Browsing by Author "Virginia Tech Center for Economic and Community Engagement"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
  • Thumbnail Image
    Growth And Diversification Plan 2021: GO Virginia Region 2
    Virginia Tech Center for Economic and Community Engagement (Virginia Tech, 2021-11)
    GO Virginia’s objectives, as set by the state, are simple and provide a clear path for action. The program seeks to grow jobs that pay higher than the regional average wage, primarily through investment that is new to Virginia. This requires a focus on industries with high growth potential, featuring in-demand occupations with higher wages. This Growth and Diversification plan provides a roadmap for utilizing GO Virginia funding for projects across this region, which includes the Lynchburg, New River Valley, and Roanoke-Alleghany sub-regions. Each of these areas has a strong history of local cooperation, and some experience with interregional collaboration, primarily between the New River and Roanoke Valleys. Together, they all share many economic similarities: traditional industry strengths in manufacturing, transportation, and agriculture; emerging technology sectors; mixed urban and rural characteristics; and higher education and healthcare as economic and employment drivers. This plan documents the socio-economic trajectory of this region, particularly the concentration of different industries across this footprint, their job growth rates compared to the nation, their contributions to gross regional product, the number of higher-than-average wage jobs available in these industries, and assets unique to the region that drive opportunity.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Mount Rogers Outdoor Asset Analysis & Development Plan
    Virginia Tech Center for Economic and Community Engagement; Arnett Muldrow & Associates; Hill Studios (Virginia Tech, 2022)
    Outdoor recreation has become increasingly recognized as a tourism driver, quality of life asset, and growing economic sector. Communities in the Mount Rogers region, a hub of outdoor tourism, enlisted a research team—comprised of experts from Virginia Tech’s Center for Economic and Community Engagement, Arnett Muldrow & Associates, and Hill Studios—to develop an outdoor analysis and development plan.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Regional Economic Development with EDA University Centers
    University Economic Development Administration; Virginia Tech Center for Economic and Community Engagement (EDA University Center Program, 2024)
    The U.S. Economic Development Administration (EDA) University Center (UC) program seeks to help strengthen regional economies by leveraging higher education assets to promote innovation, entrepreneurship, technology commercialization, and skilled talent. For more than 18 months, the University Economic Development Administration (UEDA) and the Virginia Tech Center for Economic and Community Engagement (CECE) studied how EDA-designated UCs organize, operate, and implement their economic development programs. With EDA support, UEDA sought both to expand its reach to the UCs and support EDA’s goals by facilitating the transfer of knowledge and sharing best practices among the EDA UCs. From this work, UEDA identified common elements across the EDA UCs and offered new ideas to increase the impact EDA UCs have on the communities they serve.