Toolkit Home | Discovery & Identification
Discovering and identifying legacy businesses.
Before launching your legacy business program initiative, it is imperative to take the time for discovery and identification. Discovery is the foundational work for your program that comes through research with the community, businesses, subject matter experts, and your local government. This research and discovery leads to the core components of your program. It helps you target possible legacy businesses in the community, identify the steps you will take to start your legacy business program, outline the essential components of the program, and even create define what the term “legacy” will mean in your program. Since legacy business programs are unique to their communities, and it is nearly impossible to define and scope a program without help, taking time for discovery and identification helps you develop a clearer picture of how your program should work and who the intended audience is. Taking these steps helps to remove unintentional biases and create a data-driven, rather than assumption-based, legacy business program that best supports your community businesses. The discovery and identification process will also help you make the connections and build the trust needed to advocate for, launch, and sustain a successful legacy business program.
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Where to Start
Each legacy business program will be different, but here are a few notes to help you make the most of the discovery and identification phase.
Who to talk to first:
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If you do not already have a target list of legacy businesses for your community, or would like to have a better idea of which businesses are significant to your community, start with Learning from Your Community.
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If you already have a good list of legacy businesses established, start with Learning from Legacy Businesses.
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If you already have a list of businesses and are looking to build out the structure for your legacy business program, start with Learning from Experts.
Which tools to use:
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Workshops are the best way to gather a lot of information in a short amount of time. They also foster a sense of trust and involvement in the program, making them great for kicking off a project.
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Interviews are the best way to dive deep into particular subjects. They allow you to collect targeted information as well as a deeper understanding of your subject. Often, information collected through workshops or surveys can be better contextualized through interviews.
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Surveys are the best way to collect a lot of information from a large sample of people. When designed for accessibility, they can be the most inclusive method for collecting data.