Utah Cluster Acceleration Partnership (UCAP)

At the direction of SUU President Michael Benson, Regional Services is pleased to oversee SUU's UCAP initiative. A state-wide project of the Utah System of Higher Education, the objective of UCAP is to capitalize on the position and contribution that institutions of higher education can make to the overall economic development of both their respective region and the Utah state economy as a whole.

SUU UCAP logo

With key SUU partners such as the School of Business and SUU Business Resource Center, SUU's UCAP effort kicked-off in early 2011. Our initial Cluster proposal of Small Business Development acceleration was approved by the UCAP Oversight Committee on June 29, 2011. Throughout 2012/13, Regional Services is overseeing the implementation of our six strategies for assisting and accelerating the region's small business sector:

1. 1. Develop a Certificate Program in Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management (School of Business)
  2. Provide a Region-Specific Economic Data Service (School of Business and Department of Economic & Finance)
  3. Sponsor and Host Entrepreneurship Forums, particularly the Southern Utah Technology Council (Regional Services and the SUU Business Resource Center)
  4. Develop a Small Business Internship Program (University College and the Office of Career and Professional Development)
  5. Implement a Rural Utah Economic Gardening Demonstration Project (Regional Services)
  6. UCAP Marketing and Outreach (Regional Services)

This link will take you to a full-color brochure containing the "Executive Summary" of our Small Business Development Cluster, along with a brief outline of the six acceleration strategies.

And this link contains a full-color brochure about the "Rural Utah Economic Gardening Demonstration Project" (Acceleration Strategy 5).

We'd like to extend a special thank you to our local UCAP Steering Committee:

President Michael Benson, Southern Utah University
Mayor Joseph Burgess, Cedar City
Brent Drew, Quantum Development Group
Jill Ellis, USTAR
David Grant, Metalcraft Technologies
Sherrie Hansen, State Farm Insurance
Terri Hartley, Wells Fargo Bank
Marlo Jensen, Touch MD
Scott Jolley, Cedar City Area Chamber of Commerce
Eric Leavitt, Leavitt Group Enterprises
President Dana Miller, Southwest Applied Technology College
Megen Ralphs, Southern Utah University
Gaylord Robb, Paiute Tribe of Utah Economic Development
John Westwood, State Bank of Southern Utah
Brennan Wood, Cedar City/Iron County Economic Development Office

Regional Services is now assisting the College of Performing and Visual Arts with securing SUU's next UCAP project, which will focus on accelerating the region's "Creative Economy."

For more information about SUU's UCAP initiative please contact Brian Cottam at 435-865-8023.