hometown COMMUNITY APPLICATION

collaboratION

initiative

Guidelines for Completing Your HCI Community Application

Purpose

The Hometown Collaboration Initiative (HCI) is intended for communitiesthat are serious about expanding their leadership and civic engagement capacity, embracing innovative strategies for creating a more vibrant economy or exploring avenues for enhancing the natural and physical features of their community. This document provides some brief guidelines on how to complete the HCI application.Communities of 25,000 or less residents will be considered for participation in HCI.It is expected that five (5) communities will be selected to take part in the first year of the HCI program.

The Three Phases of the HCI

Communities selected to be part of the HCI pilot program will be asked to organize a representative team to coordinate the program in the community. After doing some initial assessment of the community’s assets and needs as part of the foundational phase of the program, participating communities will be asked to select and help coordinate the implementation of one of the programs listed under the three building blocks (leadership, economy, placemaking),Finally, the coordinating team will take part in the capstone phase of the HCI.

Need to Organize a Coordinating Team

Communities will be required to organize a coordinating team made up of 12-15 individuals.The team will coordinate all aspects ofHCI.It is important to have a good mix of people on the coordinating team, including representation from: business/industry, education, local government, health, social services, faith-based, civic organizations, community foundation, and key demographic groups (youth, elderly, low-wealth, race/ethnic diversity).

HCI Programs Delivered by State Agency & University Professionals

The HCI program will be delivered by an experienced team of subject - matter experts from the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA), Purdue University, and Ball State University.

Sponsor & Partners

HCI is sponsored by the Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) and the Office of the Lieutenant Governor.HCI partners includePurdue University Extension, Purdue Center for Regional Development and Ball State University’s“Building Better Communities” Program and College of Architecture and Planning – Urban Design.

Completing an Application: Things to Keep in Mind

Here is a brief list of items to consider while responding to each of the questions in the HCI application:

Question 1:Present information about your community, including some of the features of your population, the characteristics of your economy and other information that will help paint an accurate picture of your community. Don’t forget to identify the specific geographic area that you are including as part of your community(for example, an incorporated city, two towns that want to work together on the HCI effort, etc.).

Question 2:Provide an explanation of how you believe the community will benefit from being part of HCI.Try to be as specific as possible.

Question 3:Provide an honest assessment of the obstacles and challenges your team may face as it tries to launch the HCIprogram in the community. What might prevent your team from being fully successful and how will you address these barriers?

Question 4: Discuss how participation in the HCI program will help your community’s existing strategic plan. If your community does not have a recent strategic plan, how might your participation in the HCI program help contribute to the development of a good plan by your community?

Question 5: Offer your views on which one of the three building blocks your team may want to initially launch in your community. Specifically, do you feel your HCI team should try to initially focus on building a pipeline of leadership, work on improving your local economy or focus onplacemaking to improve the community’s quality of life?Provide a good explanation for the building block you expect to carry out in the community.

Question 6:Provide a list of individuals who have agreed to serve on your HCI coordinatingteam. Obtain a signed letter from each team member that demonstrates their interest in being an active member of your HCI group.It is essential that the team be diverse in its representation of different facets of your community. Your team should have members who are drawn from local government, business, education, health, social services, civic-minded organizations, community foundations, faith-based associations, and who represent important demographic groups in the community (such as youth, senior citizens, minorities and low-wealth residents. Your coordinating team should ideally be around 12-15 members in size. You may add other individuals along the way, but please limit your initial team to a maximum of 15 people.

Overall Quality and Completeness of the Proposal:Your application will be judged on its overall quality and completeness.So, it will be important to prepare a solid, clear and complete proposal. Please see next page for a scoring rubric, by question.

Deadline Date for Submitting Your HCI Application

Your community’s HCI application must be submitted by 5 p.m. EST on December 1, 2014.The application should be submitted electronically to Geoff Schomacker, Office of Community and Rural Affairs (OCRA) at: will receive an acknowledgement of your application within two business days.We urge all applicants to contact Geoff Schomacker immediately if they have not received acknowledgement within this time period.

The Review Process

All HCI applications will be carefully considered by a state review panel. Once the state review panel has completed its evaluation of all HCI applicants, it will make recommendations to the Office of the Lieutenant Governor regarding the pool of semi-finalists.

Visits to Semi-FinalistCommunities:Representatives from the Office of the Lieutenant Governor and the HCI state review panel willconduct a site visit at each of thesemi-finalist communities. Applicants are encouraged to gear up for the site visit and for hosting a community forum with these state representatives. The visit will occur in mid-December. Information gathered during the site visit will be used in the scoring of your application.

Announcement of Communities Selected: Formal announcement of communities selected to be part of this program will be made by Lieutenant Governor Sue Ellspermann by early to mid-January 2015.

Applications will be scored on the following factors:

Item / Maximum Points Possible
Q1: Description of your community / 15
Q2: Discussion of major benefits of being part of the HCI program / 25
Q3: Discussion of challenges & obstacles and how community will address them / 15
Q4: Description of how HCI involvement will contribute to a strategic plan / 20
Q5: Discussion of building block your community might implement / 15
Q6: Diversity, depth and commitment of the proposed HCI Coordinating Team (includes information gathered from the site visit) / 50
Overall Quality and Completeness of Proposal / 10
Total Points Possible / 150

Questions?

If you have any questions about the HCI application process, please feel free to contact:

  • Geoff Schomacker, Office of Community and Rural Affairs;(317) 232-8909 or

PLEASE REMEMBER:

Deadline Date for Submission of Your HCI Application is

5:00 pm EST on December 1

Community Application Form

Name of Community:Community Name here

Contact Person (Name and Title):Click here to enter text.

Contact Person’s Telephone Number: Click here to enter text.

Contact Person’s Email Address:Click here to enter text.

Mailing Address:Click here to enter text.

Pleaserespondto the followingquestions:

Q1.Provide a brief overview of the community that you are requesting be part of the HCI Program. Specifically, describe the geographic boundaries of the community, the size and other relevant features of its population, some of its major economic activities, and other characteristics that are important to note about your community.

Click here to enter text.

Q2.What does your community see as the major benefits of being part of the HCI program?

Click here to enter text.

Q3.What obstacles or challenges might your team face as it seeks to launch the HCI effort in your community?How does your team intend to address these obstacles or challenges?

Click here to enter text.

Q4.Does your community have a strategic plan that has been developed within the last three years?

☐YES☐NO

If YES, how will your involvement in the HCI program support your strategic plan?

If NO, will your participation in the HCI program be helpful to your community in developing a strategic plan?How?

Click here to enter text.

Q5.HCI has three major building blocks that participating communities can consider for implementation in their community (leadership pipeline, hometown economy, placemaking).At this point, which of these building blocks does your team feel is the top priority for your community and why?If you hope to engage in more than one block, describe your rationale for choosing two and how they will be connected. (NOTE:We strongly recommend that you focus on only one block at a time).

Click here to enter text.

Q6.All HCI communities are required to have a committed group of people that will serve on a coordinating team that will be responsible for guiding the launch and overall success of the HCI program.Please provide the names and affiliations of 12-15 people who will be part of your HCI team.Please remember that it is important to demonstrate active involvement by a diverse mix of people and organizations in your community.

Name of Team Member / Person’s Title and/or Affiliation / Signed Commitment Letter?
Example: Jane Smith / School Superintendent
City of Anytown, IN / ☐YES
☐NO
Click here to enter text. / Click here to enter text. / ☒YES
☐ NO
Click here to enter text. / Click here to enter text. / ☐ YES
☐ NO
Click here to enter text. / Click here to enter text. / ☐ YES
☐ NO
Click here to enter text. / Click here to enter text. / ☐ YES
☐ NO
Click here to enter text. / Click here to enter text. / ☐ YES
☐ NO
Click here to enter text. / Click here to enter text. / ☐ YES
☐ NO
Click here to enter text. / Click here to enter text. / ☐ YES
☐ NO
Click here to enter text. / Click here to enter text. / ☐ YES
☐ NO
Click here to enter text. / Click here to enter text. / ☐ YES
☐ NO
Click here to enter text. / Click here to enter text. / ☐ YES
☐ NO
Click here to enter text. / Click here to enter text. / ☐ YES
☐ NO
Click here to enter text. / Click here to enter text. / ☐ YES
☐ NO
Click here to enter text. / Click here to enter text. / ☐ YES
☐ NO
Click here to enter text. / Click here to enter text. / ☐ YES
☐ NO
Click here to enter text. / Click here to enter text. / ☐ YES
☐ NO

Key Expectations of your HCI Team:

The following are expectations for all HCIcoordinating team members:

  • Openness to exploring new approaches for strengthening your community;
  • Commitment to gathering the input and insights from a variety of organizations and people when determining the priorities of your community, not only of elected officials and economic development leaders;
  • Willingness to take a fresh look at where your community is, where it wants to go and the best path to get there; and
  • Willingness to devote the time and energy needed to (1) serve as an active member of your community’s coordinating team; (2) assess the key assets and needs of your community; (3) use the HCI process to develop the building block program(s) to launch in your community; and (4) plan and implement a Pathfinder Project in your community.

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