CAPCOR is a private, nonprofit organization chartered for econo.docx

CAPCOR is a private, nonprofit organization chartered for
economic development in Capital City, the state capital, and the
surrounding counties. CAPCOR is funded through membership
dues paid by local businesses and money from the state’s
lottery. For years, CAPCOR’s only mission was to bring
companies to Capital City and its surrounding counties.
Archibald Poole was then brought into the organization by
CAPCOR’s directors. As they believed focus needed to be
expanded onto helping the firms already residing in Capital City
survive and grow, Poole was given the position of director of
business expansion and retention. Along with Poole, there are
four other employees. Russel Bowman, the president of
CAPCOR, Sarah Rand, the office manager, Thomas Floyd, the
public relations director, Hal Chandra, the management intern.
Following Bowman’s suggestion, Poole began to seek
funding to enhance the Business Expansion and Retention
program. Poole hastily submitted two partially finished grant
proposal outlines to RSIC (Regional Strategic Initiative
Committee). One of these outlines was meant to fund a
CAPCOR Business Consulting Program and the other was meant
to create the CAPCOR Export Assistance Center. The CAPCOR
Business Consulting Program was modeled after the Business
Support Service (BSS) in order to fill a void that would be left
in his economic development work at BSS, an organization that
had previously provided CAPCOR with support, was facing
significant budget cuts. Poole received a promise of full
cooperation from Nigel Remington, the director of BSS, along
with a pledge of administrative support. Things, however, got
more complicated as Kirk and Poole further interacted. Kirk and
Bowman, through previous and unrelated events, created a
strained relationship between RSIC and CAPCOR. After
meeting with Poole, Kirk suggested a meeting based on interest
in international trade and faxed over a list of suggestions. If

things went well and support was demonstrated during the
meeting, Kirk would run the proposals by RSIC.
As time went by and Poole waited for formal presentations
of proposals to begin, he began to heavily favor the Business
Consulting Program grant. It was an easy sell while the Export
Assistance Center was already receiving pushback. While Poole
wanted to drop this program entirely, Bowman supported
enthusiastically and the meeting that Kirk had suggested went
on. Bowman, Poole, and Chandra went as CAPCOR’s
representatives. Other agencies, six in total, had one
representative each. Murdock, a director of the SBECC and
Nifelheim, an assistant director of the Capital City SBAC,
immediately expressed resistance. The rest of the
representatives seemed in favor and the meeting ended with
Bowman deciding that CAPCOR would pursue the proposal. The
formal presentation date was pushed back once more, but Kirk
assured Poole that the Business Consulting Program seemed
worthwhile and would probably approved.
In order to quell any worries, Poole met with Murdok and
Nifelheim. The meeting ended in disaster, however, as Murdock
claimed he would only express support for the proposal if
SBECC got a portion of the grant money. Nifelheim,
meanwhile, wanted SBAC to administer the grant. This caused a
heated argument that ended in uncertainty and a fear of Murdok
and Nifelheim withdrawing support not only for the Export
Assistance Center, but the Business Consulting Program as well.
This would mean that an entire summer of work had been
wasted and that the $30,000 Poole hoped to secure could no
longer be counted on.
CAPCOR

Archibald Poole sank into his chair. In just the last hour, he had
seen his hopes for a $30,000
grant CAPCOR needed to expand its services into the
international export arena smashed.
He wondered if all of his work over the past summer had been
in vain. The proposal was
already in the hands of the Regional Strategic Initiative
Committee, but two important players had just
withdrawn their support after a round of heated negotiations.
Poole leaned back, setting his glasses on his desk. Perhaps the
proposal could still be saved, he
thought. He did not have much time, and the support he had just
seen slip away was essential to the
proposal’s acceptance.
***
CAPCOR is a private, nonprofit corporation1 chartered for
economic development in Capital
City and the surrounding counties. Capital City, the state
capital, has a population of 132,000. Like the
rest of the region, it is growing rapidly. While the local
economy was once dominated by timber and
agriculture, high technology firms are fast becoming a new
economic base.
As a private organization, CAPCOR is funded by membership
dues paid by local businesses, as
well as money from the state’s lottery. This arrangement is
unique among economic development entities
in the Capital City area and throughout the state. Other agencies
are maintained by state and federal tax
dollars, as well as user’s fees. CAPCOR is independent from

these organizations, but necessarily works
with them to provide services to client firms.
Russell Bowman is the current president of CAPCOR. Other
than the administrative duties his
position entails, his focus is primarily on attracting new
businesses to the state. For many years, this was
and the surrounding counties. To this
end, Bowman travels extensively to trade shows throughout the
Pacific Rim, and meets with
representatives of firms considering sites in the area.
Archibald Poole came to CAPCOR four years ago to fill a new
position: director of business
expansion and retention. CAPCOR’s board of directors decided
that it needed to focus not only on
attracting new businesses, but also on helping firms already
operating in Capital City to survive and
grow. Poole’s job is to establish contact with companies in
CAPCOR’s service area and determine
what economic development services, if any, they may be able
to use. CAPCOR does not itself make
business loans, provide employee training or render other
services to clients. Instead, Poole acts as a
clearinghouse, connecting businesses with the services that are
available from state agencies.
1 As a service organization, CAPCOR falls under Part 501c(4)
of the Federal tax code.
Sherman – CAPCOR
Page 2

Sarah Rand is CAPCOR’s office manager and receptionist. She
is responsible for all day-to-
day financial operations — accounts payable, accounts
receivable and bookkeeping. From her desk
near the front door of the CAPCOR office, she also answers
telephones, greets visitors and clients and
prepares correspondence. She was hired two years ago.
Thomas Floyd was hired just recently as CAPCOR’s public
relations director. His position
entails the production of CAPCOR’s monthly newsletter, annual
Capital City Information Packet
(CCIP), membership directory as well as miscellaneous flyers,
brochures and business forms. He also
recruits new members, prepares press releases, and organizes
CAPCOR’s monthy breakfast seminars,
semi-annual banquets and other activities. Floyd’s predecessor
departed suddenly and quite
unexpectedly. She left the CCIP unfinished, and it was released
several months late as a result.
During the past several months, Poole has been working with an
intern from Capital University’s
graduate program in management named Hal Chandra. Chandra
recently completed the “CAPCOR
Business Resource Guide,” a compendium of the economic
development services CAPCOR helps its
clients access. The guide has been well-received in the local
business community.
Poole, Rand and Floyd all report directly to Bowman. Poole was
given responsibility for
supervising Chandra, although Chandra worked on projects for
both Bowman and Poole in the course
of his internship. In addition to Chandra, CAPCOR occasionally

employs the services of an outside
graphic designer and an outside accountant, but its regular, full-
time staff consists of just four people:
Bowman, Poole, Rand and Floyd. A copy of the CAPCOR
organization chart appears below:
CAPCOR Organizational Chart
Russel Bowman
President, CAPCOR
Archibald Poole
Director of Business
Expansion and Retention
Sarah Rand
Office Manager
Thomas Floyd
Public Relations Director
Hal Chandra
Management Intern
Sherman – CAPCOR
Page 3
***
In its most recent session, the Republican-dominated legislature

instituted a change in the state’s
delivery of economic development resources. Previously, the
State Economic Development Department
(SEDD), had been given virtually all tax funds allocated for
economic development to administer
programs statewide. Seeking to foster the development of
projects to meet the specific needs of
different regions of the state, the legislature cut SEDD’s budget
and established a Regional Strategic
Initiative Committee (RSIC) in each region to disperse the
economic development money. CAPCOR’s
funding was not directly affected by this shift.
The Capital City-area RSIC is composed of unpaid volunteers
from the local business
community. The Council Of Governments (COG) coordinates
the RSIC’s activities and provides
support staff and meeting locations. The RSIC disperses funds
through a grant process. Interested
parties submit a detailed grant proposal, which is subject to a
two-stage review.
First, the grant proposal is reviewed by one of the RSIC’s three
sub-committees: either Forest
Products, Agriculture, or High Technology, depending on which
of the region’s three key industries will
be most affected by its implementation. If the sub-committee
approves the proposal, it is subsequently
presented to the full committee. The full committee can either
support the project and provide funding,
or reject the project.
The Capital City-area RSIC was formed in January, but was not
set to receive funding from the
state legislature until September. In May, Bowman suggested to
Poole that perhaps CAPCOR should

seek funding to enhance its Business Expansion and Retention
program. Poole agreed, and began to
investigate the possibility.
Poole telephoned William Kirk, the COG staffer overseeing the
RSIC. Kirk told Poole that the
RSIC had established June 1 as the deadline for all grant
proposals. With less than one month
remaining, Poole asked Kirk if he could turn in a preliminary
proposal on June 1, then provide additional
materials later. After a moment, Kirk agreed to Poole’s request.
Poole hastily prepared one-page outlines for two separate
grants. The first would fund the
“CAPCOR Business Consulting Program” and the other would
create the “CAPCOR Export
Assistance Center.” The time pressure Poole was facing
prevented him from thinking at any length
about how these would integrate into the existing Business
Expansion and Retention Program, or what
challenges or objections outside agencies might have to their
approval.
The CAPCOR Business Consulting Program was modeled after a
SEDD program that had lost
much of its funding during the past year — the Business
Support Service (BSS). The BSS provided
professional business consultants to troubled firms throughout
the state, then paid the consultant’s fee.
The firm was then required to repay the consultant’s fee within
two years, interest-free. CAPCOR had
enjoyed great success using the BSS over the past several years.
With the BSS facing significant budget
cuts, Poole crafted the CAPCOR Business Consulting Program
to fill the void it would leave in his local
economic development work. He requested funding in the

amount of $50,000 for the program.
Sherman – CAPCOR
Page 4
The CAPCOR Export Assistance Center sprang into Poole’s
mind as the result of a chance
meeting a few weeks earlier with a representative of Thule-
Monroe, the reknown international trade
consulting firm. Thule-Monroe had created a program to help
local economic development agencies
acquire the skills and resources necessary to aid firms interested
in exporting. Poole was impressed by
the program, and thought he and other members of the CAPCOR
staff could benefit from the training
Thule-Monroe could provide. The training program cost
$12,000. Poole requested $30,000 in grant
proposal to cover the cost of the training, along with a new
computer and telephone line to access the
National Trade Database and miscellaneous expenses.
***
Poole submitted his one-page proposals to Kirk on time.
However, the RSIC was only slowly
preparing to consider grants. Formal presentations, it now
seemed, were at least one month away.
Furthermore, state funding of the RSIC would be held up until
October. With the time pressure abated,
Poole’s focus returned to his regular CAPCOR duties.
CAPCOR hired Chandra on June 15, and he began work on the
Business Resource Guide.
Impressed with the quality of his initial work, Poole realized

Chandra could re-write the grant proposals
for him. At Poole’s request, Chandra accepted the new project
and started working.
After contacting the COG for details about the form of the
proposal, Chandra returned to Poole
with several interesting pieces of information. First, the date for
formal presentations to begin had been
pushed back yet again, to July or August. Second, the Chairman
of the RSIC, Duke Heywood, was
one of Chandra’s professors at Capital University, with whom
he enjoyed a cordial relationship.
Chandra finished re-writing the proposals on July 1. In the
interim, Poole had spoken with Nigel
Remington, director of the BSS. Remington agreed to cooperate
fully with CAPCOR, and pledged
administrative support for the Business Consultant Program.
BSS support was important for the success
of the program, because the BSS had a well-developed stable of
consultants and considerable
experience in the program’s financial administration.
Remington drafted a Memorandum of
Understanding that he and Poole signed. Chandra appended a
copy to the grant proposal.
Poole made an appointment with Kirk at the COG to discuss the
revised grant proposals. Poole
knew that while the RSIC would make the final decision
regarding the grants, the COG staff would have
considerable influence on that decision. Having Kirk’s support
would be a definate advantage. Getting
that support, however, was not a forgone conclusion. Kirk and
Bowman, CAPCOR’s president, had
been at odds last year over the representation of a recently
zoned parcel of industrial land in a nearby

town. Bowman had won the argument, but relations between the
two organizations remained strained.
Poole had played no part in the dispute.
On July 12, Poole and Chandra walked four blocks to the COG
office. The secretary led them
to a small conference room, which Kirk entered a few minutes
later. Kirk read the abstract on the title
page of each proposal, then made a general comment regarding
both proposals: “Archie, I’m
wondering why CAPCOR doesn’t write a grant to bring new
businesses here to Capital City. That is
CAPCOR’s primary mission, isn’t it? I think the RSIC would
look favorably on any such proposal.”
Sherman – CAPCOR
Page 5
Poole explained that over the past few years, helping businesses
already located in Capital City
had become an important component of CAPCOR’s mission.
Kirk seemed to accept that answer, then
went on to comment about the Export Assistance Center grant
specifically: “There are a lot of agencies
in this state that focus on import-export right now. Wouldn’t
this center you propose be redundant?”
Poole responded, “Not really, Bill. The CAPCOR center would
focus on outreach to
businesses in the community. I’m familiar with the programs
you’re talking about. Most of them rely on
the businesses themselves to come to them with questions and
problems. CAPCOR takes a more
proactive stance — we go out and meet the companies on site,

so we can assess their needs directly.”
Kirk looked unconvinced. He said: “I think you and Russ
Bowman should get together a
meeting of economic development people interested in
international trade, and lets run this idea past
them. If they support it, then I’ll take it to the RSIC.”
Poole agreed to his terms. Kirk said he would look over the
proposals in detail, and send any
suggestions he had via fascimilie. When the meeting ended,
Poole and Chandra shook hands with Kirk
and walked back to the CAPCOR office.
Two days later, a fax arrived at CAPCOR from Kirk. Along
with a page of suggestions
regarding the details of the grant proposals, there was a note
indicating that the formal presentations had
been pushed back to the fall — September or October. Funds
were now supposed to be made
available by the state in December. Poole gave Chandra the list
of suggestions, which he used to revise
the proposals.
***
By mid-August, Poole was beginning to favor the Business
Consulting Program grant. Its
successful predecessor, the BSS, made it easy to sell, and
interest was building. The Export Assistance
Center, on the other hand, was starting to meet resistance.
Letters to trade groups in the timber,
agriculture and high technology industries had failed to net even
one letter of support. Worse, Chester
Murdock, director of the statewide Small Business Export
Consulting Center (SBECC) had written

Poole a letter saying he was strongly opposed to the proposal in
its current form. Likewise, Lance
Nifelheim, who headed the local Small Business Assistance
Center (SBAC), made very clear that he
did not support the proposal.
Poole considered dropping the Export Assistance Center
proposal. Bowman, however, had
become enthusiastic about expanding CAPCOR’s service to
include international trade counseling. In
an effort to build support, Bowman called a meeting with
representatives from each economic
development organization with an interest in international trade,
as Kirk had suggested. On August 28,
they gathered in the CAPCOR conference room. In attendance
were:
•Hummel Bixby, regional development officer for SEDD, the
state-funded economic development agency.
Sherman – CAPCOR
Page 6
•Vincent Foss, a representative from the State Department of
Agriculture (SDA), which is wholly funded by the state,
separate from other economic
development agencies.
•Chester Murdock, director of the SBECC, which receives
funding from both the state and
from the Small Business Administration (SBA), a department of
the federal government.
•Lance Nifelheim, assistant director of the Capital City SBAC,

which also receives funding
from both the state and from the SBA.The director of the
Capital City SBAC, Winston
Argyle, sits on CAPCOR’s board of directors.
•Gary Shire, manager of the State MarketPlace (SMP), a private
nonprofit corporation that
seeks out-of-state and international buyers for local products.
SMP is funded by the lottery
and commissions on sales.
•Alvin Tucker, a representative from the COG, standing in for
William Kirk, who was unable to
attend the meeting.
CAPCOR was represented by Bowman, Poole and Chandra.
Murdock began the meeting by
airing his objections to the proposal: “This state just doesn’t
need another international trade outfit.
What we need to do is fund the Regional Trade Councils, which
are already in place. I know the
Capital City RTC hasn’t done much, but that is only because my
office doesn’t have enough money to
put on elaborate programs down here. If I can get some money
behind it, I know it will work.”
Poole was familiar with the Regional Trade Council (RTC). In
fact, he sat on the Capital City
RTC’s board as a representative of CAPCOR. Even if the RTC
received funding, which was unlikely
given the cutbacks, it would only do what was already being
done elsewhere: seminars and classes, with
no outreach effort.
Nifelheim spoke next: “I don’t think forming a ‘center’ here at
CAPCOR is a good idea. The

Small Business Assistance Center is the place where people
should take their questions. If everybody
tries to get into the same business, we are going to confuse
people — they will start getting lost in the
cracks.”
Poole replied: “We don’t want to get into anybody’s business
but our own, which is outreach.
The fact is that we maintain contact with over 500 local
companies, and we meet with at least fifteen
new ones each and every month. Lance, that is something
neither you or Chester are doing, because it’s
not what you’re set up to do. We’re on site, talking to the
companies about their opportunities and
problems. International trade is a part of that, so it makes sense
that we should really understand it.”
Murdock and Nifelheim looked unconvinced.
Foss spoke up, “I think you’ve got a good point there, Archie.
Outreach is something we just
can’t do. I had a guy growing herbs about 10 miles up the
valley. I found a buyer in the Far East for this
guy’s herbs — willing to pay top dollar. All this guy had to do
was pick up the phone and make the call,
but he never did. Over at the SDA, we don’t have time to ride
guys like that, but I know CAPCOR will
if that’s what it takes to get the job done.”
Sherman – CAPCOR
Page 7
Bixby and Shire spoke next, also voicing their support for the
Export Assistance Center. After a

few minutes, Murdock and Nifelheim seemed less ready to
object. Tucker, the COG representative,
seemed satisfied that all parties present had reached a
consensus. Bowman rose to his feet and spoke in
a loud, firm voice: “It’s decided, then. CAPCOR will pursue
this proposal, and if the RSIC makes the
grant, we will establish the Export Assistance Center as
described. Good day, gentlemen.”
Bowman left the conference room and the meeting was
ajourned. Murdock and Nifelheim
looked uneasy. They stopped by the door on their way out to
and shook hands with Poole. Nifelheim
said: “Let’s get together at my office some time and work
through the details, okay Archie?”
Poole agreed.
***
On September 1, Chandra returned to school full time. CAPCOR
offered him a part-time
position while he was in school, so he could wrap up the
projects he was still working on and keep the
Business Resource Guide up to date. Kirk had informed Poole
that formal presentations probably
would not be held before November, and that funds would only
be available after the first of the year.
He also indicated that he had talked to several members of the
RSIC informally, and they felt that the
Business Consulting Program had merrit and would eventually
be approved.
Poole talked with Bowman in the interim about his options in
the upcoming meeting with
Murdock and Nifelheim. Bowman and Poole agreed that the pair

might seek concessions in exchange
for their continued support. Bowman told Poole that he would
be willing to support the SBECC and
SBAC through joint efforts, but not with direct payments. He
also told Poole that he was unwilling to
yield the “center” concept.
On September 12, Chandra arrived at the CAPCOR office at
noon. After a liesurely lunch,
Poole and he walked to their meeting with Murdock and
Nifelheim.
The meeting began on a cordial note in the subdued light of
Nifelheim’s office. Poole suggested
that a member of Nifelheim’s staff could participate in the
Thule-Monroe training program. Nifelheim
replied that he might volunteer himself, and said he though
some type of joint venture would benefit both
parties. Murdock spoke of how he was looking forward to
receiving “support” from CAPCOR once
the grant was approved.
After several minutes, Poole asked Murdock precisely what type
of support he was expecting.
Murdock replied: “Funding, I should expect. I would like to be
able to hire another person to
work for me part time, so that I can get the Regional Trade
Councils off the ground.”
Poole told him: “Russ only talked about support ‘in kind’ for
your operation, Chester. He didn’t
make any mention of money.”

Sherman – CAPCOR
Page 8
Murdock said: “I’m not sure I can support this proposal unless
the SBECC gets a share of the
grant money.”
Nifelheim jumped in, saying: “Since we’re talking about money,
Archie, I think you should
consider letting the SBAC administer this grant if it is awarded.
We’ll be sure you get the training you
need.”
Poole’s temper flared. Poole replied: “We’re not going to do
that, Lance.”
Nifelheim: “Archie, the state has never given money for
economic development to any outside
agency other than the SBACs.”
Poole: “This isn’t state money, Lance — its RSIC money.”
Nifelheim: “It’s the same thing, Archie — and it isn’t going to
happen.”
Poole: “Are you saying you’re withdrawing your support,
Lance?”
Nifelheim: “No, Archie, I’m just saying it isn’t going to happen,
that’s all.”
Poole: “Well, we’ll just see about that...”
Murdock interrupted, saying: “Let’s not get all worked up about
this. We’re not going to decide
it today one way or the other. Archie, why don’t you go back

and talk to Russ? Lance and I will take a
deep breath and think some more about it from our end. Next
time I’m down this way, we’ll get back
together and talk again, okay?”
Everyone agreed. Poole and Chandra stood up and shook hands
with Murdock and Nifelheim,
then left the office.
After walking back to the CAPCOR office with Poole, Chandra
drove back to school. Poole
sat down at his desk to consider what had just happened and
what he should do next. With Murdock
and Nifelheim supporting the proposal, it stood a good chance
when it eventually reached the RSIC.
With both of them against it, he was not nearly as certain. He
was worried that this conflict would spill
over into the Business Consulting Program proposal, and hurt
its chances as well.
Sherman – CAPCOR
Page 9
APPENDIX
[The following document is a copy of the revised CAPCOR
Export Assistance Center grant proposal
that Archibald Poole submitted to the Regional Strategic
Initiative Committee.]
A Grant Proposal to
The Regional Strategic Initiative Committee
for the

CAPCOR Export Assistance Center
Abstract:
If funded, the proposed export assistance program would
provide
export outreach assistance to key industry firms in Capital City
and the
tri-county area. Six individuals from local development
organizations
would be trained, and would serve on a rotating basis. The
center
would be located in the CAPCOR office.
Sherman – CAPCOR
Page 10
PROPOSAL:
Establish an export outreach capability to better coordinate the
delivery of export assistance services to
key industry firms in Capital City and the tri-county area.
BACKGROUND:
Export growth fuels the economy. Over the past ten years, more
than 85 percent of the yearly increase
in the U.S. Gross National Product was a direct result of export
growth. For every $22,000 of exports,
one U.S. job is saved or created. These are good jobs, paying an
average of $3,500 more annually than
non-export related work.
The Business Journal ranks exporting as the top small business
opportunity in the market today. The
reasons given for this include:

- The rapidly changing global economy
- The relative ease of export market entry for small companies
- The voracious global appetite for American goods
- Trade agreements such as NAFTA and GATT
There is strong interest in export among firms in Capital City
and the tri-county area. This has been
established by CAPCOR’s Business Expansion and Retention
Program, which maintains contact with
over 500 local businesses.
The Export Assistance Center would serve to
supplement resources that are already available
to the community. For example, the U.S.
Department of Commerce provides a
formidable database of export information that
is updated monthly. However, companies just
getting started in exporting often lack the ability
to use it effectively. One mission of the export
assistance program would be to close this
knowledge gap.
Another service that would be complemented
by the export assistance program is the Small
Business Export Consulting Center (SBECC).
Created in 1986 and working out of the World
Trade Center in Lang, SBECC offers a variety
of seminars covering all aspects of the export
market. The Export Assistance Center, which
would operate in by CAPCOR’s Capital City
office, would fill a different niche and act to
supplement existing trade programs.
Recently, the State Economic Development
Department conducted a series of International

Round Tables to discuss the availability of
international trade services. These frank discussions
among community members, economic development
professionals, private businesspeople, and others
pointed out the need for a program such as the
CAPCOR Export Assistance Center.
Specific comments included the following:
“[The} State Economic Development Department
should focus on outreach programs. The Department
does a good job on seminars, classes, and luncheons,
but outreach happens too little.”
“The Department needs more face-to-face
contact/outreach/personal connections.”
Sherman – CAPCOR
Page 12
Outreach with individual companies is
CAPCOR’s strength. Its Business Expansion
and Retention Program makes it uniquely
qualified to take a proactive approach with
regards to trade in the field. The export
assistance program will allow one-on-one
counseling to address the specific questions of
individual businesses, along with referrals to
existing services that the client might otherwise
not contact. Taken in combination with the
SBECC and other trade organizations, the
Export Assistance Center would make
complete wraparound service available to
companies trying to break into international

trade.
“We need someone locally who can provide
information and assistance…”
“There is a misperception that entering the
international market is hard, scary, time consuming,
and expensive. We need someone local with
information at their fingertips so we limit the number
of people a company has to contact for assistance…”
“We need ease of access for quality, specific
information about how to get into another market.”
“[We] need to know whom to call for answers to
specific questions. Companies are willing to pay but
need to know where to go.”
“Service providers should be more proactive in
providing trade information and encoragement for
companies throughout the state.”
The CAPCOR export assistance program can provide
the specific information companies need in the
proactive manner they want.
APPROACH:
Thule-Monroe, an international consulting firm, has organized
an Export Counselor Training Program,
and has trained export counselors in the United States and
Canada. The export assistance program will
be built around a cadre of six local economic development
professionals, trained by Thule Monroe.
Through its Business Expansion and Retention Program and its
participation in the Capital City Regional

Trade Council, CAPCOR will identify key industry firms
interested in exporting. Once trained, the
counselors will contact these firms and help them to overcome
the barriers that often discourage firms
from competing globally. Specifically, companies will learn:
- The mechanics of international trade and financing, including
the ability to identify emerging
markets
- Problem-solving techniques in international trade, which
includes dealing with changing
regulatory environments
- To access trade databases and distill raw information into
useful knowledge
- To develop export marketing plans
In addition to one-on-one consultations, CAPCOR will provide
additional support in the form of
referrals to other agencies and programs. CAPCOR cannot build
the expertise or knowledge base of
the SBECC or other state-sponsored programs. Rather,
CAPCOR’s aim is to become a
knowledgeable facilitator of these services, bringing them to the
local business community.
Sherman – CAPCOR
Page 13
Thule-Monroe will keep counselors abreast of changes in the
dynamic world of international trade
through bulletins and advanced training courses and will track
the effectiveness of the export assistance

program by monitoring and recording the results of counseling
efforts, as well as sales and jobs
generated by participating companies. These findings will be
reported in the form of cost/benefit
analyses along with Thule-Monroe’s recommendations for
continuous improvements. Alongside these
efforts, SEDCOR will perform its own evaluations, interviewing
the management of firms who have
been in contact with the export assistance program to determine
its effectiveness.
CAPCOR selected Thule-Monroe because of its history of
success in establishing export assistance
programs throughout the United States and Canada. Many of
these operate in conjunction with local
export services. Thule-Monroe maintains 1,100 offices located
in 131 countries, and offers unparalleled
access to markets around the world.
The six individuals selected for training are recognized
economic development professionals in the local
community. They are:
Hummel Bixby, SEDD
Russell Bowman, CAPCOR
Frank Caligary, Small Business Assistance Center
George Fellows, Capital City Regional Trade Council
Newton Magar, Rural Economic Development League
Archibald Poole, CAPCOR
COST:
A $30,000 grant would allow CAPCOR to establish an Export
Assistance Center at its office in Capital
City. The grant would be spent as indicated below:
ITEM COST

Professional training by Thule-Monroe $10,500
Computer equipped with fax/modem and dedicated phone line
$4,500
Database access and software $1,500
Facilities and miscellaneous training fixtures $1,500
Ongoing training and support
$10,000
TOTAL $30,000
The support of the Regional Strategic Initiative Committee will
mean the commitment of additional
resources from other agencies. First, the time of the personnel
listed above has already been
volunteered by their respective agencies. Also, CAPCOR will
cover all program overhead. No external
administrative or staff support will be required.
TIME LINE:
Assuming that the Regional Strategic Initiative Committee
decides to support the Export Assistance
Center, and that funds are made available on January 1,
CAPCOR anticipates the center will be fully
operational by April 1. During this 120 day period, the
following would be accomplished:
Sherman – CAPCOR
Page 14
- Staff training by Thule-Monroe
- Organization and staffing of the company outreach program
- Purchase and setup of dedicated database-access computer
- Establishment of procedures and controls to manage the
program

While operating, the Export Assistance Center will focus on
rendering quick, goal-oriented services
tailored to the needs of the client firm. This approach has been
selected to prevent counselors from
becoming quagmired in the problems of any one firm.
RESULTS:
The six trained export counselors, working with key industry
firms in Capital City and the tri-county
area, will seek to help them develop their export potential. In
1991, this state’s international exports
totaled 1.1 billion dollars. Since each $22,000 in export sales
translates into one job saved or created,
in 1991, 50,000 jobs were the result of international trade.
Through a study conducted by the Capital University, 75 firms
interested in export assistance have
already been identified. CAPCOR would provide consultations
to at least 36 of them in the first year the
export assistance program is in operation.
As exports grow, the demand for export assistance grows. The
Regional Strategic Initative Committee
can help CAPCOR meet this demand among key industries by
giving its support to the Export
Assistance Center. Through their work in the business
community, the trained economic development
professionals who will form the core of this program can bring
about a significant increase in export
activity, and the attendant increase in job creation.

CAPCOR is a private, nonprofit organization chartered for econo.docx

CAPCOR is a private, nonprofit organization chartered for econo.docx

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