Meet the Players

Key Functions & Roles 

Spotter - The Visionary

The spotter sees potential opportunities (buildings, enterprises, and individuals) and connects people to move opportunities forward. For instance, Lori McKinney in Princeton, WV is a spotter who sees an empty building as an opportunity and then pulls people together to make something happen. A spotter may work with an engager to create connections around an opportunity and encourage the framer. 

Framer - The Deal Maker

The framer can assess whether a project is investable, describe the project, navigate discussions with investors, and help put the capital stack together. Framers have the language, tools, and connections to move opportunities forward.

Engager – The Trust Builder

The Engager earns the trust of the community and local government, identifies unmet needs, and shares community stories and desires with the developer and investors. This could be a single person or an entire organization; for instance, University of Kentucky’s CEDIK program helped Pineville, KY host community listening sessions to develop a shared vision for downtown. 

Developer - The Risk Taker

For something great to happen, someone has to be willing to take on the initial risk. For example, The Appalachian Arts Alliance in Hazard, KY bought a former bus depot from a local bank to repurpose and develop it into a performing arts center. Developers often manage construction and renovation, build to specifications (if there are known clients), and then manage the tenants or sell. Some framers may also be “activist developers” who come early and see new opportunities and plan/implement the project development before managing construction and renovation.

Primary Contact - The Connector and Primary Point of Contact

This can be someone filling one of the above roles or even an additional team member, but somebody needs to be driving the train. Bryan Phipps, Senior Vice President of People, Inc. says, “It’s good to have an internal planning group but there needs to be one person who is responsive to emails/calls and is knowledgeable enough about the project to respond quickly to questions and things to do for the project to move it forward.”