The University of Minnesota Extension Service Business Retention and Expansion Program selected Yellow Wood Associates to develop a tool to test the theory that building social capital in communities while focusing on community economic development goals will increase the probability that business retention and expansion will occur. Yellow Wood Associates used a modified version of a network analysis tool developed several years ago to assess the effectiveness of the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund’s work with business clusters. One version of the tool was used with community leaders and another with business owners.
Innovators in Rural Community Economic Development
