At Your Service

 

The University Center helps fund economic impact studies and launched Wyo BizLink to offer entrepreneurs a one-stop shop for resources. 

 

By Micaela Myers 

 

In 2023, the University of Wyoming was selected by the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) to receive $200,000 a year over five years to establish an EDA University Center Economic Development Technical Assistance Program.

“The EDA University Center designation will broaden the reach of and access to both university assets and other regional and statewide inclusive entrepreneurial, startup and small-business resources and services in Wyoming,” Parag Chitnis, vice president for UW’s Research and Economic Development Division, said at the announcement in 2023. “As the University Center, UW’s Research and Economic Development Division will be the hub of this expansion of access to resources, focusing on advancing high-growth entrepreneurship and cultivating innovation.”

Currently, the University Center is funding two key initiatives: Wyo BizLink, which connects entrepreneurs to resources across the state, and economic studies through the UW Center for Business and Economic Analysis. 

“We’re able to help enable economic impact studies for Wyoming organizations that could not otherwise afford them,” says Robert Macy, director of the Center for Entrepreneurship and Innovation. “The other initiative makes it easier for Wyoming businesses to navigate through the complicated entrepreneurship ecosystem when looking for resources.”

 

Wyo BizLink
Nationally, a website called SourceLink offers innovators and job creators networks of support, technology solutions and consulting services. The University Center helped to fund Wyo BizLink (www.wyobizlink.com), a Wyoming-focused site using SourceLink technology. The site offers resources for Wyoming businesses and entrepreneurs looking for assistance with licensing and permits, funding and grants, sales and marketing strategies, manufacturing support, business planning and strategy, and compliance and legal guidance. 

“We worked closely with the Wyoming Business Council to create the Wyo BizLink site,” Macy says. “It’s a one-stop repository for entrepreneurs to find the resources they need. Say you’re starting a company and you want to know where to find certain supply chain resources, you go to the Wyo BizLink. It’s a way to connect all parts of the business and entrepreneurial ecosystem for the state. If you want to do something innovative, creative or entrepreneurial, start here.”

Taylor Vignaroli, entrepreneur development manager for the Wyoming Business Council, explains that the team first conducted a state ecosystem map and helped resource providers create profiles on the platform. The site includes a digital searchable database that Wyo BizLink hosts.

“The Wyoming Business Council is focused on solving problems in ways that can create more successful and sustainable communities and businesses,” Vignaroli says. “A lot of companies have difficulty trying to navigate the great resources Wyoming has to offer for budding and existing businesses. That’s at the heart of the project. Wyo BizLink will make it easy for businesses to find the resources and support they need all in one place. With a hub of vetted trusted organizations in Wyoming and beyond, new and existing businesses across the state can more easily find a pathway to success.”

Vignaroli calls on state business resources to join the project and create free profiles on the site. Examples of the resources entrepreneurs and businesspeople will find on Wyo BizLink include the College of Business Center for Business and Economic Analysis, the High Plains American Indian Research Institute, Manufacturing Works, the Wyoming Small Business Development Center Network, the Wyoming Department of Workforce Services and UW Extension.

While the Wyoming Business Council spearheaded Wyo BizLink’s overall management, generous support also came from Laramie County Community College, Wyoming Libraries to Business (WL2B) and UW. The University Center is specifically investing in a second layer to the website.

“That will be a referral source,” Macy says. “So, if you go on the site looking for things and still need additional help, someone will help direct you, similar to a concierge service.”

 

Center for Business and Economic Analysis 
The other major project the EDA University Center funds is economic studies through the College of Business Center for Business and Economic Analysis, which supports the economic growth and diversification of Wyoming’s economy through applied economic and business analytics for communities, industries and entrepreneurs who desire a thriving and prosperous Wyoming. 

“We are extremely grateful for the University Center grant funds from the U.S. Economic Development Agency,” says Center for Business and Economic Analysis Director David Aadland. “The funds have allowed us to offset the cost of three to four research projects per year for Wyoming communities and nonprofits that would have otherwise been too expensive. Many of the groups we work with are made up of volunteers and community members who simply don’t have the means to pay for a full economic study. By using the EDA funds, we can lower the cost to Wyoming stakeholders and still provide complete and thorough analysis.”

Three recent examples are Laramie Jubilee Days, the National Outdoor Leadership School and the Big Horn Basin Dinosaur and Geoscience Museum. 

For Laramie Jubilee Days, the center updated the event’s previous economic impact study using cell phone and credit card data to track visitation and spending at the event to help market Laramie to potential visitors. 

With the National Outdoor Leadership School, the center studied the overall economic impact to Wyoming from the school, which is headquartered in Lander.  Those impacts include total number of jobs, contribution to gross state product and tax revenue generated.
For the City of Greybull, the center estimated the construction, operations and visitation impacts resulting from the then-proposed Big Horn Basin Dinosaur and Geoscience Museum.   

Visit www.uwyo.edu/research/economic-development to learn more about the EDA University Center and other resources.