Template Image
Home
Welcome to the Business Retention and Expansion website
The BRE program has both short and long-term objectives. In the short term, this program shows community support for local businesses and addresses immediate individual business concerns. In the long term, the program identifies strategies and services to increase the competitiveness of local establishments and develops and implements an action plan for existing business economic development.
There are four main players involved in the BRE program
The Leadership Team
Consists of four or five local citizens who provide a day-to-day direction to the program. They introduce and promote the program in the community, coordinate all meetings and organize immediate follow-ups on survey results. The Leadership Team also coordinates training for volunteer visitors.
The Task Force
Is a broad-based group of local community leaders. The task force numbers between 15 and 30 citizens representing local economic development groups, government, businesses, educational institutions and other community organizations. The task force recruits volunteer visitors, reviews survey results, deals with immediate concerns identified durring the survey of businesses, identifies and adopts implementation strategies and oversees the implementation of these recommendations.
Volunteer Visitors
Are two person teams drawn from the entire community. After training, volunteers visit 2-4 businesses and administer the survey.
The UF/IFAS Extension Service
Assists by providing training to the leadership team, task force and volunteer visitors, and serving to facilitate meetings. In addition, assistance is available to help develop the survey instrument, analyze survey results, suggest recommendations, produce a written report and aid in identifying state and federal economic development programs that can strengthen local businesses.