Written by Amanda Coers – The Brownwood Economic Development Corporation is looking to sell the old Brownwood central fire station, located on the corner of Austin Avenue and Main Street. To gain a better understanding of what types of businesses the community might like to see in that location, the BEDC reached out to the Industrial Organizational Psychology class at Howard Payne University to conduct research, including an online survey.
The Industrial Organizational Psychology (I-O Psych) program at HPU began four years ago, under the direction of Dr. Kevin Kelley, Assistant Professor of Organizational Psychology. Industrial Organizational psychology focuses on understanding and modifying behavior in organizational settings, such as work environments. The principles of I-O Psych can also be helpful in determining types of businesses that could potentially do well in a particular area.
Overseeing the project are two students: Sydnee Petty, recent HPU grad with a degree in Psychology, who also participated in the Honors Academy, and Connor Vara, a junior currently studying Business Management and Industrial Organizational Psychology.
“The BEDC reached out to us to find out what the people of Brownwood would like to see in that building, whether it be a restaurant or a retail store, what the community feels is missing, what they travel outside of Brownwood to get, and what the community is willing to spend at a location,” said Petty.
The old fire station is located near the most populated intersection, with a high volume of traffic, according to a recent study of the area.
“One of the things we hope to do as a class, is for our students to get experience providing good consulting work for the city. I want to encourage students to see more opportunity for providing service outside of the private sector,” Dr. Kelley said. “If we can be of assistance to the city and provide community input, that’s a great experience for our class.”
The original goal for the class was to reach 500 people through the survey. To date, the survey has been completed by over 530 individuals within Brownwood. But that doesn’t mean the survey is closed. The class is hoping to provide comprehensive data from as many community members as possible.
“The more the merrier,” Petty said. The official close date for the survey is the 23rd of March. After that, the class will take a few weeks to compile the data and compose a formal report to present to the BEDC.
The survey can be completed in about 10 minutes online: www.surveymonkey.com/r/fireh0use
Two years ago, the I-O Psych class headed a survey for the Parks and Recreation Department to better understand what the community felt would be a benefit as far as new parks for the area. The city had received a $200,000 grant, and due to the results from the survey, the grant money was used to build Brownwood’s new skate park as well as the walking trail.
“It’s been great to have this opportunity to go through this and create the survey, see the entire process firsthand and be a part of it, and have it on our resumes to have completed this project for the city of Brownwood,” Vara said. “It will be great to see the results from the survey and help the BEDC make the best choice of what to do with the fire station, and help Brownwood as a community gain something it’s needing.”
