Are you part of the Tri-City diversification effort? Maybe you're trying to develop a business but are struggling to survive.

You need money, office space and guidance through the forest of tax laws, environmental regulations and other apparent barriers to success.

If this profile fits you, don't despair. Help is available through several community groups that are receiving federal support to speed local business growth and diversification.

Part of the effort is directed at new companies expressly created or recruited to help the Hanford cleanup effort. Other enterpris es being helped are focusing on agribusiness, medical products and a host of different innovations.

To help these businesses grow, the Department of Energy, the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Fluor-Daniel and other Hanford contractors have committed major federal and private resources.

The Tri-City Industrial Development Council, representing the community, is working with city governments, contractors, ports, Washington State University Tri-Cities and others to get the best use of economic development money.

So how does federal money get translated into the reality of more companies, more jobs and a stronger community?

The key to success lies in one word with vast possibilities: partnerships. No one group can do it alone - community development has to be a team effort. The major players in the Mid-Columbia depend on a variety of partnerships to start new businesses, help them grow and attract new firms to support them.

For example, Battelle-Northwest depends on a strong relationship with TRIDEC and WSU to create, grow and attract technology-based businesses. Many companies are being helped through programs from the research lab's Economic Development Office.

Small businesses in the Mid-Columbia are getting valuable technical assistance, including access to high-tech facilities, resources and expertise. The Economic Development Office's entrepreneurial program, which allows staff at the Pacific Northwest lab to take a leave of absence to start a new technology-based business, has enabled several companies to open offices in the Tri-Cities.

Through classes at WSU Tri-Cities, entrepreneurs are learning how to create business plans, do feasibility studies and other critical business skills. Also, the university's marketing students are helping several small businesses by performing market analyses and other valuable consultation.

Business incubators provide technical support, space and market expertise - what ever is needed to launch a young firm into the marketplace. Through the Tri-Cities Enterprise Center, for example, struggling firms can open an office, find office support such as faxing and photocopying and obtain valuable management consulting.

Consult this column over the coming months to learn how these and other community resources, working together, can help you develop a lively, growing business in the Tri-Cities.

Sue Liebetrau is with the Economic Development Office at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland. Her column on the Tri-Cities' diversification and entrepreneurial efforts is to appear monthly in the business section. To contact Liebetrau, call 375-3689.