COMMUNITY ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Virginia Tech’s engagement with communities across the Commonwealth is a critical part of its land grant mission.  The Office of Economic Development (OED), along with team of faculty experts from around the university, provides communities with sound technical advice and a trusted venue for policy discussions.  Projects areas include economic impact and feasibility studies, support and design of programs involving asset-based development and local entrepreneurship, and strategic planning for communities and evaluation of their economic development programs.

Current Projects:

Capturing the Triple Bottom Line in Rural Equity Investments

OED is working with North Carolina-based economic development consultants Scruggs & Associates a project for the Ford Foundation, Assessing the Role of Equity Capital in Rural Economic Development.  That project is intended to “…evaluate the impact that rural-based equity funds have in addition to the individual business investment—exploring the ‘stickiness’ factors that build and sustain economic capacity and provide a triple bottom line to the community.”

The triple bottom line concept, adding environmental outcomes and social equity concerns to traditional economic measures of investments, challenges traditional models of assessment.   Many of the practices of businesses adopting a triple bottom line approach, such and profit sharing and investments in workforce development, may simply represent reviving a traditional notion of good business practice.  Others, such as environmental concerns, may involve injecting more cutting edge concepts. In either case, the value added to rural communities by those additional factors may represent some of the most substantial returns to rural communities from these equity investments, and important factors for funders such as Ford to document.      

OED’s role is to draw on its experience with rural economic development projects and evaluation of those interventions to develop and test a framework of “strings and ripples.” These are direct and indirect relationships to the investment by equity funds that may be apparent from a mixed method approach to evaluation.  Collaborating with Scruggs & Associates on a series of case studies, the product of OED’s participation will be a field test of this framework, leading to a transferrable and scalable package documenting how lessons can be replicated in other regions of the country.

 

Brunswick County Incubator Feasibility Study

The Brunswick County Industrial Development Authority has contracted with OED to conduct a market analysis and feasibility study of a proposed small business incubator focused on the wood products industry. As a part of the project the Southside Business Technology Center will develop a business plan for the facility .

 

Wise County Wind Energy Plant Economic Impact Analysis

Wise County has asked OED to evaluate the economic impacts of a proposed wind energy project. Dominion Power has developed a partnership with BP Wind Energy, one of the leading wind developers in the U.S., to build and operate wind energy projects in Virginia.  They propose to build a 60 megawatt wind farm in Wise County. As part of the planning process for this project Dominion officials have requested that the locality undertake the development of an assessment to determine the economic impact of the project.

Economic impacts of wind power projects typically occur in 4 major areas: jobs for construction and operations, additional jobs and income to existing local businesses, supplemental revenue for landowners through lease of property or easements, increased property tax revenues.  These will be measured through analysis of IMPLAN economic modeling software data. Wind power projects may also have other economic effects, such as changes in property values. Analysis of impacts on property values will be conducted through literature reviews and existing anecdotal evidence. Wind power projects may also have environmental impacts, but these are beyond the scope of this project. 

Past Projects:

Bluefield VA/West VA Regional Innovation Grant Proposal

OED will work with Tazewell County, Virginia and  Mercer County, West Virginia, to prepare a request to the US Department of Labor for a Regional Innovation Grant (RIG).  The RIG will be used for planning innovative sector-based strategies linking workforce and economic development in response to the region’s ongoing economic dislocations. 

Cobbs Creek Reservoir Cumberland County

Cumberland County, Virginia, sought assistance from project faculty in formulating and assessing options for land use and development around a planned reservoir in the Cobbs Creek area of the County. This likely scale of the development will have substantial implications for the whole County for years to come, for example in government revenues, expenditures, and development patterns.

Landcare

This project is part of a much larger public-private partnership to expand the Landcare movement and industry as a holistic and unified approach to land use and natural resource management practices in southwest Virginia, western North Carolina, throughout the United States, and beyond.

The goal of the project is to develop and implement a regional strategy for asset based economic development of Landcare practices and products in the New River Valley in order to alleviate the economic pressures on rural landowners and communities in the six-county region in southwest Virginia and northwest North Carolina. The project team, led by David Robertson of the Virginia Tech Department of Forestry, Jerry Moles of the New River Land Trust, and Christy Gabbard of Virginia Tech’s Conservation Management Institute, and OED will organize landowners and local communities in the New River Valley to identify Landcare industry opportunities, and assist landowners and local communities to pursue specific Landcare opportunities.

Virginia Hospitality and Tourism Association

Project faculty will be providing strategic planning and facilitation service to the association as it seeks to reorganize and retool its structure.  Its members have long championed a number of initiatives central to economic transitions in rural communities including heritage and cultural tourism that has been central to Southwest Virginia in particular.

 

Eastern Shore Economic Development Summits

At the request of the Accomack-Northampton Planning District Commission OED organized and facilitated three public meetings on economic development and produced a report on economic development prospects for the Eastern Shore. These are designed to inform the Planning District’s Comprehensive Economic Development Planning Process for the EDA. More broadly the summits engaged stakeholders in identifying elements of an asset-based economic development mission and specific implementation steps to adopt in furtherance of that mission.

The Economic Impact of a Proposed Agricultural Complex in Pittsylvania County

Pittsylvania County Farm Bureau Federation has proposed to construct a multimillion dollar, multi-purpose agricultural complex in Pittsylvania County, Virginia in order to support the region’s agricultural industry. The proposed facility is expected to generate economic impacts not only in Pittsylvania County, but also the surrounding counties of Bedford, Henry, Franklin, and Campbell. OED will generate an economic impact analysis estimates of the proposed facility on the Pittsylvania County economy, and the regional economy including the surrounding counties.

 

Galax City Council Retreat

Project faculty facilitated a retreat among city staff and elected officials on economic development and produced a report on economic development prospects for the City of Galax. The retreat provided a chance for staff and a large number of newly elected council members to identify priorities and establish a direction for the City. Project faculty also worked with City staff designing implementation steps for their key priority, business retention.

Hill PHOENIX Employee Satisfaction Survey

OED assisted Hill PHOENIX, a company located in Colonial Heights, Virginia that designs and manufactures refrigerated display cases for commercial operations, in their 2007 Employee Survey that they conduct every other year.

Hill PHOENIX’s facility in Colonial Heights has approximately 900 employees with different backgrounds. To address this issue, Spanish and Vietnamese versions of the original survey were produced. The completed surveys, administered by Hill PHOENIX, were analyzed by OED, and a written report was submitted to Hill PHOENIX.


Martinsville-Henry Courthouse Feasibility and Business Planning

Project faculty is assisting the Southside Business Technology Center (SBTC) in conducting a feasibility study analyzing possible uses for the historic Martinsville-Henry Courthouse for the Martinsville-Henry County Historical Society (MHCHS). As described in this proposal, the OED team will be one of several project partners and subcontractors collecting data and providing analysis that will be delivered as part of a written report and business plan that SBTC will submit to the MHCHS.

 

Scott County Hotel Study

The Scott County Economic Development Department engaged project faculty in addressing concerns related to hotel facilities. The County is part of a major tourism initiative that has seen substantial increases in visitations in recent years. The study determined the existing and potential market demand for the proposed new development of hotels in the County.


Town of Shenandoah Community Planning and Visioning

The Shenandoah Industrial Corporation sought advice from project faculty on how to address the need for organizing the community for a thoughtful and realistic approach to economic development in the town. Shenandoah residents have seen a number of economic development initiatives in their town including planning for the “Big Gem” Brownfield Reclamation, provision of broadband internet access, and development of Shenandoah’s Main Street and Historic District. Rebounding from losses suffered in the Town due to fires over the two past years will require renewal of the sense of energy and direction that characterized those other projects.

Shenandoah residents were invited to share their vision and ideas for creating the kind of community where they want to live, work, and do business, now and in the future. OED facilitated three public meetings. Meeting participants were asked to take photos of what they are proud of and want to promote as well as those things in their community that need attention. Coordinated with presentations from outside experts, the citizen-initiated vision will form the basis for a new economic development action plan for the town. Project faculty are currently working on a final draft of that report.

 

Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority Economic Impact Analysis

Project faculty and Virginia Tech’s Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics partnered to analyze Economic Impact of the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority (VCEDA).
The impact assessment of VCEDA focused on three objectives: describe and analyze VCEDA investments over the past 18 years, analyze the economic impacts of these investments including their direct, indirect and induced impacts using the Impact Analysis for Planning (IMPLAN) modeling system, and identify the qualitative contributions VCEDA makes to regional economic activity based on a case-study analysis of representative individual firms.


Wise County Coal-Fired Power Plant Economic Impact Study

In spring of 2006 Wise County was selected as the site of a new coal-fired power plant by a consortium of power companies headed by Dominion Resources. The 500-600 mega-watt plant will represent an investment of some $1 billion in the economically challenged region of the Commonwealth.

While the potential of such an investment is enormous to a community like Wise, its impact on existing infrastructure and county facilities must be better understood and evaluated if the community is to truly benefit from the project. County officials approached Virginia Tech about ways to analyze the plant’s impact on long-standing state funding formulas, community housing and county services.


Wytheville Agricultural Exposition Center Market/Business Feasibility Study

The Southwest Virginia Horseman’s Association merged with the Wythe County Farm Bureau in February 2006 to pursue the development of an Appalachian Regional Exposition Center in Wytheville. They asked project faculty to examine the market/business feasibility of an agricultural oriented exposition center and develop a business plan for the proposed facility.

The proposed facility will have a clear focus on agricultural events, but will be able to handle a broad range of events, shows, and exhibitions. A main indoor show arena will be able to accommodate equestrian events and all classes of livestock events year-round. The center could be expanded in the future to host a wider range of events including other recreational purposes, concerts, festivals, and indoor motor sports. OED, in partnership with Virginia Tech’s Pamplin College of Business Technology Center, will deliver the feasibility study and business plan.

 

For more information on how Virginia Tech can help to improve the performance of your organization, contact:

Virginia Tech
Office of Economic Development
702 University City Blvd. (Mail Code 0373)
Blacksburg, VA 24061
Phone (540) 231-5278
Fax (540) 231-8850
E-mail econdev@vt.edu