eCorridors

The eCorridors program as an outreach initiative of Virginia Tech’s Information Technology organization, seeks to facilitate the deployment of advanced network infrastructure. The program provides the capability for every person, organization and community in Virginia to produce and access high volume information and services in the networked world at reasonable cost. Working with a diverse group of community, municipal, and private sector entities, eCorridors engages in a variety of activities which involve telecommunications policy, communications infrastructure, research, computing applications, community networks, and economic development.

In this newsletter, OED would like to spotlight eCorridors’ Community Broadband Access Map (CBAM), a free, community-driven map of broadband speeds, pricing and quality based on the direct experiences of end-users.  Visitors to the site can get a sense of the state of broadband in their area based on actual, measured Internet speed tests, and can also run a free speed test of their own and add a new marker to the map.  As more users test their speed and add a marker to the map, a clearer picture of broadband availability, affordability and quality will emerge.  To learn more about eCorridors or to access the CBAM took, please visit their website at http://ecorridors.vt.edu/, or call 540/231-1853.

David G. Dickson is the Executive Director of the Virginia National Defense Industrial Authority.  This assignment comes on the heels of serving the Warner Admini-stration as
the Executive Director of the Virginia Commission on Military Bases (VCOMB) since June, 2003.  The overall focus of VCOMB was to prepare for and respond to the federal BRAC process.  Given that several major actions were taken by BRAC in Virginia, the Commonwealth stands to gain about 5,000 direct new jobs and up to $5 billion in new capital investment.  VCOMB expired with Governor Warner’s Administration.  This new Authority, created by the Virginia General Assembly, operates as the focal point for Virginia’s BRAC recovery as well as for other DoD and community actions.

Prior to serving in these capacities, David had a 24-year career in economic development activities for the Commonwealth.  His major assignment was the creation of a new state agency, the Virginia Department of Business Assistance, where he served as its initial director under Governors Allen and Gilmore. He also worked in local government management in Frederick County, Virginia, as its first Deputy County Administrator. 

David's economic development work for Virginia has taken him to every city and county in the Commonwealth.  In 2004, the Virginia Economic Developers Association presented him with the Cardinal Award, its highest recognition for career service to the Commonwealth.

David was awarded a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1971 from St. Andrews Presbyterian College located in North Carolina and a Master of Urban Affairs from Virginia Tech in 1974.  Further studies include graduation from both the Economic Development Institute held at the University of Oklahoma and the Virginia Executive Institute sponsored by Virginia Commonwealth University.

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

OED Graduate Students

Mason Cavell
Mason joined the Office of Economic Development in fall 2009.  A first year student pursuing a Master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning, Mason is interested in research topics related to entre-preneurship, and environmental policy and planning. 

Prior to entering graduate school, Mason was employed by the Center for Housing Research at Virginia Tech and spent time working as a boat builder in Seattle and New Zealand.  A native of Blacksburg, Mason received his Bachelor of Science degree in Marketing Management from Virginia Tech in 2004. 

Mel Jones
Mel began pursuit of a Master’s in Urban and Regional Planning in Spring 2009, and later joined OED in May. With interests in international development and affairs, Mel traveled extensively to China, India, Turkey, and Cyprus prior to entering graduate school.  She also spent time studying in Tehran, Iran. 

A native of Kentucky and South Carolina, Mel earned a B.S. in Economics and B.A. in International Service in 2008 from American University. 

Eftila Tanellari
Tila was born and raised in Korce, Albania.  She pursued undergraduate education at Dimitris Perrotis College of Agricultural Studies in Greece, and later transferred to the University of Arkansas where she graduated with a BS in Agricultural Management.

Tila then enrolled at Virginia Tech and completed a M.S.in Agricultural and Applied Economics in 2005. She is currently a Ph.D. Student in Agricultural and Applied Economics.

• Greetings from the Director
• OED Works with Wise County on Energy Project
• The Economic Development Studio @ Virginia Tech: Green Business Opportunities in Floyd County
• OED Prepares $3.3M Green Jobs Proposal to the U.S. Dept. of Labor
• OED News
• Partner Profile: eCorridors
• Data Tools: Census Bureau's LED On the Map
• Alumni spotlight: David Dickson
  

It’s shaping up to be a hard winter.  Not in the Farmer’s Almanac, which predicts an average winter for the eastern seaboard, but in the economy where employment lags behind other economic indicators that suggest some early signs of a recovery. But puzzling questions abound. For example, will domestic vehicle manufacturing and the associated high paying jobs return? If not, to what extent can we re-tool these facilities and people for other manufacturing efforts that remain critical to the core of our economy? Part of this thinking-through involves the integration of "green" into our future economy.  

In this newsletter we highlight a number of green projects our office has been involved with recently.  These involve the local economic impact of wind energy production, training for green jobs in the construction industry, and residents of a small town seeking to chart a course for growing sustainable business opportunities. This selection of projects highlights some of the range of assistance and services we can provide.  In this issue you will also find our regular features on alumni, partner organizations, and reviews of sources of free data for economic developers available on-line.  

As always, we appreciate your comments and interest in what we do. Please contact me or any of our faculty at any time.

Regards,
Ted Settle

Wise County has turned to OED for assistance on energy projects. In recent years the County was faced with the need to assess proposals for two major facilities.  “The opportunity to provide the County with sound technical analysis in a cutting edge area of policy and research is what we’re all about,” said Sibel Atasoy, OED’s lead faculty member on both projects.

In 2007 OED partnered with faculty from Virginia Tech’s Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics and the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies to assess the economic impact of Dominion Resources’ Virginia City Hybrid Energy Center.  This almost 600 mega-watt coal and biomass plant, currently under construction, will represent an investment of some $1 billion in the economically challenged region of the Commonwealth. OED completed an economic impact analysis of the project and identified $440 million of direct and indirect economic new spending to the County over the life of the project. 

OED is currently working with Wise County on a similar study on wind power.  Dominion has developed a partnership with BP Wind Energy to build and operate a 150MW capacity wind farm in Wise County. The economic impact assessment focuses on estimating the number of jobs created for construction and operation, additional income to local businesses, and increased property tax revenues based on a $300 million investment. The direct, indirect and induced effects are estimated using the IMPLAN model. A draft of the final report was delivered to the County officials in September 2009 and is currently under review.

This fall graduate students from planning, public administration and forestry departments are participating in the Economic Development Studio @ Virginia Tech.  The class is working with leaders of Sustain Floyd, a community based non-profit organization dedicated to the sustainable development of Floyd County, a rural county off the Blue Ridge Parkway in the New River Valley.

OED Associate Director John Provo, who teaches this hands on graduate course as a part of the Urban Affairs and Planning program, described the students as highly skilled pre-professionals.  The students are working to identify opportunities for green or sustainable business in Floyd County. The class will begin their project with a market analysis of Floyd County's assets and will subsequently assess the feasibility of specific business and industry opportunities.  Mel Jones, a student in the master’s program in planning, described their work.  “Building on the community’s assets, interests, and real-world opportunities in the marketplace, we will construct a business case which members of Sustain Floyd can support local sustainable enterprises.” 

OED faculty recently completed work with a diverse group of partners on Western Virginia Construction, Retrofitting, and Energy-Efficiency Assessment,Training and Employment
System (CREATES).  If funded, this $3.3 million proposal to the US Department of Labor will build a comprehensive training network connecting community college, non-profit, and university resources, to accelerate the greening of the residential and commercial building industry in western Virginia and building important career and educational pathways for individuals. 

OED Economic Development Associate Patrick O’Brien described how the challenge of drafting the proposal was simplified by the high level of collaboration between the dozens of public, private and non-profit partners participating in various aspects of the project.  “Everyone worked very hard to identify their niche and cooperate with the other partners to find where it complemented others and strengthened the overall proposal.”    

Education and training partners involved in this collaboration included Virginia Tech faculty from the Colleges of Architecture and Urban Studies and Engineering; New River, Virginia Western, and Wytheville Community Colleges; the New River-Mt. Rogers and Western Virginia Workforce Investment Boards;  and the Christiansburg-based Community Housing Partners’ New River Center for Energy Research and Training.  Other partners included the NewVa Corridor Technology Council, Construction and Laborer’s Local 980, the Association of Energy Conservation Professionals, and a large number of employers including Breakell, Inc., and ADMMicro.

Regional Economic Conditions (RECON)
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
This database, originally designed to assist the FDIC, provides data to analyze economic conditions at the national, state, county, or metropolitan statistical area (MSA) level.  Examples of datasets contained in this tool include: bankruptcy filings, housing permits, mortgage delinquencies, and foreclosures. A unique feature of this tool includes a “shopping cart” function to allow users an opportunity to generate user-specified data reports, maps, and charts. 

RECON can be accessed for no charge at the following link: http://www.fdic.gov/bank/statistical/index.html

USA Spending.Gov
Office of Management and Budget
The USASpending.gov website provides a comprehensive listing of all grant awards, contracts, loans, insurance, direct payments, and other assistance provided by the federal government. Forms of assistance are searchable by recipient, place of performance (locality and state level data available), funding agency, or type of assistance.  Additionally, this site contains a special tracking tool for all federally-funded information technology (IT) investments. 

USA Spending.Gov can be accessed free of charge at the following link: http://www.usaspending.gov/index.php

Congratulations to Dr. Sibel Atasoy

OED would like to offer our congratulations to Economic Development Specialist Sibel Atasoy for completion of her dissertation in the Department of Agriculture and Applied Economics.  Sibel’s dissertation focused on the effect of food stamps on economic well-being.

OED would also like to offer our best wishes to Sibel, and husband Marcus, as they begin new careers in Boston, MA.  During her time with OED, Sibel made many important contributions for a variety of projects, including completion of an Economic Impact Analysis for the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority (VCEDA) and an Economic Impact Analysis for a Coal-Fired Power Plant in Wise County, VA.  Please join us in wishing Dr. Atasoy the best of luck in Boston!