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Please join us in welcoming Patrick J. O’Brien to OED. Patrick joins our faculty as an Economic Development Associate. His responsibilities include research and analysis of economic data and public policy, preparation of project reports, and otherwise assisting OED faculty with on-going economic development projects. His areas of interest include workforce development, fostering regional economic development activities, and statistical and data analysis.
Patrick earned a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning at Virginia Tech in May 2008, focusing on economic and community development. He also earned an Economic Development Certificate while completing the degree. Patrick earned his B.A. in English with minors in history and philosophy from James Madison University in 2003. In his spare time he enjoys reading, as well as hiking and playing chess.
| Alumni Spotlight: H. Garrett Hart III |
H. Garrett Hart III
Development Manager, Chesterfield County Economic Development
Chesterfield County is a thriving, affluent, suburban community located in the Richmond metropolitan area. Chesterfield is recognized for its prime mid-Atlantic location and a robust economy. Chesterfield has historically been a leader in industry and is home to many of the Commonwealth’s largest industries such as DuPont, Honeywell and Philip Morris. With a population of 311,000, Chesterfield is the largest locality in the Richmond MSA and the third most populous county in the Commonwealth.
Garrett Hart (BA Marketing Management ‘81) is the Development Manager for New Business Attraction and is in charge of developing and executing a comprehensive business outreach program consisting of aggressive marketing and sales strategies to attract new business and investment to Chesterfield County, and assisting existing companies with expansion projects to strengthen the county’s tax base...Read more about Garrett here
 Calling all Hokies
in Economic Development! We want to hear from you, email jprovo@vt.edu
Partner Profile
Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development |
Rural Development (RD) is an agency within the U.S. Department of Agriculture(USDA), which administers rural business, cooperative, housing, utilities and community development programs. RD offers a broad range of programs that provide resources to rural businesses, non-profits and local governments, from loans and grants for certain types of projects, to technical assistance and support services for organizations involved in development activities. Many of these programs are specifically designed to aid in achieving economic development goals. The programs and terms are described in detail at
http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/va/
programs/RBS.htm
In Virginia, RD has four Area Offices (Southwest Area, Central Area, Northern Area, and Southeast Area) and twelve field offices to administer these programs. OED and RD can work with clients to determine whether any RD programs are appropriate for their project, as well as ensuring that application
documents and progress reports meet USDA requirements and maximize the likelihood of securing program resources.
For more information, contact Travis Jackson at travis.jackson@va.usda.gov or at (276) 228-3513.
Virginia Economic Developers Association (VEDA)
2008 Fall Conference
September 24-26, 2008
Location: Richmond, Virginia
REGISTRATION
INFORMATION
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| Greetings from the Director |
Fall is around the corner, school is back in session, and the students are ready to take on a new semester. For those who were hard at work over the summer, now is a good time to look back and reflect on accomplishments and challenges. The Office of Economic Development (OED) is no exception and we are proud to highlight a few accomplishments.
I am proud to announce that OED has received a three-year, $525,000 university center grant from the EDA. I am also pleased to announce a $1.8 million EDA investment to create a team to increase commercialization of research from Virginia Tech and the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Southside Virginia.
In this edition of the newsletter, John Provo gives a report on his work with Cumberland County in assisting the county to plan its future around a reservoir to be constructed in the vicinity of Cobbs Creek. Dave Nutter gives an update on OED’s work on youth entrepreneurship in the counties of Dickenson and Wise.
There is also an article from our partner, Jim Flowers from VT Knowledgeworks, on how a business incubator became a business acceleration center. You will also find our regular sections including our partner and alumni spotlights, and more.
As always, we like to hear from you. Please let us know how we can help you access the university resources for your economic development needs.
Ted Settle |
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| Office of Economic Development Receives Funding to Aid Southwest and Southside Communities |
We are proud to announce that the Office of Economic Development (OED) has received a three-year, $525,000 university center grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA). EDA supports OED’s work with companies, communities, and agencies to create partnerships and provide analytical resources to foster new higher-skill, higher-wage, private sector employment and investment. These activities seek to help Southwest and Southside Virginia to develop the capacity to sustain innovative industry clusters and prosperous, entrepreneurial communities...Read Full Article |
With growing numbers of residents commuting to Richmond and a new reservoir planned for its northern extremity, rural Cumberland County leaders found themselves facing significant changes.
Instead of passively watching the area evolve, Cumberland County asked Virginia Tech’s Office of Economic Development for help in planning the future of an area around the reservoir, slated for construction in the vicinity of Cobbs Creek...Read Full Article
| EDA Commercialization Grant |
1.8M investment by the U.S. Economic Development Administration has created a team to increase Southside Virginia’s commercialization of technologies developed by Virginia Tech. The team will focus on matching research-based innovations from Virginia Tech and the research programs at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) with entrepreneurs, capital, and business assistance programs in Southside. The team includes a capital access specialist based at IALR, a market research specialist associated with the Southside Business Technology Center in Martinsville, and a commercialization specialist that will partner with Virginia Tech Intellectual Properties, Inc., a private corporation designed to commercialize the scientific discoveries on campus. The Director of the Office of Economic Development at Virginia Tech is coordinating this team.
During this past year, the commercialization team created an outline of the Regional Plan for Growth and initiated six market research and analysis studies that will address the key technology thrusts that are candidates for development in the Southside Virginia region: Motorsports, Plant Biology, Nanotechnology, Polymer Processing, Information Technology, Unmanned Systems, and Renewable Energy. The team convened three meetings with regional economic developers related to the project: November 6, 2007, January 7, 2008, and May 8, 2008.
| Young Entrepreneurs Sprout New Roots |
Readers of the newsletter may well remember a previous article on OED’s work on youth entrepreneurship in Dickenson County and Wise County back in 2006.
That project, funded by an ARC flex grant administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, drew upon the community’s deep interest in its cultural heritage as a way to teach young people entrepreneurship skills. Working with the local Virginia Cooperative Extension agent, Phyllis Deel, the project utilized a nationally recognized curriculum titled “Be the E” as a baseline for the program..Read Full Article
| Commercialization Corner: VT KnowledgeWorks - Acceleration Center |
All metaphors ultimately fall short in their attempts to capture the actual nature of a concept, but perhaps none is as awkward as “business incubator.” Originally termed a high-tech business incubator, VT KnowledgeWorks is more like a tech business gym, bulking up its member companies in all the areas required for successful formation and development. With the assistance and quidance of VT KnowledgeWorks' professional staff, enterprises form and make deals in high-risk, high-reward fields such as nanotechnology, biotech, IT, and bio-engineering. Some member companies, like TORC Technologies and Portaqua, have received national and international press for their innovations.
VT KnowledgeWorks offers comprehensive pre-launch strategic planning and professional services to increase the likelihood of successful commercialization of inventions by idea-driven entrepreneurs. Enterprise services accelerate mature businesses to new growth. Incubation space is available for companies desiring first-class facilities in the energetic environment of the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center.
While the marketing term “rebranding” might describe the renaming of VT KnowledgeWorks from an incubator to a business acceleration center, speed-related terms better fit reality. For example, visitors to the VT KnowledgeWorks blog, www.insidevtknowledgeworks.com, are encouraged to wear helmets. Acceleration is quite a ride.
Time-Saving Economic Data Mining Tools from Indiana University
As part of a project to study growing business clusters in rural areas across the country, Indiana University formed a partnership with several organizations to create an extensive on-line database of economic information at their Unlocking Rural Competitiveness website. The site features tools for accessing economic statistics from various reputable data collection agencies (e.g., Census, BLS), and allows users to generate customized data sets for counties and regions nationwide. These features are very useful for quickly gathering economic data on regions, saving the user from calculating regional figures manually using the figures from each county in the region...Read Full Article Here
 We will continue to invent the future through our blood and tears and through
all our sadness.... We will prevail....
-- Nikki Giovanni, University Distinguished Professor, poet, activist |
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