When you hear the phrase: “The Heartland” what comes to mind?
For many people, it’s shops lining a main street, pastures dotted with cows, workers heading into a factory for a day's work. These iconic images are just a fraction of what makes up our diverse and sprawling Heartland of America today, and give way to the possibilities for the Heartland of tomorrow.
Our partner, Heartland Forward, is on a mission to change the narrative about the middle of the country and kick-start economic growth. With this mission, they’ve partnered with us at Builders + Backers to make that happen.
Heartland Forward was founded in 2019 as a policy think and do tank. Through research and programs, their goal is to improve economic performance in the center of the United States, aka “the Heartland”, which they define as 20 states. Think everything from North Dakota down to Texas, up to Michigan and over to Ohio. The Heartland produces over 35 percent of the U.S. GDP and 33 percent of new firm creations. (TRIVITT et al.)
The folks at Heartland Forward knew first hand that there was innovation happening in all of these places: entrepreneurs thriving, ideas occurring, and creative problem solving at work. They also knew that many communities faced challenges and more solutions to address them were often lacking. Heartland Forward’s team set out to start helping bring the right resources to these areas in order to help build on and accelerate what was already happening.
They started first with a data-collection and analysis process. With a world-class team of researchers and Fellows (from Richard Florida to our founder Donna Harris) they studied the what, where, how and why of economic development and innovation in The Heartland. These reports were foundational in shaping their strategy for “doing.”
One of their key learnings was that the current approaches to fostering entrepreneurship were leading too many people and ideas being left behind. Their desire to fill this gap led Heartland Forward to make Builders + Backers part of its inaugural program: the Community Growth Program and Toolkit (CGPT).
“Builders and Backers has a new and creative model for finding builders in communities and bringing them along,” said Angie Cooper, Heartland Forward’s Chief Program Officer and Executive Director of Heartland Summit. “Builders and Backers has a long history of not just building entrepreneurial ecosystems but helping to kickstart a community’s flywheel that really sets it up for sustainable success.”
As the Community Growth Program and Toolkit (CGPT) is rolled out to communities, spots will be opened up to residents in the Idea Accelerator program. Those accepted are eligible for up to $5,000 in Pebble Funding to run an experiment that tests the merit of their idea. Also part of the CGPT are Buildership Workshops: short, fun workshops that introduce people to the concepts to Buildership, and the Storytelling Program, where stories of Builders are told and amplified to inspire others to take action on their ideas. In partnership with Accenture, Heartland Forward also is developing a toolkit, a highly interactive digital platform where Builders from around the region can access data, share ideas, collaborate on solutions and help to break down information silos.
“We were really drawn to the model of the Pebble Fund where the money given to the Builders to help fund their experiments stays in the community. In many cases, the Builders are hiring local talent and businesses to help test their ideas.”
To help find the best place to start finding that local talent and begin the programs, Heartland Forward has developed The Most Dynamic Metropolitan and Micropolitan Index, ranking 375 metropolitan and 515 micropolitan areas to create an objective measure of communities economic vibrancy. In doing these rankings, Tulsa and Oxford stood out on new firm creation, so that’s where they decided to launch first. (DEVOL et al.)
In Tulsa and Oxford, the Idea Accelerator program has been underway since June.
“When we thought about which communities to start with, we really were looking for ones that were on their (way) up, doing creative things and taking a new approach to economic development and success.” shared Angie. “We wanted to test the program in communities of different sizes as well. Both Tulsa and Oxford also have fantastic community partners who are invested in the program and the engagement of the research universities.”
Tulsa and Oxford also both model the different approaches communities can take to providing matching funding for the program. As Angie explains, “In Tulsa, the funding is coming from philanthropy, specifically the George Kaiser Family Foundation and the Lobeck Taylor Family Foundation. In Oxford, the funding is from the city, county economic development, and The University of Mississippi.” The program’s advocates in both communities identified the assets available to them and leveraged those to both fund and promote the program.
Community investment like this is important for Heartland Forward because it lays the groundwork for sustainable programs. Programs where those who live in Tulsa and Oxford (or Iowa City or Wichita) can pick up and run themselves eventually.
“At the core of our work is the belief that ideas are everywhere.” said Donna Harris. “They are not concentrated on the coasts or big cities. Our partnership with Heartland Forward and its commitment to the center of the country is just the beginning of finding, unlocking and testing those ideas.”
Are you a Heartland Builder or part of a Heartland Community? Reach out today to learn how you can be part of the CGPT and bring programs like the Idea Accelerator and Pebble Fund to your community.