The Prosperity Plan planning phase concluded in April 2019, and the plan was rolled out in June at our first-ever Annual 
Meetings, but the work is far from complete. We are just getting started.
Team Leads meet quarterly to provide updates. The progress reported at the first Team Lead Meeting on August 23rd is noted below.
Are you interested in helping us change the data in SE (southern, eastern and southeastern) Ohio? Learn more here.
13 Initiatives within 4 Broad Categories
BUSINESS VOICE
Employer Roundtables: The first employer roundtable event was scheduled for the Gallia-Jackson area. Scheduling conflicts prevented the original date from taking place and the group is currently working to reschedule.
Organizing for Advocacy: API and APEG joined the local development districts (LDDs), Buckeye Hills Regional Council, OMEGA and OVRDC in the Ohio Rural Development Alliance (ORDA). ORDA has lobbying representation from Bricker & Eckler.
TALENT
Incumbent Worker Upskilling: Team Leads are currently working with local Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Boards and OhioMeansJobs (OMJ) offices to redirect available funds for incumbent worker training. There are three different options; the reimbursement method is the simplest.
Business Engagement with Career Awareness: Team Leads, Tasha Werry and Bob Miller, together with their group, have developed a map of the resources available as they begin work on this initiative.
Talent Recruitment to the Region: Two free “Locating Talent” seminars for businesses are scheduled for early October, details here: https://ohiose.com/locating-talent. OMEGA suggests Tuscarawas County as a model we should look at.
COMPETITIVE ASSETS
Site & Spec Building Development: Team Leads, Donna Hrezo and Brodie Lepi, have performed a Site & Building Gap analysis of site selection searches to begin to form an informed plan for the future.
Business Financing Gaps: Appalachian Growth Capital (AGC) was recently awarded CDFI Certification! Several large investments are pending.
Broadband Infrastructure: The Broadband Team co-hosted two events with ConnectOhio in July. Tom Reid presented the finding of the study commissioned through the efforts of Athens County and Buckeye Hills. Correcting inaccurate maps that overstate broadband coverage by a factor of us to 10x in census tracts in the Rural Expanse is the first real challenge. Data is needed for the next Rural Opportunity Fund allocation of $20B. Comments are due September 20th. The team leaders have also met with the Lt. Governor, John Husted and a major Ohio utility company.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Focused Existing Business Growth (BRE): APEG is currently working independently, as well as with other project managers and research analysts throughout the JobsOhio Network (JON) to improve Business Retention & Expansion (BRE) for 2020.
Business Cluster Development: OU has done some research on the Stirling Engine cluster, including interviews with five executives in the cluster. Results point to a possible false hypothesis and limited opportunity to pursue. Companies in the cluster report issues are similar to other industries such as finding skilled labor.
Targeted Business Attraction: APEG is putting a 2020 budget together this fall. Expansion of targeted business attraction efforts will be a specific function of the budget requested from JobsOhio.
Website Enhancements: Website improvements to the current APEG website are currently underway. A rebranding effort is occurring late fall/early winter, as encouraged by the Prosperity Plan ‘Insights of the Region’ analysis. During the rebranding period, interviews will be conducted to hire a new website development company to execute a regional website using the new branding elements.
Community Technical Assistance: The first step will be a survey of local development professionals about where they get their information on resources, strategies and programs.
A new newsletter will be developed specifically for Prosperity Plan updates. Look for it in your inbox sometime late fall and quarterly thereafter.
In the meantime, learn more about the Prosperity Plan and get involved by following this link.
