Assignment: PUBLIC ADMINISTRATOR GENERATED INFORMATION ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INSTRUCTIONS

For this assignment option, you will interview 2 individuals who work in a sector of public administration in a way that they influence community economic development. It would be wise to interview someone from the same location as your Case Study Project. This will give you a first-person perspective on some of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats faced by community developers in this area. Before you begin interviewing the candidate, make sure that you have 10-15 questions planned out that you want to ask. Each interview must observe a 30- minute time limit.

Sample Questions:

• How does the local planning process impact economic development?
• What are the strategic approaches you use to economic development?
• How do businesses impact the economic development of this community?
• How do the human resources in this community impact economic development?
• Once you have a strategic development plan, what are the steps for implementation?
• What are the challenges facing leaders of economic development?
• What are the economic strengths of your city/town/etc.?
• What are some of the weaknesses of your economic development plan in your city/town?
• What are the opportunities for economic development within your city/town?
• What threatens the potential for economic development within your city/town?
• What leadership traits are important for someone wanting to go into public administration/economic development?

The interview can be conducted in person or through videoconferencing (with a tool such as Skype). Whichever method you choose to use for the interview, be aware that both interviews must be audio recorded. It is important to test the audio equipment prior to conducting the interview. You are to embed audio into PowerPoint Online.

Include a brief bio of each interviewee as well as the summary of the logistics for each interview (time, place, location, and anything else that will help the reader understand the setting).

Note that you must interview an individual directly related with city management and/or economic development. If you choose to interview an individual not directly related to these topics, you will have points deducted.

By interviewing individuals who work in the field, you will have the opportunity to become acquainted with one data collection method while simultaneously increasing your understanding

of this vocational role. Thus, as you look for candidates to interview, it would be helpful for you to interview individuals in positions similar to what you may desire in the future.

Likewise, the following list gives you some examples of job positions that your candidates may hold:

• Economic development council,
• Chamber of commerce,
• City manager,
• City council member,
• Director of economic development, or
• Mayor (or assistant/deputy mayor).

Request an interview with your chosen candidates by reading the following information verbatim:

"I am a graduate student at Liberty University studying public administration and would like the opportunity to ask you some questions about your position, role, and experience with community economic development. I would be recording the interview for my instructor. Would it be alright if we set up a time for this interview?"

"The information gleaned from this interview will only be used to facilitate personal learning, application, and synthesis of material related to economic development in PADM 530, a graduate course in public administration at Liberty University. The instructor of the course is the only individual that will be reviewing the audio from this interview."