Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 15, 1993 TAG: 9304150459
SECTION: EDITORIAL PAGE: A-10 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
THE REGION NEEDS A GAME PLAN
THE ROANOKE Valley Business Council, meeting Friday, could contribute in a big way to this community's future by agreeing to underwrite the crafting of a coherent, regional economic-development strategy.Members of the council, a quiet group of local employers, are talking about hiring an outside expert. After gathering input from a variety of sources, the consultant would draw up a plan for gaining and retaining the kinds of jobs that area residents want.
A guide, in short, for helping the region avoid the perils and exploit the promise of its economic future.
It's a great idea, offering potentially three kinds of help.
First, a well-devised plan would put together an accounting of the region's assets and liabilities, defined in terms not just of how residents perceive them, but how prospective employers might.
Is there sufficient recognition, for example, of the economic significance - existing and potential - of Virginia Tech's engineering school? Or of the region's amenities and natural resources?
Viewed from the perspective of high-tech firms that everyone covets, new assessments of the region's assets might emerge. Research could suggest, for instance, that the quality of local schools - considered an asset by many residents - would have to be upgraded to attract the most desirable jobs.
Second, a strong game plan would take into account the real world in which the region's economy is a player.
People say they want high-paying manufacturing jobs. Fine. That's a proper goal of economic development. But understand that providers of such jobs have been downsizing nationwide, and likely will continue doing so. More important than landing a footloose factory may be exposing homegrown employers to export opportunities.
An injection of information, expertise and focus would, in any case, surely help regional economic-development efforts. When considering which sorts of industries to go after, officials should be guided by answers to such questions as: Which industries around the world are growing and projected to grow? Which of these might be attracted by assets that our region offers? Which industries might we serve and supply from here?
No one should doubt the need for better data. Of late, for example, there's been more talk about tourism than solid research on its local potential.
Finally, a coherent plan would promote awareness of development as a regional affair. The Roanoke Valley Economic Development Partnership, which markets the region, is a product of this growing awareness. But a good plan would underscore the fact that the real competition lurks in North Carolina and elsewhere, not across the city-county line.
A shared strategy could help align fragmented localities and economic-development groups now acting in isolation, now pursuing narrow goals for disparate constituencies. Signed on to a single plan, perhaps Roanoke County might contribute to the Hotel Roanoke conference center, and the city to Explore Park; both projects serve the entire region's development. And perhaps leaders of the New River and Roanoke valleys would join efforts, recognizing that their economies are linked.
A good plan will come neither cheaply nor smoothly. The business council has funds to pay for it, but success requires participation far broader than the group's membership. Even so, as the business council's president, Thomas Robertson, said last week of the effort: "Somebody's got to start it."