EconDevIL News

Now Accepting Nominations

2009-12-07T14:47:00.001-06:00

It is time once again to honor those in the region who have spent many years dedicating their time and talents to the betterment of East Central Illinois communities. In the past, ECIDC, LLC, and EIU have joined to award a few of these individuals or businesses each year with the Business Ethics and Social Involvement Awards. ECIDC later created the Lifetime Achievement Award to honor those near retirement for their lifelong endeavors and good deeds. This year, ECIDC has created an additional award, the Outstanding Leadership in Community & Economic Development Award, to honor one individual or group each year for their advancements in community and economic development. ECIDC is now accepting nominations for each of these awards. To nominate an individual, business, or organization, please click here to reach the online criteria and form. Nominations are due on Monday, March 8, 2010.

Funding Forefront

2009-12-04T15:05:00.000-06:00

The gimmicks surrounding free money are thick these days, especially after the ARRA. View a great website leading individuals and small businesses to reputable sites and legit opportunities. Also gain access to a report identifying several national foundations and the funding opportunities they offer. http://www.nofreemoney.com/

Alternative Energy Projects in East Central Illinois

2009-12-04T14:47:00.006-06:00

East Central Illinois has many resources and attributes that make it a key location for many alternative energy projects, whether that be biodiesel or ethanol production, wind, energy, or geothermal energy production, or carbon capture coal gasification. Many may be aware of these projects while others might not, but here a few of those projects will be shared. This is not a complete listing of projects and would enjoy any submissions to be included:

FutureGen Update
The FutureGen facility in Mattoon, Ill. will be the first of its kind, low-emissions coal power plant, testing and proving coal gasification and carbon capture and sequestration technology in a single, 275 megawatt commercial-scale facility. The public-private partnership project will initially capture at least 60 percent of carbon dioxide emissions with the goal of capturing 90 percent in the first years of operation.

On September 1, 2009 the FutureGen Alliance and the U.S. Department of Energy signed a Cooperative Agreement allowing for the continued development of the FutureGen plant in Mattoon.

“Today marks another milestone in the development of FutureGen. This agreement
clearly signals our shared interest in realizing the potential of generating clean energy in Illinois,” said Mudd. “This milestone has been achieved thanks to the important support we continue to receive from champions like Undersecretary Johnson, Governor Quinn, Senator Durbin and countless state and local officials whose contributions have helped push this important project forward, as well as the continued commitment of the Alliance member companies.”

The $17.3 million shared-cost Cooperative Agreement covers preliminary design
activities through the end of 2009 in support of the long-term project. Under the Agreement, the Alliance will work with DOE and other partners to continue electric grid interconnect studies, work on securing environmental permits, define alliance operational activities and update plant design and project cost estimates. Following these activities, the Alliance and DOE will make a decision on taking the project forward to final design and construction in early 2010.

“This signifies a new beginning for our coordinated efforts to bring FutureGen to Illinois and underscores the commitment of all involved to making this project a reality. We will continue to do all we can on the state level to ensure this first-of-its-kind facility is built in Illinois,” said Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Director Warren Ribley. ”

Currently, the State of Illinois and the FutureGen Alliance are working on an agreement where the State would purchase the power generated by the FutureGen plant.

(Information for this article was provided by an official press release issued by the FutureGen Alliance on September 1, 2009 and Anthony Pleasant, Vice President of Coles Together)

Taylorville Energy Center Update
ORLANDO, Florida – November 9, 2009 – Siemens Energy, Inc. has been chosen to provide the coal gasification technology for the Taylorville Energy Center (TEC), the 730-megawatt (gross) advanced clean coal generating plant being developed near Taylorville, Ill., the company announced today.

The Taylorville Energy Center (TEC) will be one of the nation’s first commercial-scale, coal gasification plants with carbon capture and storage (CCS) capability.

Tenaska, managing partner for the $3.5 billion project, has signed equipment contracts and licensing agreements with Siemens for four gasifiers that will convert Illinois coal into substitute natural gas. The gas will be used for electricity generation or fed into the interstate natural gas pipeline system.

TEC's integrated gasification combined-cycle (IGCC) technology also will capture and provide storage for at least 50 percent of the carbon dioxide (CO2) that would otherwise enter the atmosphere.

"Siemens is pleased to have been chosen to support Tenaska’s goal of employing Illinois coal to provide reliable electricity in an environmentally clean manner," said Michael Suess, CEO of the Fossil Power Generation Division of Siemens Energy.

"By capturing and storing at least 50 percent of the CO2 it produces, TEC will have emissions comparable to a natural gas-fueled plant. Achieving such a dramatic reduction in emissions by a coal-fed plant is a vital step in the global effort to combat climate change," he said. "Siemens is glad to be a major contributor to this important breakthrough."

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has supported the TEC by choosing Tenaska to proceed into the term sheet negotiation phase under the DOE Loan Guarantee Program. Upon completion of due diligence and negotiation of the termsheet and guarantee documentation, the Taylorville project expects to receive a federal government guarantee of its debt of up to $2.579 billion, depending on the final project costs and capital structure, which will greatly reduce financing costs.

About Tenaska
Tenaska has developed approximately 9,000 megawatts (MW) of electric generating capacity across the United States. Tenaska's affiliates operate and manage eight power plants in six states totaling more than 6,700 MW of generating capacity owned in partnership with other companies. Tenaska Capital Management, an affiliate, provides management services for standalone private equity funds, with more than $4 billion in assets, including nine power plants (with approximately 5,400 MW of capacity), natural gas assets, and transmission infrastructure construction and maintenance operations.

Tenaska is applying proven pre and post combustion technologies on a commercial scale in its two environmentally friendly clean coal projects. Taylorville Energy Center in Taylorville, Ill., incorporating coal gasification, combined-cycle and CO2 capture and sequestration technology, will be among the first of its kind in the nation. Trailblazer Energy Center in Nolan County, Texas, is expected to be the first commercial scale, conventional coal-fueled power plant in the world to capture a significant portion of its CO2 after combustion. This plant’s success would demonstrate how existing plants in the U.S. and China could be retrofitted immediately and cost-effectively with this carbon-reducing technology. In 2008, Tenaska was listed in benchmarking studies by the Natural Resources Defense Council as having the best fleet-wide record in the United States for controlling emissions of CO2 and one of the top performing companies for controlling emissions of nitrogen oxides and sulfur dioxide. For more information about Tenaska, visit www.tenaska.com.

About Christian County Generation, LLC
Christian County Generation, L.L.C, a joint venture of Omaha-based independent power developer Tenaska and Louisville, Ky.-based MDL Holding Co., LLC. is developing the Taylorville Energy Center (TEC). TEC will be the first power plant in the state to incorporate coal gasification, combined-cycle and CO2 capture and storage technology, making it among the most environmentally-responsible, commercially-sized coal plants in the world. For more information about the Taylorville Energy Center, visit www.cleancoalillinois.com
-----
Media Contacts:
Monika Wood, Siemens Energy, Inc. (407) 736-4197, monika.wood@siemens.com
Jana Martin, Tenaska (402) 691-9595, jmartin@tenaska.com

Crawford County is Home to an Existing Ethanol Facility
Lincolnland Agri-Energy, LLC was constructed in 2003 and 2004 and began ethanol production on July 12, 2004. The plant produces approximately 48 million gallons of ethanol, 144,000 tons of high protein DDGs (distiller’s grains for livestock feed), and 1.3 million gallons of corn oil each year. Ethanol is sold to gasoline blenders as a lower cost, cleaner burning blend component, and DDGs are sold to a number of different livestock feed suppliers to be included in the rations for cattle, hog, and poultry industries. Corn oil is also utilized by the livestock feed producers as a high quality feed component and by bio-diesel producers who can process corn oil into diesel fuel.

The plant is currently undergoing an expansion project for additional fermentation capacity, which will help improve plant efficiency by increasing the ethanol yield per bushel of corn processed. The company maintains 38 full time employees and utilizes local contractors for a variety of services to the plant. Local farmers benefit from the company, which purchases corn directly from growers at a very competitive price.

Lake Land College Manufacturing Reliability Institute

2009-12-04T14:45:00.001-06:00

On April 23, the Center for Business & Industry at Lake Land College launched the regional Manufacturing Reliability Institute. The Institute was developed to meet the needs of businesses in the areas of maintenance reliability, overall equipment effectiveness, root cause analysis, technical skills training and leadership for maintenance and manufacturing professionals.

During the Institute launch, participants heard presentations on achieving World Class Reliability from featured speakers Gary Pelini, a 40 year veteran of Honda, and Kevin Lewton, Senior Maintenance and Reliability Manager of MetDemand.

After the presentations, participants toured the $1 million dollar manufacturing skills lab. The Manufacturing Reliability Institute is housed in the Workforce Development Center at 305 Richmond Avenue East in Mattoon, Illinois.

Future programs to be presented by the Institute include: Achieving Reliable Plant Capacity, Building a Business Case for Reliability, Preventive and Predictive Maintenance, Maintenance Manager Training Series, Root Cause Analysis, Project Management and Maintenance Planning and Scheduling.

For additional information call (217) 234-5218.

Got Skilled Labor?...or Should I Say Got Skilled Labor for the Industry You're Trying to Attract?

2009-12-04T14:31:00.010-06:00

I just read a recent article on Area Development Online and I decided I wanted to share this information with all of you. I know that the topic of skilled workforce is one of relevance, especially to our rural communities, but when we say skilled what really are we referring to and how important is it to long-term economic success?

SB 43 Update

2009-10-15T08:58:00.002-05:00

Senate Bill (SB) 43 seeks to further expand the scope of Prevailing Wage Laws in Illinois Enterprise Zones (EZ) and Tax Increment Finance Districts (TIFs).
This bill is very much alive and well in the Illinois House of Representatives. A meeting which included legislators, as well as proponents and opponents of the bill, was held late in the day on Tuesday, October 13. There were no specific outcomes, but labor representatives are to work on further draft language for consideration.
This bill will most likely not come up for a vote during the Fall Veto Session – October 14-16 and October 28-30; however, things change quickly in Springfield, so we are asking that during the next two weeks you remind your legislators, specifically your state representatives, why economic developers oppose this bill.

REASONS WE OPPOSE SENATE BILL 43:
• Insurance of compliance of this legislation would be extremely onerous and expensive – to both the Illinois Department of Labor (IDOL) and any local not-for-profit or governmental entity charged with tracking which businesses need to comply with this expansion of the Prevailing Wage Act. As written, businesses that are the recipients of tax credits available as benefits by virtue of being located in an EZ, would have to pay prevailing wage on construction projects, even if no other benefit was realized. Local Enterprise Zone officials would have no knowledge of this and other like benefits having been received, so the burden would fall to IDOL, many times after construction projects had been completed.
• Enterprise Zones were created to benefit disadvantaged areas which had experienced economic distress. Any further stipulations on project requirements which increases paperwork and/or costs will negate benefits, meaning projects which may have located there may well happen across the street, across town or in another state. Illinois employers, including many minority and women employers, will be unable to take full advantage of tools put in place by the state to help them succeed.
• SB 43 is likely to increase the construction costs of primarily, privately funded projects. Based on past project experience, corporate site selection consultants estimate that, if enacted, SB 43 would mean increases to the cost of labor used for the project, resulting in total local project cost increases of 10 to 15 percent and creating another reason for businesses and developers not to invest in Illinois.
Please note: When figuring projected increases in costs to projects where prevailing wage labor is utilized, the proponents of this legislation use formulas which include all costs related to a project, including non-site specific costs such as machinery and equipment, engineering and other soft costs that would apply to a project, no matter where it is located. These numbers do not truly reflect increases or decreases in project expenditures due to local/state influences.
• SB43 is anticipated to result in millions of dollars of increased contractor wages and benefits for normal maintenance projects completed by businesses located in Enterprise Zones.
• SB43 will expand the prevailing wage law to include not only the traditional definition of public works projects, but also projects in Enterprise Zones and TIF’s that are primarily financed from private sources. This is dramatically different from the original purpose of the Prevailing Wage Act which applied to “public works” such as those completed for schools, municipalities, and local and state road projects.

Proposed amendatory changes to Senate Bill 43 continue to not address concerns of local economic developers, businesses or other investors in the state of Illinois.

The press release is written and out the door...now what?

2009-10-15T08:52:00.002-05:00

The following piece was written by Stacy Jones, Senior Project Director for Shoestring Creative Group and published in their e-newsletter sent October 14, 2009

Let's say for the sake of argument that you follow the best practices in media relations. You have utilized a great press kit, developed relationships with journalists, have a newsworthy story and have sent your release to targeted media contacts. What should you do now?

If your answer is to cross your fingers and hope your release is published, you aren't unlike many in the nonprofit world (or the for-profit world for that matter).

The truth is, there is more you can do:

Follow up. It's best when following up by phone to make sure the journalist you are calling is not on deadline and has the time to speak to you. Ask this first and get it out of the way. Provided they have time to speak to you, don't ask if they plan to run the story. Call instead and reference the release you sent, offer up additional information not provided in the release or another potential angle to the story. Create dialogue and listen to what the reporter tells you they might need to run your story and why if they don't plan on running it. Be courteous and gracious if your story is rejected and know that you can find more newsworthy items to send at another time. Remember to prepare in advance of the call and know what you plan to say.

Find another angle. Maybe you find a few media outlets rejected your initial release. If it's not time sensitive, take the time to rework the release and see what other newsworthy items you can find within the same story. A traditional news release might not be the answer. Utilizing the same idea, rework the content to make it a longer feature article or see if the information might be a local angle to a broader national story. Keeping your information newsworthy is one of the most important keys in gaining media coverage.

Send the release to staff (and other stakeholders). This is a great way highlight your work and increases the morale and good feelings of your staff. Keeping your whole organization engaged and involved is a critical marketing tool. They are the organization's most valued ambassadors and should be kept "in the loop" on happenings at the organization.

Post it to your website and blog. Hopefully, you already have a section on your website for current news. Make sure, whether you are published in traditional media or not, that you publish your releases on your website. Direct people to the news page rather than the home page so they don't have to "dig" to read the article. Links to other sources where the release has been published are also a good idea. Even if you post this to your website, also post it to your blog. Your blog is a great place to provide more details not already in the release and post photos if available.Use social networking. Utilize social-networking tools to spread the word about your current news.

From Facebook to Linked In and Twitter, you can provide links back to your organizational website's news page or directly to the media where your release has been published. This is a great marketing tool to highlight your organization and your news.

Don't just send your release and hope for news coverage. Follow a few simple steps to ensure that your news remains front and center with your valued audiences.
Stacy Jones is a nonprofit marketing consultant based in Troy, N.Y., and a Shoestring Creative Group Network Affiliate. Stacy can be reached at affiliates@shoestringgroup.com or 1-888-835-6236.

OPPOSE SB 43

2009-10-05T14:04:00.001-05:00

Article from iml.org

Effort Continues to Expand Prevailing Wage

The labor unions are expected to aggressively pursue a House vote during the veto session on SB 43. This legislation is a radical attempt to expand existing prevailing wage law to benefit the few at the expense of the many.

Under SB 43, all projects, including private projects using no public dollars, would be subject to the prevailing wage if these projects are located within an Enterprise Zone. This represents a significant departure from existing prevailing wage law. One wonders if this bill is a precursor to requiring the payment of the prevailing wage for all private projects located within Illinois!

At least one economic impact estimate finds that, if approved, SB 43 will increase the cost of each project by 10-20%. Making economic development projects more expensive during an economic downturn is highly dubious public policy. Illinois needs to create jobs, not kill them!

The IML was very vocal in opposing SB 43 during the spring legislative session. An IML representative was quoted in the Illinois Business Journal as saying, "We are concerned that SB 43 would significantly impair economic development benefits that are derived from the TIFs and EZs. This is a huge grab for Illinois projects by organized labor. There are several prevailing wage bills out there this session, but SB 43 is the crown jewel of onerous bills."

The IML anticipates an invitation to participate in an upcoming meeting on SB 43. The IML will use this occasion to continue the fight to protect job creation in Illinois communities. IT IS CRITICAL THAT YOU CONTACT YOUR STATE REPRESENTATIVE AND URGE THAT HE OR SHE OPPOSE SB 43!

The IML has prepared a fact sheet on this bill, click here to go to that document.

Building the Wind Turbine Supply Chain Workshop

2009-09-30T10:29:00.002-05:00

Building the Wind Turbine Supply Chain Workshop
October 22, 2009

This workshop will enable manufacturers to evaluate their capabilities relative to customer requirements, and begin to develop their plan for penetrating the market. Experts in the field of renewable energy will highlight market opportunities in the wind sector for attending manufacturers. The goal of the workshop is to help build a new industry of wind turbine components that will create new jobs and investments throughout Illinois. The workshop will also feature information on growing trends in wind power, major supply chain needs in the retooling investments, and process upgrades that suppliers must address in order to comply with wind industry standards.

8:30 AM to 5:00 PM
Spoon River College Community Outreach CenterMidAmerica National Bank Conference Hall2500 East Jackson Street; Macomb, Illinois

To register or view workshop details, click here.
Hosted by: Western Illinois Corridor Council

The Agurban Issue 246

2009-09-30T09:12:00.003-05:00

In Effingham, we have a company called Agracel. This great corporate citizen of our community publishes a weekly e-zine filled with insightful and valuable content each time. Visit http://www.boomtowninstitute.com/agurban.html to sign up to receive the weekly updates.

The Agurban E-Newsletter, Issue 246
An "Unexpectedly Rosy Budget"

That title is sure to get some attention. But when you see the entire title, "State has unexpectedly rosy budget", then you just have to read on. Such was the case in a story out of Helena, MT.

According to the report, "The state ended the budget year in mid-2009 with a preliminary general fund budget surplus of $392 million, or nearly $23 million more than the Legislature had projected."

So we were curious, how many other states presently have a budget surplus. As it turns out, exactly one other state has a surplus, Montana's neighbor to the east, North Dakota. The website, www.statehealthfacts.org provides a wealth of data on all 50 states on more than 500 health topics.

Back in June, we reported that 19 states were hammering out their fiscal 2010 budgets, to the tune of a $121 billion shortfall. Now that gap has grown to $167 billion. Not surprising, California tops the list of states with the largest shortfall, followed by New York, Illinois, New Jersey and Florida. For the record, it is estimated that the federal fiscal 2009 deficit will reach $1.6 trillion ($1,600,000,000,000!).

As we said in June, let's hope our children and grandchildren don't end of "working for the government" their entire lives. Our government leaders, all of them, federal, state and local, need to diligently focus on the harm these deficits are doing to the future of America. It won't be easy, but our country is worth it!

Making Data Interesting

2009-09-29T10:37:00.001-05:00

From Yfactor Economic Development TechTrends
Publishing Date: September 29, 2009
Category: New Best Practices for Communicating with Your Audiences
Subject Area: Economic DevelopmentMaking Data Interesting

Too often a list of data substitutes for information that could give site selectors a true understanding of the business dynamics of a community.

Make It Visually Interesting!

Data should be presented whenever possible in eye-catching ways that engage the viewer. Generous use of photos can go far to enliven a page of dry information. Are you showing lists of schools or businesses, for example? Illustrating those page with photos will bring your data to life for the viewer.

Visually enhanced graphs are many times more interesting and communicate strengths faster than a table does. Pie-charts, graphs or illustrative display of data can be bright, elegant or colourful and is much more memorable than a list of numbers in a chart.

Going further, you can help the viewer to put data in context by relating it to places and things in your community. With today’s web technologies you can present thematic mapping of demographic variables to show their spatial distribution and concentrations across a geographic area. For example, thematic mapping of population, income, retail spending and workforce characteristics can show the highest and lowest levels of these variables at various places within a community.Visitors to search-friendly websites are able to select a data category, then a specific variable, then the number of groups for which the demographic variable will be shown on the map. Based on these selections the distribution of demographic concentrations is shown as a series of colours on the map interface.In short, if you present data in ways that engage the viewer, they will dig deeper into your site and stay longer – and emerge with a favorable first impression of your community.

Make Data Work For You!

The data on your investment-attraction website doesn’t have to just sit there. You can use it to your advantage in reaching out to your audiences.

Remember that, in the era of Economic Development 2.0, the name of the game is to build a community of interest by means of frequent communications using a variety of online channels. Your data can work for you by being the focus of those communications.
When gathering and analyzing economic-development data you will spot statistics that are favorable to your community. Those are hooks! You can use them as the basis for news releases, blogs, videos, podcasts or any way you prefer to attract attention and draw traffic back to your site.

You can also use your website to create real-time data that is unique to your community. Survey-creating tools empower you to gather information and opinions on topics of interest to people and businesses. Your visitors can submit their thoughts on quick polls and see the results immediately, giving them an immediate connection to your community’s economic pulse.
Another best practice is to survey your business community regularly about what they’re doing, what is working for them, what markets they’re in, their growth expectations and so forth. All such information can be shared right back with the community through your investment-attraction website, increasing the attractiveness and stickiness of the site.

It’s also critical to remember the power that data can have when distributed through social media. Economic Development departments can now share data about their communities with their entire online network, across any number of social networking environments including Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and Digg. Property, demographics, consumer expenditures, business and labor force data can be designed for visual interest and distributed with a focus on making the network aware of key advantages. So don’t just let that report sit there. Identify the key data, visually enhance it and get the key messages out to your network of interest today!

Happenings in East Central Illinois

2009-09-02T13:58:00.001-05:00

Stay current with great happenings in East Central Illinois by signing up to receive our newsletters @ www.ecidc.com. Click the title to view our recent edition.

Economic Development Tech Trends

2009-09-02T13:51:00.002-05:00

A couple of months ago I stumbled upon YFactor. They have a collection of short but relavent articles centered around new economic development technologies and the use of new web 2.0 tools called Economic Development Tech Trends. Here is the latest posting:

Publishing Date: September 1, 2009
Category: New Best Practices for Communicating with Your Audiences
Subject Area: Economic DevelopmentIt's All About NOW

Do you use Twitter? Do you wonder sometimes about the phenomenal growth of this micro-blogging website (http://twitter.com) and whether it might hold a lesson for economic development?

Here’s a statistic that qualifies to be the envy of anyone trying to promote economic growth: during June 2009, Twitter attracted 44.5 million unique users worldwide, an increase of 1,460 per cent from the previous year.

Now, what makes Twitter tick? All it does is give people a quick way to ask and answer the question, “What are you doing now?”

Therein lies the connection with economic development and investment-attraction websites. The Twitter phenomenon reflects a growing expectation among people who use the web for information – and that certainly includes site selectors – that they will find something new, something NOW, when they go online.

And not just new data or facts – new things about what people are doing, what’s happening in their community, who has opinions or insights into what’s happening, who knows where the good times are.

Twitter, you see, is a social network about now. There are many varieties of such networks, growing rapidly on social-media sites on the web. They serve, and build, communities. They foster relationships. And there is a fundamental reason why your investment-attraction website needs to do the same.

The creative entrepreneurs and professionals who are building and locating the businesses of tomorrow are attracted to places that foster vibrant social interaction and a high quality of life. They interact constantly through devices and consume content at a fast pace.

Does your website appeal to this creative class? Not likely unless it conveys a sense of NOW. In the past, publishing periodic information with statistics on population, transportation infrastructure or work-force education levels was sufficient to attract the attention of businesses. But to attract the attention of people -- creative, innovative, business-building people – you need more, and your investment-attraction website has to be up to the task.

Can Community Colleges Save the U.S. Economy? - TIME

2009-08-10T12:25:00.001-05:00

TIME magazine published a great article in the July 20th issue about community colleges and their current and, more importantly, their future role in producing quality workers in our country. Enrollment at many community colleges is at a record high while they continue to manage with more and more budget cuts and lack of funding. Click the title to read the article.

Broadband Grants Available

2009-08-10T12:05:00.001-05:00

Two broadband internet grants guides became available this week for small businesses interested in applying for American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grants to bring broadband internet service to underserved and rural communities across the nation. Senate Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship Chair Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., released the two grant guides, saying that “increasing access to broadband internet service will help to bridge the technological divide between rural businesses and competing companies that have long had access to internet and technology.” The deadline to apply for the first round of Recovery Act funding for broadband infrastructure is August 14, 2009.

Find the guide for the U.S. Department of Commerce Broadband Technology Opportunity Program (BTOP) at: http://sbc.senate.gov/resources/Grant%20Guides/BTOP-Grant-Guide.pdf

The guide for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Broadband Initiatives Program (BIP) is available at: http://sbc.senate.gov/resources/Grant%20Guides/BIP-Grant-Guide.pdf

Illinois State Budget

2009-08-03T09:59:00.001-05:00

Check out the latest on the budget...

Economic Cost of US Education

2009-08-03T09:45:00.002-05:00

According to research performed by McKinsey & Company, the lack of educational achievement in comparison to U.S. children's counterparts in other countries cost us $2.3 trillion in economic output in 2008. Click the link above to see the entire report. It is rather interesting...

DOE Releases Record of Decision on FutureGen

2009-07-20T10:38:00.002-05:00

As many of you know, this record of decision was promised in late 2007 but is now reality. This project brings with it many opportunities for East Central Illinois.

DOE Moves Illinois 'Clean Coal' Project To Next Step
By Siobhan Hughes, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The U.S. Energy Department took another step forward in supporting a "clean coal" power plant in Illinois, issuing a document that is part of an overall environmental review and that is key to going forward.

The record of decision had been the subject of wrangling between Congress and the Bush administration's Energy Department, which withheld the document as a way to back out of support. Though the Energy Department plans to decide by early 2010 whether to go ahead with or discontinue the Mattoon, Ill., project, DOE had said that moving forward is "the preferred outcome," and that it expects to contribute a total of $1.073 billion.

The FutureGen Alliance, the coalition developing the project, may now proceed with more plans for the project, including completing a preliminary design and refining its cost estimate.
"The carbon capture and sequestration technologies planned for this flagship facility are vitally important to America and the world," Energy Secretary Steven Chu said in a statement. "This step forward demonstrates the Administration's commitment to developing clean energy technologies, creating jobs, and reducing emissions of greenhouse gases."

-By Siobhan Hughes, Dow Jones Newswires; 202-862-6654; Siobhan.Hughes@ dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires
07-14-091643ET
Copyright (c) 2009 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.

Prairie Sparks Regional Investment Forum

2009-07-09T08:36:00.000-05:00

Igniting Entrepreneurial Growth at the Prairie Spark Regional Investment Forum

How are you investing your money in these uncertain times? The Business Solutions Center at Eastern Illinois University (BSC) would like you to consider investing in local expanding businesses or new ventures that need help getting started in their business. They will be hosting the first Prairie Spark Investment Forum on Thursday, September 3rd at 7:30 am at the Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center in Mattoon. The goal is to link regional investable dollars to entrepreneurial ideas thereby spurring economic vitality in the region.

Two to four businesses or start-up ventures will be presenting 20 minute business pitches to interested individuals, angel investors and venture capitalists in the room. The plans will be screened prior to the presentation by the BSC staff, so the most viable projects will be presented. The floor will be open for questions and then individuals can get together after the presentations with the business owners to directly discuss potential funding opportunities.

Although some clients are identified to present at the forum, there is still room for one or two others businesses or inventors to pitch their plan. Contact the Jeanne Dau, Director of the BSC, at 217-581-2913 or email at jcdau@eiu.edu if you are interested in attending the forum on September 3rd or if your business would like to present your ideas to local investors.

June Newsletter

2009-07-08T11:58:00.002-05:00

Find out the latest happenings in East Central IL by reading the June E-News. If you are not currently subscribed, you can sign up on the website.

Community Funding Forum

2009-07-08T11:54:00.001-05:00

East Central Illinois Development Corporation (ECIDC) is hosting a Community Funding Forum on Tuesday, September 8th beginning at 5:30 p.m. at the Lake Land College Workforce Development Center, 305 Richmond Avenue East, Mattoon, Ill.

The Forum was coordinated to aid communities and organizations in finding the resources available to assist in funding and development of projects. Anyone is invited to participate and would be beneficial for those in municipal or county positions, education, economic development, local planning, parks and recreation or business and industry to come.

All attendees will be given a Community Resource Guide, meet with various agency representatives, and network with leaders from throughout East Central Illinois and beyond.
Some of the agencies that will be represented include: IL DCEO, USDA Rural Development, Coles County Regional Planning, IL Treasurer's Office, Rural Partners, IL Finance Authority, Business Solutions Center, USDA Resource Conservation & Development.

AGENDA
5:30 - 6:00 p.m. Networking & Hors d'oevres
6:00 - 6:45 p.m. Financing Community Projects
How Grants Work & Real Examples by Doug McDermand,
Executive Director, Coles County Regional Planning
6:45 - 8:00 p.m. Agency Program Offerings & Areas of Assistance
8:00 - 9:00 p.m. Roundtable Discussions with Agency Reps.

Seats can be reserved for $15 per person. Individuals may email Trisha Mason to make reservations. Please act fast for seating is limited.

Updated Demographics

2009-07-08T11:52:00.001-05:00

The new 2009/2014 demographics are up on the site for each county and for the region as a whole. Keep an eye out as we will be adding these demographic pages for the municipalities over the coming months.

Back in Business

2009-05-26T12:20:00.002-05:00

Now back from my several month blogging sybatical, I am back and ready to continue where I left off in October. Many things have happened since I've blogged last and thought this first post would be the start of summarizing those happenings since my last post.

Here is a quick recap of ECIDC's progress and accomplishments in 2009:

1. Adopted Open Source Economic Development model (www.i-open.org) and restructured organization to adapt. The economic and community development leaders now meet with the Board of Directors quarterly and have been empowered with an advisory vote on all matters of the organization.

2. Hosted East Central Open Retreat in late October to introduce 25 additional leaders both inside and outside of the organization to the Open Source ED principles and tools. This retreat was established to build a following of this model much larger than ECIDC, which is absolutely necessary and the whole point of adopting the model in the first place.

3. Aided several individual communities and/or counties in adoption of this model as well and maintain continued contact and serve as a mentor to aid in any hurdles.

4. Started offering Market Analysis Services where ECIDC utilizing GIS (Geographic Information Systems) to generate specialized maps and reports. These services are utilized by communities and businesses to aid in their consumer research, service and product offerings decisions, marketing efforts, and recruitment and relocations efforts. More info can be found at www.ecidc.com.

5. Began offering Community Leadership training for those communities who do not have a leadership training program. Through this training, leaders are armed with the tools they need to be great leaders in all realms of their lives. Topics discussed and demonstrated are: conflict managament, rules of civility, asset mapping, network asset mapping, and strategic doing. More info can be found at www.ecidc.com.

6. Developed a strong and specific Action Plan for 2009. This too can be found on our website.

7. More than doubled the attendance to the 2009 Annual Banquet and BESI Awards presentation over last year, greeting nearly 200 people the evening of May 14th!

8. Obtained assistance to aid in sending 7 economic and community development leaders from throughout the region to the Midwest Community Development Institute to aid in their professional development goals.

These are just some of our shining gems but have made great efforts to increase the impact we have on East Central Illinois this past year and believe we have been successful.

DCEO Energy Efficiency & Sustainable Funding

2008-10-06T11:56:00.000-05:00

IL DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE AND ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY
NEW ENERGY EFFICIENCY & SUSTAINABLE FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES

Public Sector Standard Incentive Program
Encourages facilities to improve the efficiency of equipment to reduce the amount of electricity required.

Standard incentives for a specific list of electric energy efficiency measures.
Measures will include energy efficient lighting, motors, variable frequency drives, cooling equipment, traffic signals and exit signs, among others.
DCEO contact: Andrea Reiff, 217/785-0164, andrea.reiff@illinois.gov

Public Sector Custom Incentive Program
Encourages facilities to improve the efficiency of equipment or process to reduce the amount of electricity required.

Incentives for facility improvements that reduce the electricity use for measures not specifically listed in the Public Sector Standard Incentive Program.
DCEO contact: Tom Coe, 217/785-2433, tom.coe@illinois.gov

Public Sector New Construction Incentive Program
Encourages applicants to design new construction to achieve the greatest level of energy
efficiency.
Incentives for facility design improvements beyond code.
Incentive levels will increase for additional percentages beyond code.
Modeling from DOE2 or ComCheck required.
DCEO contact: Tom Coe, 217/785-2433, tom.coe@illinois.gov

Illinois Energy Efficient Affordable Housing Construction Program (EEAHCP)
Grants for Illinois based non-profit and for-profit housing developers to include energy efficient building practices in the rehab or new construction of affordable housing units.
Additional electricity savings measures will be included.
DCEO contact: Maureen Davlin, 217/785-2373, maureen.davlin@illinois.gov

Low Income Energy Efficient Residential Retrofit Program
Leverage existing programs to maximize electricity savings in low income residences.
Partnerships with Program Implementers such as state agencies, local governments, lending
institutions, housing authorities, and affordable housing developers.
Grants for Program Implementers to distribute funds for energy efficiency measures to
customers participating in their programs or for the direct installation of energy efficiency measures.
DCEO contact: Maureen Davlin, 217/785-2373, maureen.davlin@illinois.gov

Building Industry Training and Education Program
Assist in the development of a robust energy efficiency services market necessary to achieve the energy savings goals in future years.

Grants for organizations to train professionals to satisfy the building construction industry's need for an energy-technologies trained workforce and to promote an expanded use of these
technologies throughout the State.
DCEO contact: Bruce Selway, 217/785-2023,

Biofuels and Sustainability Conference

2008-10-06T11:53:00.001-05:00

Registration is now open for the "Biofuels and Sustainability" conference to be held at the University of Illinois campus in Champaign on October 21-22. This event, will provide a forum for researchers, policy makers, students, activists and industry leaders to share and gain perspectives regarding the entire life-cycle of the biofuels industry - from feedstock development through fuel consumption. Diverse constituencies will be able to network and develop future directions and strategies regarding this important and complex topic and examine innovations that can improve the sustainability of the biofuels industry. A detailed description of the event, a list of speakers, and registration information can be found at the following link - http://www.istc.illinois.edu/BiofuelsConference/

Grants Available to Increase Exports of IL Food Products

2008-10-06T11:51:00.000-05:00

The Department of Agriculture's Branded Program reimburses Illinois food companies for up to half of their international marketing and promotional expenses including the cost of foreign trade shows, international travel, advertising, product demonstrations, point-of-sale materials, and package and label modifications to meet foreign import requirements.

Program participants must fit the U.S. Small Business Administration's definition of a "small company" and must be incorporated in the U.S. In addition, at least half of their products must be made with domestic ingredients.

Questions about the Branded Program qualifications, eligible reimbursements and the application process can be directed to
IDOA Marketing Representative Kim Hamilton at (217) 782-5809 or the Food Export Association of the Midwest at (312) 334--9200. Additional information about the program and a "pre-qualification" worksheet that can help companies assess their eligibility for funding are available online at www.brandedprogram.org.

Entrepreneurship: Where Practice and Theory Meet Workshop

2008-10-06T11:43:00.000-05:00

Entrepreneurship: Where Practice and Theory Meet
November 6-7, 2008, Sheraton St. Louis City Center Hotel & Suites, St. Louis, Mo.

This conference brings entrepreneurship practitioners and researchers together to discuss current research and share best practices for creating successful new ventures and vibrant rural economies, with a special focus on rural entrepreneurship. The conference design facilitates extensive discussion, sharing and learning between presenters and conferees. The links between theory, practice and assessment are stressed.
The conference will highlight the recently completed evaluations of two major initiatives: The Appalachian Regional Commission's 10-year Entrepreneurship Initiative and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation's Entrepreneurship Development Systems in Rural America program. Keynote speakers Elaine Edgcomb (The Aspen Institute) and Deb Markley (RUPRI) will summarize in-depth evaluations of the two initiatives and describe impressive success and some challenges. Conferees will meet in small groups to explore how the evaluations and examples apply in their own situations. The workshop will also feature recent developments in Europe (John Potter, OECD, Paris) and presentations from U.S. groups and individuals who have recently started community and small region entrepreneurial initiatives.
Sponsors:
McQuinn Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, University of Missouri
ExCEED, University of Missouri Extension
Rural Policy Research Institute
St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank
Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank
The conference begins on November 6 at 9:00 a.m. and concludes on November 7 at 2:15 p.m.

United States Comes in 3rd for Being Startup Friendly

2008-10-02T08:10:00.003-05:00

According to CNNMoney.com, the United States ranks as the 3rd best country for startup businesses for the fourth year in a row. It was beat out by Singnapore being 1st and New Zealand coming in 2nd.

"The main sector in which the U.S. leads the rest of the world is labor law: hiring and firing workers is easy, and dismissing an employee costs nothing.

The U.S. ranks highly in most other areas, with a relatively low cost and short application process to start a business, speedy importing and exporting processes, and strong investor protections.

The U.S. also boasts the fourth fastest time in the world to obtain construction permits - 40 days - thanks to its electronic filing system.

When it comes to paying taxes, however, American business owners have it relatively tough. Forty-five economies rank higher than the U.S. on the report's tax index, which considers the number of payments required per year, the time it takes to file taxes and the total tax rate."

Click the title to view the full article.

Comp Cost Solutions

2008-09-25T13:31:00.002-05:00

The Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity selected Comp Cost Solutions as one of the most Innovative Companies in Illinois for 2008, due to its ability to help reduce Worker Compensation costs by up to 33%. http://www.compcostsolutions.org

Question: What makes the Comp Cost Solutions Cooperative Program Unique?

Answer: Predictive assessment. This is defined as the unique ability of the CompCost System to use all collected employee data to predict where a company has the greatest immediate risks of Worker Comp claims – a snapshot of the future, PRIOR to their occurrence. MSD Source Guide Management Reports provide this window of the future.

The predictions are based on a complex logic analysis using all interactions with the Musculoskeletal Disorder Source Guide and incorporates multiple correlations that provide statistical inference with a high confidence level. In layman’s terms, it predicts the future with a high degree of certainty.

This unique risk management tool enables organizations to:

1. Lower WC costs for paid out claims by some 15%, on average, based on the pilot tests.

2. Promote wellness and employee productivity by preventing acute injuries.

3. Give companies better and more options to lower their WC premiums for both fully insured and self insured programs.

The multiple slice-and-dice reports that are available out of the system are all HIPPA compliant. No individual employee’s results is ever provided. An additional benefit is the ability to assess the degree of employee participation (compliance) to the program.

No other WC MSD system provides theses features.

The company is running a promotional introduction that allows employers unlimited access to the MSD Source Guide for six months. Please feel free to introduce this to any company in the country that may have interest in using this new tool in their Worker Comp Cost reduction effort.

Direct questions to Patrick Grant
100 Professional Plaza
Mattoon, IL 61938
PH (217) 345 1245
FX (217) 345 1253
http://www.compcostsolutions.org

3rd Annual Sustainable Cities Symposium

2008-09-19T14:12:00.000-05:00

We invite you to the 3rd Annual Sustainable Cities Symposium, hosted by the Illinois Green Governments Coordinating Council, the Village of Lisle, and Benedictine University on Friday, October 24, 2008.

This is a free event. Registration and exhibits open at 9:00am. Presentations and workshops run from 10:00am until 4:00pm. The symposium will be held at Benedictine University in the Krasa Center. The entrance to the campus is located at 5700 College Road in Lisle, IL. Free parking will be available; however we encourage you to carpool or use public transportation to attend the symposium.

The Sustainable Cities Symposium serves to educate Illinois municipal leaders on how to make communities more sustainable by implementing green practices and programs. The conference is an opportunity for you to share information and exchange ideas with mayors, public works departments, planners, engineers, community groups, and interested residents.
Presentations and discussions will cover topics such as renewable energy and energy efficiency, alternative transportation, storm water management, land use planning, pollution prevention, green building and recycling. The symposium will highlight environmental best practices employed by Illinois municipalities and counties, and provide lessons that you can take back and apply to your own community.

For registration, directions, and program information, please visit our website: www.GreenSolutions.il.gov - (If this link does not work, please re-type the link into your web browser.) The symposium agenda is attached to this email and can also be found on our website.
If you have any questions regarding the symposium or opportunities for exhibiting, please feel free to contact me by phone or email.

Jamie S. Caston Policy Advisor Office of Lt. Governor Pat Quinn Phone: 312-814-6671 Email: Jamie.Caston@illinois.gov

Recent Survey Shows Organizational Success Through Use of Vertical Structure

2008-09-08T12:37:00.005-05:00

The results show from a recent McKinsey Global Survey that when organizations who are currently trying to create a transformation enlist the help of all employees are increasingly more successful in meeting their objectives. As we prepare for our regional retreat, this report is assuring that the theory, when put into practice, that keeping the planning process vertical in nature is beneficial to all really is proven to work within an organization! Below is a segment taken from the report. To view more click on the title.

"The data also suggest that engaging staff as early in the process as possible is related to success. For example, the most common planning method at organizations where the respondents view the transformation as extremely successful is large-scale collaboration across the organization, with 38 percent choosing that approach. In contrast, at organizations where they don’t see the transformation as at all successful, only 7 percent engaged the staff in this way, while nearly half say the CEO and top team did most of the work alone.
Another crucial role an organization’s leaders can play is to ensure that communication about the transformation is as clear and effective as possible. The survey results indicate that respondents whose organizations emphasized building on successes, rather than focusing exclusively on fixing problems, are much more apt to consider the transformation successful ."

Web 2.0

2008-09-02T14:26:00.004-05:00

I know there is a lot of buzz around the use of Web 2.0 which displays both the advantages and disadvantages, likes and dislikes, but when it all comes down to it, we must all learn how to use these web-based tools to our competitive advantage because you bet all your competitors are utilizing them. If you do any research then you know that blogs and wikis are a gold mine of free information! Thankfully this is the way of the future... no more paying for priceless tips of the trade or for institutionally derived reports. We now have all of this and more at the click of a button. Setting up a blog or wiki is very easy and is actually fun and (most importantly...) convenient to use and there are several free sites out there to set these tools up for the common first-timer.

Web-based Marketing #1

2008-09-02T14:23:00.002-05:00

I am a researcher by nature and came across the HubSpot website recently. It has some fantastic free tools to help you get the most out of your website including a free website grading tool. Click the blog title to check it out!

Lowe Foundation Supports Economic Gardening

2008-08-27T09:24:00.002-05:00

August 21, 2008 EDPro Weblog Entry by Ed Morrison

Last weekend, I spent three days with 25 economic development professionals from around the country at the Edward Lowe Foundation in Michigan.
We assembled as the first class of students learning about the disciplines of Economic Gardening. For those of you who are not familiar with Economic Gardening, it is a strategy and set of tools developed in the Littleton, Colorado by Chris Gibbons and his team working for the City of Littleton.
With the support of the Lowe Foundation, Chris has been developing a curriculum to teach Economic Gardening to local economic developers.
This approach focuses on strengthening innovation and entrepreneurship within a local economy by focusing carefully on the needs and strategic options of entrepreneurs and growth-oriented companies. The underlying concepts are critically important because they move our thinking from industrial, hierarchical models to network-based, biological models of the economy.
You can learn more about Economic Gardening from the City of Littleton website and from a recent chapter in an SBA report to the President that is available here. The Lowe Foundation has also been supporting my work in developing new network-based models of economic and workforce development.

ECIDC Moves Forward!

2008-08-25T08:11:00.004-05:00

Once again, I have dropped off the face of the earth! I have been very busy lately and the hard work has all paid off! We have been working diligently planning the East Central Open Retreat. This dream is now a reality as I have commitments from 10 partners and am putting the final cosmetic touches on the brochures which will go out next week. Our current partners are Shelby Electric Cooperative, Coles Together, Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Ameren, Lake Land College, Mattoon Area Community Foundation, Effingham Area Community Foundation, Crossroads Workforce Investment Board, Tuscola Economic Development Inc., and Mattoon Area Industrial Development. The Board also met last week and voted in favor of restructuring ECIDC to become more action oriented. This is a great advance for the organization as it moves from 1st curve thinking to 2nd curve doing. The ECIDC Annual Boat Outing will take place this Thursday, August 28th with a full house! It should be a gorgeous evening on the lake shared with great company and good food.

Open Sourcing is Now Emerging in Education

2008-08-13T12:18:00.003-05:00

Flat World Knowledge is a company that offers free textbooks online under a Creative Commons license which allows teachers to personalize the books to meet their needs! Unlike most companies of the like, this one does not have textbooks covered in advertising campaigns, but the books are supported through the sale of companion books and additional learning tools.

"We preserve the best of the old - books by leading experts that are rigorously reviewed and developed to the highest standards. Then we flip it all on its head. Our books are free online. We offer convenient, low-cost choices for students – print, audio, by-the-chapter, and more. Our books are open for instructors to mix, mash, and make their own. Our books are the hub of a social learning network where students learn from the book and each other.
Flat World Knowledge. Because great minds are evenly distributed. Great textbooks are not. Until now..."

This will open up many doors for poor college students as well as the teachers who will now be able to customize their textbooks.

Adult Literacy Study Brings Chilling Results

2008-08-12T14:38:00.002-05:00

The National Commission on Adult Literacy released their final report last month on the chilling results of their study on adult literacy and workforce skills needs in the U.S. in comparison to other developed countries. Unfortunately, we continue to fall short and this is an issue that needs immediate attention. To read the report go to http://www.nationalcommissiononadultliteracy.org/report.html or click on the title of this entry.

East Central Open Retreat

2008-08-12T11:50:00.002-05:00

For the ECIDC Annual Meeting we brought in Ed Morrison as our keynote speaker. Ed is the founder of the Institute for Open Source Economics and Economic Policy Advisor for the Purdue Center for Regional Development. He has over 20 years aiding in strategy projects in regions across the U.S. The response from his presentation was overwhelming and he in turn invited some regional leaders to attend a retreat he was hosting collaboratively with the Lowe Foundation. Two local economic development/workforce development professionals and I attended the retreat along with leaders from 5 other regions across the United States.

Upon return to East Central Illinois, we began to design a retreat customized for our region, again with Ed Morrison at the reigns. We are well on our way through the planning process and have successfully gained support from several partners to make the region affordable to participants.

During the retreat our objectives are:

Building relationships by bringing all leaders interested in workforce development, economic development and education together.

Mapping and connecting assets to find the links across the invisible boundaries of our communities and counties to discover new possibilities for collaboration and regional growth.

Engaging all leaders to construct a plan that is shared by and agreed upon by all so that it will not go stagnant or unfulfilled.

Creating growth through the open sharing of ideas and the adoption of translucency.

Transforming our communities by taking the tools given during the retreat back to the individual communities and organizations and using them to grow an become leaders in the global economy.

This is one of the first steps in the right direction for us! I hope we hit the ground running...

Economic Gardening Helps Communities Grow Their Own Jobs

2008-08-05T08:51:00.001-05:00

"Economic gardening" is an innovative, entrepreneur-based development strategy that has begun gaining attention nationwide.

Often contrasted with "economic hunting" strategies that aim to recruit development opportunities from outside the community, economic gardening is designed to "grow your own" jobs through entrepreneurial activity within the community.

Economic development plans typically include four key tactics—business recruitment; retention; expansion; and entrepreneurial development. As economic developers in cities and towns across the country compete fiercely to implement policies that are both attractive to industry and promote sustainable job growth, emphasis on entrepreneurship is growing.

Traditional approaches to economic development have focused primarily on the first three development tactics and have relied on tax incentives and other financial benefits to strengthen local economies. Increasingly, urban and rural communities, and even states, are starting to shift their economic development focus to the fourth element—entrepreneurial development.

Click on the blog title to read the full article.

The Kalamazoo Promise

2008-08-05T07:56:00.002-05:00

Introduced in November 2005, the Promise was designed to stimulate Kalamazoo's economy and lure both business and people back to the city. It covers 65% of tuition costs at public colleges and universities in Michigan for students who spend at least their high school years in the Kalamazoo Public School district. Students who go all the way from kindergarten through 12th grade get a free ride. Bills are paid by the program directly to the college. Roughly 1,200 students have taken advantage of the program so far.

This is an excerpt from a Wall Street Journal article dated July 28, 2008. Read the full article by clicking on the title.

This program is great and Ron Kitchens will be speaking in Effingham at the next Community Breakfast on September 30th. Contact the Greater Effingham Chamber of Commerce for details.

Strategic Doing Guides Strategy in Open Innovation Networks

2008-07-31T08:39:00.002-05:00

"As we move into the world of networks, we need to find new ways of thinking together.
Strategic thinking and the capacity to translate ideas into action have never been more
important. Yet, traditional approaches of strategic planning, developed by corporations 40
years ago, are too slow, too rigid for today's fast cycle world. Command-and-control
management styles also don't work very well. Long, drawn-out strategic planning
exercises sap our energy and predictably lead to frustration and discouragement.
Networks are different. In a world of open networks, strategy becomes the art of
guiding purposeful conversations. Effective strategy translates ideas into action quickly, so we can learn what works. That's what strategic doing is all about. It's a roadmap for guiding our
conversations to a deeper level...quickly. Strategic doing balances both open participation and leadership direction. It helps us identify and keep focused on the transformational questions that move people. At the same time, strategic doing is never far from execution: What’s our next step?" Taken from Ed Morrison's I-Open White Paper on Strategic Doing

2008 Energy Solutions Workshop series

2008-07-28T10:05:00.002-05:00

SAVE THE DATE!
Energy Ed announces dates and locations for the
2008 Energy Solutions Workshop series:
September 9 Quincy
September 10 Springfield
September 11 Mt. Vernon
September 16 Morris
September 17 Moline

Learn about opportunities to save energy and lower costs through this information-packed workshop! Topics include business energy resources, top efficiency recommendations and more. Learn about financial resources, new incentive programs and what’s on the horizon in renewable energy. Details and registration info coming soon!

Don’t miss this opportunity to improve your energy bottom line!
http://www.energyedcouncil.org/

Save the date--October 21 - 22 Conference on Biofuels and Sustainability
We now have a website in place for the https://mail.lakeland.cc.il.us/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.wmrc.uiuc.edu/BiofuelsConference/

Tourism Impacts on the Illinois Economy

2008-07-22T09:29:00.003-05:00

The economic impact of tourism from each of the counties in the ECIDC region includes: Christian - $15.6 million, up 2 percent; Douglas - $32.9 million, up 4.2 percent; Clark - $13.5 million, up 2.9 percent from 2006 levels; Coles - $43 million, down .2 percent; Cumberland - $5.1 million, down 3.2 percent; Edgar - $7.6 million, up 6.7 percent; Effingham - $111 million, up 6.4 percent; Moultrie - $4.9 million, up 1.3 percent; and Shelby - $36.2 million, up 3.5 percent, according to the Travel Industry Association of America.

“The Illinois tourism industry is thriving and every region of the state is reaping the benefits. Illinois is attracting visitors from near and far to explore all our state has to offer. Visitors are pumping millions of dollars into the Illinois economy and are helping to create good jobs for the hard-working people of our state,” said Governor Blagojevich.

The Illinois tourism industry continues to grow at a record pace, generating billions of dollars in economic impact and supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs across the state. The statewide economic impact of tourism increased by more than $1.6 billion in 2007 to a record setting $29.9 billion, which was a 5.8 percent increase from 2006, according to the Travel Industry Association of America.

Visitors spent nearly $82 million in Illinois businesses every day in 2007. Domestic travel expenditures increased to $27.9 billion, a 5.2 percent increase, or an additional $1.3 billion. International travel expenditures increased to $1.9 billion, a 15.6 percent increase, or an additional $268 million.

Over the last five years, the economic impact has grown by more than $7.7 billion in Illinois, which is a 35 percent increase. Travel-generated jobs also increased by 3940 new jobs in 2007, to 305,460 adding 5360 new jobs for Illinoisans in the last two years.

State and local tax revenues grew by 5.5 percent, generating over $2 billion from travel spending, which is its highest level ever and $110 million more than last year. Since 2002, state and local tax revenues have grown by nearly $460 million, which is a 28 percent increase (Travel Industry Association of America).

Illinois hosted 89 million domestic visitors in 2007, which is down slightly from record growth in 2006, Illinois’ second highest year on record, according to data from D.K. Shifflet & Associates. Due in part to the national economic climate, leisure travel declined by 5 percent in 2007, down from the 9 percent growth experienced in 2006. However, Illinois leisure travel’s increase of 3.5 percent over the last two years has outpaced the national growth rate of 1.8 percent. Illinois business travel experienced strong growth in 2007, with the number of business travelers up by 6.7 percent.

Illinois moved up to being tied for the 6th most popular U.S. state for overseas travelers in 2007, hosting 1,171,000 overseas visitors, an 8 percent increase over 2006.

“Illinois’ tourism industry is a significant contributor to the state’s economy. By continuing to make investments in the industry we are creating good jobs and stimulating our economy,” Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity Director Jack Lavin said.

The Illinois Bureau of Tourism offers additional information on one-of-a-kind attractions, events statewide and suggested 3-Day Getaways on the Bureau’s Web site, www.enjoyillinois.com, or through its travel counselors at 1-800-2CONNECT. Travelers can also order the all-new Illinois Travel Guide, the most comprehensive guide to travel in the Land of Lincoln. Guides are available at Tourist Information Centers, local convention and visitors bureaus, and regional tourism development offices statewide.

iTunes U - Education to the Next Level

2008-07-17T10:52:00.004-05:00

I recently discovered that Apple is offering a new service called iTunes U that offers anyone with iTunes hundreds of hours of free online lessons in a range of subjects. Its collection is designed for use among elementary, middle- and high-school students, but it's available for anyone with iTunes. Also Apple gives students and faculty discounts on their products. Students will really appreciate taking their cirriculum on the go and face it, an iPod weighs much less than a textbook...but who would have guessed that they would replace textbooks!

Pacific Insitute Training

2008-07-16T15:55:00.002-05:00

If you were wondering if I dropped off the face of East Central Illinois, I did not but instead had the great pleasure of attending three days of Pacific Institute training called "21 Keys for High Performance Teaching and Learning." Lake Land College has invested in allowing all of their employees to go through this curriculum in hopes to help people in both their personal and professional lives. I believe this is such a great gift for the College to give and hope everyone who has so far attended is using the concepts in their daily lives. Lou Tice, founder of Pacific Institute, teaches these concepts across the world to people of all ages and professions. You can check this out at www.thepacificinstitute.com.

USDA gives grants to small businesses

2008-07-16T15:53:00.000-05:00

FY2009 SBIR Phase I Request for Applications

Release date: June 27, 2008

Closing date: September 4, 2008

The Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program offers grants to qualified small businesses (including small and medium-sized farms) in support of high-quality, innovative research related to important scientific problems and opportunities in agriculture that could lead to significant public benefit if successfully commercialized. The USDA SBIR program has awarded more than 2000 grants since its inception in 1983, allowing hundreds of small businesses to explore their technological potential and profit from the commercialization of their innovative ideas. All FY2009 proposals must be submitted electronically through Grants.gov and all attachments must be submitted as a Portable Document Format (PDF). Note that the registration process for submitting applications electronically can take as much as two weeks to complete, and registration must be finished prior to submitting an application. To complete the registration process, go to www.grants.gov and click on the “get registered link” under the applicants menu.Three of the topic areas - Small And Mid-Sized Farms, Marketing and Trade, and Rural Development - are particularly relevant to small farms and ranching enterprises and other small businesses focused on development of new or application of existing technologies to address a problem or an opportunity in rural communities. More applications in these topics are encouraged.

Are you a locavore?

2008-07-10T15:29:00.003-05:00

A “locavore” is a person who strives to eat food grown or produced locally or regionally, and has been encouraging local food consumption for years. Environmental sustainability and resource conservation are the most commonly cited reasons to support local food producers. And while buying food locally does a lot to reduce our ecological footprint and conserve non-renewable resources, there are many other reasons why buying locally or regionally is the best option.

Another great side effect of locavorious habits is that food tastes better when grown locally since it is consumed immediately after harvest. It is fresher and riper when bought from a local farmer’s market, just as it would be from a home garden. Plus, buying fresh food reduces or eliminates the need for chemical preservatives. Most supermarket produce in the US is picked by an unknown farmer up to a week before hitting the veggie bins, and is shipped for an average of 1,500 miles before being sold. And this is only the produce that is grown in the country, not taking into consideration how long it takes for produce grown in other parts of the world to hit our mouths.

So you might want to think about what you put in your mouth; it affects you and others more than you think!

SBA Online Training

2008-07-09T13:45:00.002-05:00

The U.S. Small Business Administration offers free, online training courses through the Small Business Training Network (SBTN), a virtual campus providing quality and targeted online training to meet the information needs of prospective and existing small business owners. Courses cover starting a business, business planning, finance and accounting, marketing, e-commerce and more.

Measuring Impact of Entrepreneurial Programs

2008-07-09T09:18:00.002-05:00

The following information comes from an article in the March newsletter of EntreWorks Insights Consulting...

New Metrics for New Programs: How to Measure the Impact of Entrepreneurial Development Investments

One of the hardest parts of supporting new entrepreneurial development strategies is finding good measures of progress and impact. Economic developers have traditionally measured their progress by counting jobs. This approach makes sense when applied to traditional economic development efforts that emphasize business recruitment. When a new plant opens in town, you can count the jobs pretty easily.

It’s not quite so easy with supporting entrepreneurs. These companies create jobs, but they do it slowly. An entrepreneurial business might create hundreds of jobs, but they do it over years. Meanwhile, the newly opened branch plant creates lots of new jobs at one point in time.
So, if your region is introducing new entrepreneurial development programs, you might also think about new ways to measure their impact. That’s one important lesson from a forthcoming evaluation of the Appalachian Regional Commission’s (ARC) Entrepreneurship Initiative. This program, which began in 1997, was the first Federally sponsored economic development program with an explicit focus on nurturing local entrepreneurs.

The program operated until 2005, and ARC continues to fund similar efforts through other ARC initiatives. The Entrepreneurship Initiative ended doing pretty well when assessed using traditional job creation measures. More specifically, over 12,000 jobs have been created or retained and over 1,700 new businesses were created, at a cost that suggests an efficient allocation of resources relative to other similar types of economic development programs.
However, these measures tell only part of the story of impacts. Entrepreneurship Initiative investments helped to train teachers and expose students to entrepreneurship concepts, almost 12,000 throughout the region. They supported incubators that served at least 475 emerging businesses and helped spark the development of sectors such as the sustainable wood products industry. These public investments have been instrumental in attracting almost $73 million in private capital injection to support entrepreneurship development in the region. Through its educational investments and the demonstration effect of ongoing projects, ARC also helped make entrepreneurship a legitimate and desirable economic development activity in local communities while raising awareness about the importance of the entrepreneurial and small business sector to the region’s economy.

ARC has not been able to tell this complete story in the past, because, like many Federal programs, ARC’s current performance metrics focus almost exclusively on tracking short-term job creation. ARC’s experience is not unique, and other economic development agencies face similar dilemmas. As we move ahead, program managers should heed two lessons from ARC’s experience:

1. Replace old, overused metrics with a comprehensive “entrepreneurship development metrics portfolio”. “Job creation” is an overused metric. It paints an incomplete picture of the outcomes of entrepreneurship development investments, and should be replaced by a more encompassing “entrepreneurship development metrics portfolio.” While job creation should be reported as an outcome of program investments, a much richer understanding of impacts can come through efforts to define and capture outcomes as measured by a broad set of performance metrics. In addition to jobs created/retained and new business starts, this system should include other outcome measures such as the following:

-Changes in business profitability following a capital investment
-Number of incubator tenants who graduate from a facility and stay in the region
-Number of business owners still in business after receiving counseling or technical assistance
-Changes in sales after receiving outside technical support
-Changes in attitudes following completion of training programs.

2. A “best in class” metrics system requires investment in a “best in class” evaluation system. Performance measurement should be viewed as an integral part of program development – from the perspective of funding agencies like ARC and project leaders. Federal and state economic development agencies should support the creation of a performance measurement system for future investments by developing a participatory evaluation system in partnership with grantees. This measurement system would be developed by grantees and their customers, i.e., the entrepreneurs, with outside funding, and would be designed to provide project leaders with useful information that can be used to adapt programs to changing circumstances as well as to report to funders on project performance.

If program managers want to “tell a better story,” they will need to invest resources and energy into this process. Effective program measurement will require that evaluation becomes a core part of program design and implementation, and not an afterthought.

ECIDC Mailroom Open for Business

2008-07-09T08:47:00.004-05:00

After spending the last several months blasting emails away at the membership of the East Central Illinois Development Corporation, I have decided it would be best to let members choose when to view the latest and greatest research I am exploring. I plan to use this blog as a notebook of both interesting and relevant tidbits of information that I come across through my research and aquaintances.

For those of you unfamiliar with what ECIDC is and does, we are a nonprofit organization designed to promote the nine county region in which we serve statewide, nationally and globally with the goal of attraction and retention of businesses, industry, residents and tourism, while providing education opportunities to its membership, its governmental units and its residents. Happy reading!