Published: October 11, 2009 04:54 am      

Upcoming conference will focus on regional development

FAIRMONT — The Regional Research Institute at West Virginia University and the Economic Development Administration are coming together to focus on regional development during an upcoming conference.

Randall Jackson is director of the WVU Regional Research Institute and also a professor in the university’s geology and geography department. The RRI, founded in 1965, focuses on regional economic development research.

“Our mission over all of those years has centered on the study of regional economic development with a focus on lagging regions,” he said. “Our research is not limited just to West Virginia or the Appalachian region, (but) we obviously take special interest in research that has application to our own region.”

The institute has received funding for projects with the Economic Development Administration, the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Research Initiative, and the National Science Foundation.

“We really have a fairly wide variety of research interests,” Jackson said. “We’ve been here and active for quite some time and hope to continue to be.”

He said about three dozen faculty research associates at WVU are affiliated with the Regional Research Institute through their expression of interest.

As a public service, the institute publishes the Web Book of Regional Science, which is a fairly extensive collection of reference materials that instructors around the globe use for course materials and that professionals and planning agencies also utilize. In addition, the RRI holds workshops, specialized training, and a seminar series, Jackson said.

WVU’s Regional Research Institute and the Economic Development Administration are co-hosting a conference in Morgantown this month. The First Annual EDA Economic Development Research Symposium will take place at the Clarion Hotel Morgan on Oct. 21 and 22. The symposium is titled “Charting the Course for Regional Development.”

As co-host, the RRI has helped coordinate the details of this inaugural event and facilitate the participants, Jackson said.

“Because we are currently working through an award with the EDA, we

have established a very strong and positive working relationship with the people at the EDA in Washington, so they asked us if we would be willing to host this event as one of the research teams that they are supporting this year,” he explained.

Jackson said Morgantown was a natural fit for the Economic Development Research Symposium because of its close proximity to Washington, D.C., and also because of economic development in West Virginia.

“West Virginia has had a history of being a distressed area,” he said. “There’s always been an interest in economic development in lagging areas like ours.”

Approximately 50 people from across the United States are expected to attend. Most of the participants will be research team members from EDA-supported projects around the country, Jackson said.

Experts will be coming from schools like Purdue University, Arizona State University, Florida International University, George Mason University and University of California, Berkeley.

Jackson said the idea behind the symposium is to bring together the research teams supported by the EDA in an effort to exchange information and take advantage of any synergies that might exist. Another goal is to provide a forum to share and demonstrate the different economic development research projects that are under way.

The EDA is looking to be informed about the work that is being done and examine how those endeavors can be leveraged for future projects and policies, he said. The symposium will include presentations of research projects and a variety of panel sessions and discussions.

“These are all issues related to regional economic development strategies,” Jackson said.

He said discussion topics will include regional innovation systems, educational institutions and levels of research and development, workforce issues, the characteristics most conducive to presenting a healthy economy, and much more.

“In addition, there will be an aspect of the EDA giving the audience more of an indication of what its research agenda is and what its policy and program is so we can better orient our own research to make a positive contribution,” Jackson said.

E-mail Jessica Legge at jlegge@timeswv.com.