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Strategic Plan Unveiled For Southwest Central Indiana

Southwest Central Indiana

A regional economic development strategy unveiled Tuesday identifies factors that are limiting growth in Southwest Central Indiana.

A $650,000 planning grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc. allowed a steering committee to conduct extensive research relating to conditions in Brown, Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Orange, Owen and Washington counties over the past year.

The committee identified five key challenges those counties are facing.

During visits to different communities, employers and parents told the committee a lack of skilled workers is a big concern. According to the report, educational attainment in 10 of the 11 counties is below the state average, with half of the adult population having a high school diploma or less.

Senior Program Manager at Battelle's Technology Partnership Practice Deborah Cummings says part of the disconnect comes from the changing demographics of the workforce as workers age. She says other issues rural communities face, like methamphetamine use, are also leading to a gap in the workforce. 

"If you're hiring people who you're not sure in two weeks are going to show up for the job, if they're not ready to come and prepared to work 8 to 5, if this isn't something they're prepared to do, these are huge issues," she said. "Let alone, do they have the right training for the equipment?"

Cummings says that issue can be addressed with better training and communication between educators and employers.

President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Bloomington and Monroe County Tina Peterson says there's been too much focus on encouraging students to pursue four-year college degrees. 

"As we started talking to employers, they said, ‘But, you know that's not necessarily what we always need. Yes, we do need people with four-year degrees and yes we do need people with Master's and people with PhDs, but we also need those people that have certificates and those people who are prepared with associates degrees.'"

The study also found that the region hasn't taken advantage of opportunities along the I-69 corridor.

Cummings says the development of WestGate@Crane Technology Park and the I-69 Innovation Corridor are positive steps. But, she says communities need to move quickly to do more.

"Logistics and transportation costs are some of the number one factors in terms of certainly advanced manufacturing companies, but a number of clusters that we're talking about," she said. "So, opening this route and allowing them to have this north south corridor is really going to make it more attractive for companies to be able to expand as well as attract companies to the region."

Cummings says a Strategic Opportunity Fund made up of public and private dollars could be established to help pay for projects along the I-69 corridor.

The strategic plan also identified the lack of a robust relationship between the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division and Indiana University as a concern. It suggests more collaborative research between the two institutions would benefit the entire region.

The fourth challenge the 11 counties face is that the region doesn't foster an entrepreneurial culture. The study found there's a lack of new ideas in Southwest Central Indiana and few people to develop them. Part of the problem comes from most risk capital being invested on the East and West coasts instead of the Midwest.

The last hurdle identified in the strategic plan is that there isn't a sense of regionalism among the 11 counties included in the report. That hinders the coordination of efforts to increase growth across the region.

The Southwest Central Indiana Planning Initiative's steering committee hopes to come up with a plan for implementing the improvements outlined in the strategic vision within the next three months. They haven't established a time frame for completing all of the goals, but say they're taking a long-term approach.

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