Enhanced Communication
ECD regional directors are uniquely positioned to facilitate communication between different local and regional economic development partners. Enhanced communication will come in different forms depending on the needs of the region.
ECD regional staff members are playing a role in a variety of new efforts, including
- regional industrial site inventories,
- development of marketing materials,
- regular stakeholder meetings, and
- aligning workforce development programs with employer need.
In addition, ECD's regional directors play a unique role interfacing with other state agencies to facilitate the needs of Tennessee businesses as they expand and grow jobs in our state. In many cases this enhanced communication will mean ECD regional staffs fostering more regional thinking and planning among peer organizations.
In the Upper Cumberland region, ECD staff and regional partners will host an innovation forum that highlights the importance of entrepreneurship and technology in job creation. The event will connect entrepreneurs with resources for accessing capital, mentors, and innovation networks. The Northeast Tennessee ECD regional staff will play a role in a consortium of stakeholder organizations that will develop an external marketing plan for the region in 2012 including trips to trade shows in key sectors and collateral promotional material. Across several of the regions, an industrial site inventory program is also in the works as no such resource now exists.
Conclusion
ECD's nine regional strategic plans are living documents to be revisited with stakeholders and other local economic development players on a regular basis. These plans are the first step in framing the roles of these new regional staffs and the jobs base camps. It is clear that a new decentralized model operating at a more granular level in concert with local economic development forces will allow more effective marshalling of all resources to support Tennessee job growth. The results will play a major role in making Tennessee the number-one state in the Southeast for high-quality jobs.
1 | 2 | 3
*The Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development's mission is to develop strategies that help make Tennessee the number-one location in the Southeast for high-quality jobs. The department seeks to attract new corporate investment in Tennessee and works with Tennessee companies to facilitate expansion and economic growth. |
