, 2014, /office-of-the-mayor/news/538-14/mayorbill-de-blasio-city-library-chiefs-expansion-library-hotspot-program-through.
77
Ibid.
78
Ibid.
79
Ibid.
80
“Woods Begins Work at Entrepreneurship Incubator,” July 16, 2015,
http://www.uncp.edu/news/woods-begins-work-entrepreneurship-incubator.
81
National Research Council (US) Committee on Competing in the 21st Century: Best Practice in State
and Regional Innovation Initiatives; Wessner CW, editor. Washington (DC): National Academies Press
(US); 2013.
82
Interviewer #6.
83
“Woods Begins Work at Entrepreneurship Incubator,” July 16, 2015,
http://www.uncp.edu/news/woods-begins-work-entrepreneurship-incubator.
84
“Mission and Vision,” July 30, 2015, http://www.uncp.edu/academics/outreach/engagedoutreach/entrepreneurship-incubator/mission-and-vision.
85
“Our Services,” July 30, 2015, http://www.uncp.edu/academics/outreach/engagedoutreach/entrepreneurship-incubator/our-services.
86
Triangle Business Journal.
87
“Seattle Opens Funding Pool to Civic Tech Innovators -- GCN,” accessed April 20, 2016,
https://gcn.com/blogs/pulse/2015/03/seattle-tech-grants.aspx.
88
Interviewee 6.
89
“Tax Credits in North Carolina,” accessed April 21, 2016,
http://www.thrivenc.com/incentives/financial/tax-credits.
90
“Are Investment Tax Credits Helping Entrepreneurs? | Kauffman.org,” accessed April 21, 2016,
http://www.kauffman.org/blogs/growthology/2015/03/do-investment-tax-credits-help-entrepreneurs.
91
“Pittsburgh Roadmap for Inclusive Innovation,” accessed April 21, 2016,
http://pittsburghpa.gov/innovation-performance/innovationroadmap/index.html.
66
48
92
N. P. R. Staff, “The Newest Public Transportation In Town: Uber,” NPR.org, accessed April 21, 2016,
http://www.npr.org/sections/alltechconsidered/2016/04/09/473422686/the-newest-publictransportation-in-town-uber.
93
Ibid.
94
Uber data from November 2015, cited in this blogpost.
95
More Resources for Small Businesses
NCLEAP—free legal assistance to low-wealth entrepreneurs
NCRuralCenter—Resources and funding
NC Center for Nonprofits
96
29% of Uber driver-partners in London are from areas with unemployment rates over 10%. Source:
Uber data from August 2015, and the UK Office of National Statistics. Parliamentary constituency areas
are colored based on the numbers of drivers who list an address there. Deactivated partners are not
included.
97
“Uber Arrives in the East to Mixed Reviews | WNCT,” accessed April 21, 2016,
http://wnct.com/2015/09/06/uber-arrives-in-the-east-to-mixed-reviews/.
98
Accessed April 20, 2016, http://www.ncregions.org/wpcontent/uploads/2016/01/NC_Regional_and_Statewide_Strategies_Opt.pdf.
99
Ibid.
100
Deng, L. “The external neighborhood effects of low-income housing tax credit projects built by
three sectors,” Journal of Urban Affairs, Vol. 33 (2), 2011, p. 161.
101
Christopher Gergen and Stephen Martin Correspondents, “Tools Exist to Help NC Spur Local
Innovation, Entrepreneurship,” Newsobserver, accessed April 3, 2016,
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/business/article68102277.html.
102
“Getaway Breaks Ireland | Holidays in Ireland | Discover Ireland,” accessed April 21, 2016,
http://www.discoverireland.ie/Home.aspx/.
49
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