Using Focus Groups for Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E) at the Community Level: Detailed Notes about the Columbus, Minnesota BR&E Program

Joshua Hill and Michael Darger

No 183432, Staff Papers from University of Minnesota, Department of Applied Economics

Abstract: 1) This paper provides a synopsis of the Business Retention and Expansion (BR&E) program conducted in Columbus, MN in 2013-2014, undertaken by the University of Minnesota Extension in partnership with the City of Columbus, This includes a detailed description of the when, where, why, who, how, and the results/”findings” of using focus groups (FG), a novel approach, for BR&E. 2) It also examines the FG BR&E in Columbus as a case study and includes a section targeted to those considering BR&E in their community, with the aim of helping communities determine if focus groups may be appropriate. A list of helpful hints and suggestions for undertaking FG BR&E is provided. The paper closes with a series of appendices, including the focus group protocol and interview guide, summaries of each focus group session stripped of any identifying information, and a more detailed description of the city of Columbus.

Keywords: Community/Rural/Urban; Development (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 37
Date: 2014-08
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ger
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://ageconsearch.umn.edu/record/183432/files/SP14_8HillDarger.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ags:umaesp:183432

DOI: 10.22004/ag.econ.183432

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Staff Papers from University of Minnesota, Department of Applied Economics Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by AgEcon Search ().