Calling all Hokies
in Economic Development!  We want to hear from you, email jprovo@vt.edu

The Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) has launched the latest version of their website, www.yesvirginia.org.  The new version includes additional content, a new layout, and more user-friendly features.  In keeping with VEDP’s efforts to provide the competitive and timely information that makes Virginia the “best state for business”, this is the website’s fifth upgrade in 11 years.  The website also features new graphic design elements, an interactive mapping tool, and more in-depth information about business sectors in Virginia. 

YesVirginia’s international content has been upgraded to appeal to foreign based companies looking to establish a presence in the United States.  The website features a virtual sales office where prospective international companies can make initial contact with VEDP and select information based on their interests.  The new international content also features a frequently asked questions section with detailed answers that cover everything from opening bank accounts, to environmental permits, to schooling for the children of employees. 

The overall site experience has been redesigned to be more user friendly and to make information most accessible.  This latest upgrade uses Microsoft Silverlight™ technology to bring interactive GIS maps to life.  Further improvements to the website will be occurring through 2009, with updates to VirginiaScan, a site selection tool designed to help companies looking to relocate. 

Check out the improvements at www.yesvirginia.org!

Upcoming Events

Energy Harvesting Forum
January 28-29, 2009
Blacksburg, VA

Plans are underway to convene academic researchers and industrial researchers from leading industries, national labs, and defense agencies at Virginia Tech from Jan. 28-29 to focus their efforts on developing efficient energy sources for self-powered devices.

For more information and to register click here.

Happy Holidays

• Greetings from the Director
• Economic Development in a Slowing Economy
• OED and The Business Technology Center Complete Nanotech Cluster Anaylsis
• Local Firm Named Business Incubator Client of the Year
• Hospitality Industry Focuses on the Future
• Landcare in the New River Valley
• Virginia Economic Development Partnership Website Revue
• Data Tools: Regional GDP
• Alumni spotlight: Liz Snyder
  

As I write, we find ourselves in unchartered economic waters. However, in the lead story Dave Nutter reminds us that such downturns are always a good time to plan and position your business or community for the next turn of the economic wheel.  Dave's article identifies some of our work with the Economic Development Administration and community partners. John Provo’s piece details the results of a nanotechnology cluster study funded by federal and state sources as part of a comprehensive economic restructuring effort by Pulaski County.

In these challenging times The Office of Economic Development (OED), remains actively engaged with community partners around the state. Among the many projects we have underway I am exploring operating support for the four Tobacco Commission-funded energy R&D centers in Southwest and Southside. John Provo and Heike Mayer, associate professor in Virginia Tech’s Urban Affairs and Planning program, are completing a graduate studio course on Open Innovation as a model for realizing economic development benefits from Virginia Tech’s distributed research centers. Sibel Atasoy and Patrick O’Brien are beginning a wood products business incubator feasibility study for Brunswick County.  Dave Nutter and Charlotte Anders, Director of Virginia Tech’s Hampton Roads Center, are finishing a strategic planning and benchmarking effort for the Virginia Hospitality and Tourism Association. 

Please feel free to contact us with any comments or questions on this newsletter.  We’re also here to discuss your challenges and opportunities in economic development. 

Ted Settle

It seems like every day brings more bad news on the economic front.  Tightening credit.  Layoffs.  Bankruptcy.  An economy that still has not hit bottom.  Given these tough times what can economic developers do?...  Read Full Article

A year long study conducted by OED and the Business Technology Center (BTC) identified emerging market opportunities for the New River Valley Region in energy and life science applications of nanomaterials.  These were a good fit for private and public sectors assets around the region: firms moving into commercial production, a growing portfolio of university research activity, and the availability of new characterization equipment at the university for both academic and commercial research...Read Article

TORC Technologies, a VT spin-out company and a VT KnowledgeWorks member, was honored as the Virginia Business Incubation Association client of the year for 2008. 
The VBIA Board of Directors established the Donna Noble Incubator Client Award in 2001, in honor of one of its founding Board members, Donna Noble, who passed away on May 29, 2001, at the age of 36. Donna was a very energetic and enthusiastic person and was truly dedicated to the incubation industry and to promoting entrepreneurship. Donna was the marketing manager for Incubator AMERICA! in Arlington.  
This award is presented annually at the VBIA Conference. Nominations for this award come from member incubator managers to recognize exemplary tenants who have been in the incubator for a minimum of one year.

TORC is quietly compiling a very nice collection of honors and awards.  Last spring, for instance, they were named the local “Rising Star” by the NewVA Corridor Technology Council.  In addition, they have a growing list of high-profile clients for their products and services that help to automate the “dull, dirty, and dangerous.”

To learn more about TORC Technologies, please contact David Cutter, marketing manager, at (540) 443-9262 x 4256 or by email at cutter@torctech.com

While the image of the hospitality and tourism industry may extol fun in the sun, success requires a cool hand and firm grasp of the issues confronting a fast changing business environment.

Recently, the Virginia Hospitality and Travel Association (VHTA) contracted with Dave Nutter in OED and Charlotte Anders at the Hampton Roads Center to conduct a strategic planning workshop and association benchmark program to help its members keep abreast of these trends. 

Virginia Tech conducted an on-line survey of VHTA members on critical issues confronting the industry and then analyzed the association structure as compared with five other state associations.  The survey helped to guide the association's efforts to develop programmatic offering to meet the members' needs.

As the voice of the hospitality and tourism industry in Virginia, VHTA board members will be a stronger voice for their membership.

Last fall, OED partnered with the Department of Forestry and the Conservation Management Institute to develop and implement landcare as a regional economic development strategy in the New River Valley (NRV). Since February, the landcare specialist team worked on ways to organize landowners and communities in the region to identify and pursue landcare opportunities. The OED team complemented their effort by conducting a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis of the communities in the project region.

The SWOT analysis focused on generating an understanding of the economic and political conditions related to landcare opportunities in the region. Specifically, OED collected and analyzed secondary data on current economic and demographic conditions in the NRV, including agricultural and natural assets and existing partnerships and practices that could be leveraged in the region. An important component of the SWOT analysis was to identify and build partnerships with economic and political leaders at the local and regional level.

OED’s analysis indicated that many viable, value-added agriculture-based businesses are already operating throughout the region. There is a strong demand both among the farmers, landowners, and the economic and political leaders in the region for expanding such efforts with innovative and profitable land management practices. The project team will organize a workshop to increase awareness of opportunities landcare presents, and build capacity across the region for pursuing these opportunities.

The metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) of Virginia have seen an average increase of 11% in real GDP between the years 2002-2006 according to The Bureau of Economic Analysis.
(The BEA GDP data is available at http://www.ssti.org/Digest/Tables/100108t.htm), This figure compares to a 12.8% growth in national GDP. Furthermore, every Virginia MSA, except for the Danville metro area, experienced overall growth between these years. The 2006 average GDP for all Virginia MSAs (in current dollars) was $43,443 million.

Six of the eleven total MSAs in Virginia exceeded the national GDP growth rate of 12.8%. These MSAs include, Charlottesville (21.2%), Winchester, VA-WV (19.1%), Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV (18.3%), Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford (14.1%), Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News VA-NC (13.7%), and Lynchburg (12.9%). At the same time the Danville (-4.9%), Harrisonburg (5.4%), Kingsport-Bristol (4.9%), Richmond (8.7%), and Roanoke (7.1%) MSAs came in below the Virginia MSA average of 11%.

Analyzing change in GDP over the five year period, rather than zeroing in on one particular year, provides a useful indicator of GDP measures for the Virginia metro areas.  While the 2002-2006 figures above identify the usual regions in the lead, Northern Virginia and Tidewater, there are also some surprisingly strong showings outside the urban crescent in university towns like Charlottesville, Blacksburg, and Lynchburg.  This is particularly important in giving context to recent fundamental shifts in our economy that led us into the current recession and understanding the economic drivers to help us move toward recovery in Virginia's regions.