Nation's Cities - July 18, 2011

NATION’S CITIES WEEKLY 3
Administration Responds to City Leaders’ Calls for
Federal Partnership to Spur Growth

by Sandi Burtseva
Responding to feedback
from city leaders and NLC, the
Obama administration last week
launched a new program, Strong
Cities, Strong Communities
(SC2), designed to strengthen
the capacity of local governments
and spark economic growth in
local communities, while ensur-
ing that taxpayer dollars are used
wisely and efficiently.

“In an environment of scarce resources, cities welcome this
innovative partnership with the federal government, which
we hope will help accelerate economic recovery in the pilot
communities, as well as across the country.”
—NLC Executive Director Donald J. Borut

federal agencies, and from each
other, and equally important,
the opportunity for the fed-
eral agencies to learn from the
experts on the ground about
what works and what doesn’t
when it comes to implementing
federal programs.”
President Obama’s Domestic
Policy Director Melody Barnes
acknowledged the important
role local leaders played, through
NLC and directly, in pushing
for the creation of SC2: “Over
the past two and a half years, the
Obama administration received
feedback from leaders all across
the country who described the
kind of partnership that would
be most useful to them for eco-
nomic growth.”
In addition to the
Community Solutions Team
assigned to the six communi-
ties, SC2 has three other com-
ponents that the Administration
is in the process of rolling out:
• SC2 Fellowship Pro-
gram: A complement to the
Community Solutions Teams,
the new fellowship program will
select, train and place early-to-
mid-career professionals to serve
multi-year terms in local gov-
ernment positions to give cities
additional capacity.

Unique Program Supports Colorado’s Growing Businesses
by Katie McConnell
Over the last couple of years, good
news about business has been hard to
come by. Yet, underneath the head-
lines of downsizing and layoffs, there
are glimmers of success as many com-
panies (companies you’ve likely never
heard of) continue to grow and cre-
ate revenue and jobs. Many of these
companies are so-called second stage
companies, companies that are past the
initial start-up phase. The Edward Lowe
Foundation, which studies and supports
second-stage companies, defines them as
growth focused, privately held compa-
nies, with six to 99 full-time employees
and $750,000 to 50 million in sales or
similar range of working capital.

Local Leadership: Boulder,
Colo.
Namaste Solar of Boulder, Colo., was a 2009 winner of the Colorado Companies to Watch
Awards, operated out of Colorado’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade.
ny, the Colorado Companies to Watch
organizers honor each one of the win-
ning businesses individually through-
out the year through the “This Week’s
Company to Watch” project. A compa-
ny-focused press release is distributed,
and community partners and sponsors
facilitate an on-site celebration for each
company.
The impacts of these companies are
quite impressive. From 2007 through
2010, the 50 winning companies gener-
ated $975 million in revenue and added
851 employees (both in Colorado and
out of state), reflecting a 114 percent
increase in revenue and 123 percent
increase in jobs for the four-year period.
That translates into a 30 percent annual
revenue growth and 31 percent annual
growth in employees. This growth means
more jobs and increased economic vital-
ity in the individual communities where
these businesses operate. Many local
governments participate in the program
to celebrate and demonstrate support for
their local businesses.
Boulder is a city that is leveraging the
Companies to Watch Program as a way
to celebrate its second-stage companies.
Boulder, a hotbed of entrepreneurship,
has an abundance of start-ups. However,
this presents its own unique challenge
as the city tries to keep up with the
new businesses and build connections to
them as they mature.
Second-stage companies, because of
their growth rate, may be bumping into
new regulations or exploring expansion
locations. Having connections to these
businesses allows city staff to intervene
in regulatory issues or explore location
options within the community.
The City of Boulder’s Economic
Vitality Program, Boulder Economic
Council, Boulder Chamber of
Commerce and Boulder Small Business
Development Center work closely
together. This collaboration not only
enables these entities to reach out and
provide support to growing businesses,
but also provides insight on which com-
panies fit the second stage company
see page 7, column 1