Talent & Tenacity: Sparking an Incubator in Ramsey

Abstract

This project was completed as part of the 2017-2018 Resilient Communities Project (rcp.umn.edu) partnership with the City of Ramsey. The City of Ramsey has a successful business retention and expansion (BRE) program that has been focused on small-business development and growth. To advance these efforts, the City would like to pursue new initiatives to attract, retain, and grow businesses, including developing a long-term vision and strategy for a business incubator. To assess the feasibility of a business incubator, students in Dr. Fernando Burga’s Land Use Planning class documented economic development assets in Ramsey, interviewed successful business owners in Ramsey to understand their needs and challenges in starting a business, outlined considerations for the City in launching an incubator, and investigated the potential benefits and challenges of several business incubator models for Ramsey. A final report is available.