Arizona’s Small Business Development Center Network is an innovative partnership between the state’s ten community college districts and the U.S. Small Business Administration. The network is the largest and most accessible source of assistance to Arizona businesses with fewer than 200 employees. It was formed in 1988 and reached its present size in 1992. In January 2004, the network added it's 11th center located in Gila County.

WHERE CAN ARIZONANS GO TO BENEFIT FROM THE SBDC?

3,641 clients were served in 2003 by centers that are conveniently located around Arizona’s vast landscape. Ten regional centers provide business assistance services and administer a service delivery area. They are in Casa Grande, Flagstaff, Kingman, Prescott, Show Low, Sierra Vista, Phoenix, Thatcher, Tucson, Payson, and Yuma. A permanently staffed satellite office that provides business services is located in the Verde Valley.

HOW ARE SERVICES PROVIDED?

One-on-one confidential counseling is at the heart of SBDC work. Counselors use their real-life business ownership and management experience to give clients advice that is relevant and practical. Programs and seminars often complement the counseling. Training content, while developed within the overall mission of the SBDC, is customized and tailored to meet the diverse needs of business owners in metropolitan and non-urban areas of the state.

HOW IS THE NETWORK ORGANIZED?

The network is a collaboration between education and government. Participating institutions have wide latitude in developing programs that meet their communities’ needs. Network-wide policies and strategies are developed by consensus among the participants. An SBDC director is likely to report to an administrator who is two levels removed from the college’s president or chancellor. Maricopa Community Colleges is responsible to the SBA for the overall quality of the network’s services.

HOW IS THE NETWORK FUNDED?

HOW DOES THE SBDC MEASURE ITS EFFECTIVENESS?

SBDCs maximize economic impact in the communities they serve. Independent research shows that businesses using SBDC services grow faster and have lower failure rates. The 2003 growth among SBDC clients includes jobs created and retained, 4,134; business expansions, 206; and business startups, 283. The total public-sector revenue returned in the first year on each $1 invested in the SBDC was $3.06.

This Cooperative Agreement is partially funded by the U.S. Small Business Administration. SBA's funding is not an endorsement of any products, opinions, or services. All SBA funded programs are extended to the public on a nondiscriminatory basis.

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