There is no substitute for committed people working together to help our communities develop their assets for prosperity. And while volunteer boards are the backbone of our state’s economic development groups, more and more communities are realizing that a paid staff member is a good idea.

The problem is getting from the “idea” stage to actually getting someone on board and deciding what that individual’s responsibilities ought to be. South Dakota Rural Enterprise has developed a service to help. Growing Resources and Opportunity Within (GROW) helps local organizations with the planning, recruiting and training of a staff person, including identifying whether or not having a paid staff person on board is a good idea for your community or group.

GROW has been designed with a variety of steps and stages, all or some of which may be used to meet specific local needs. There is a nominal cost for the services, with additional support from SD Rural Enterprise and its community development partners.

In addition to planning services to determine job descriptions and responsibilities, GROW offers assistance in marketing the position and screening applicants, using a scoring system to facilitate the local selection process. Once a candidate has been hired, GROW can arrange for training and technical assistance to help the board and the new hire understand development best practices and connect with community development resources statewide. Additional on-site consultation is available to address specific development issues and set up network meetings to connect the new staff person and community with statewide partners working toward similar goals.

If you’ve considered hiring a staff person, or have seen excellent results in nearby communities that have a full or part-time development director on staff, talk to us about GROW. It may be just what you need to take your community development efforts to the next level. In any case, GROW will help you evaluate your staffing needs and answer the questions you may have about development for your own locality.

To get the details about GROW, contact South Dakota Rural Enterprise at 605-978-2804 or e-mail .