Released Jan. 23, 2008

Madison, Wis.--Prosperity and a high quality of life in a globally competitive environment are the goals of a group planning for the future of Wisconsin’s eight-county Capital Region.

Thrive, formerly known as the Regional Economic Development Entity, will be the vehicle for communities to collaborate on retaining, expanding and attracting key industries and jobs, as well as creating a good environment for entrepreneurs.

Thrive is composed of business, education, government and non-profit leaders from Columbia, Dane, Dodge, Green, Iowa, Jefferson, Rock and Sauk Counties, who are working to broaden the framework of economic development from individual counties to all the counties in the Capital Region.

According to Thrive, the lack of a plan for development leaves the Capital Region vulnerable to competition and unplanned growth. Thrive’s final report states that "The question is no longer: ‘Will we grow?’, but rather ‘How do we want to grow?’"

Andy Lewis, University of Wisconsin-Extension community development specialist and Matt Kures, UW-Extension geographic information specialist, were invited to be part of the Collaboration Council Assets and Opportunities Work Team that was instrumental in forming Thrive.

"It’s not surprising that they asked UW-Extension for help," says Lewis, who served as staff lead for the team. "Extension has played a vital role in creating regional planning groups for many years." Lewis assisted with the start-up of the Burnett County Development Association and the Grant County Economic Development Corporations—both of which have been in existence for more than 20 years.

"UW-Extension staff has been enormously effective in helping Thrive and our regional partners assemble and communicate data on the eight-county Capital Region's assets and opportunities," says Jennifer Alexander, Thrive president.

Kures, with a background in spatial data analysis, is working with UW-Extension community development specialist Gary Green to help Thrive gather information on the region’s agriculture, biotechnology and health care sectors. UW-Extension will help identify regional characteristics of each these different industries as well as areas of convergence.

"Once the industries have been properly defined," Kures says, "we’ll go out and conduct surveys to examine challenges and opportunities facing the target sectors. Identifying the needs of the industries will help Thrive and other regional stakeholders develop strategies for assisting these sectors."

The data gathered by UW-Extension will be used to formulate strategies for development opportunities that accommodate both entrepreneurship and an improved quality of life.

"Data is powerful," says Lewis. "Our job is to take data and show how it’s meaningful."

For example, worker flow data shows the regional connections between where workers live and where they work. In the year 2000:

• Almost half (46 percent) of the people working in the City of Madison lived outside the community.

• Around 1,500 (1,491) workers residing in Jefferson County worked in Dodge County, while 4,021 Dodge County residents worked in Jefferson County.

• Nearly 1,700 workers residing in Columbia County traveled to Sauk County for employment. Conversely, over 1,000 Sauk County residents worked in Columbia County.

• Dane County was the place of employment for over 29,000 workers living in the counties of Columbia, Dodge, Green, Iowa, Jefferson, Rock and Sauk.

The information reveals that jobs in one community or county often benefit the entire Capital Region.

"Economic development includes more than just adding new jobs and wealth," says Lewis "There’s a difference between economic development and economic growth. Economic development includes quality of life: good transportation systems, recreational and cultural opportunities and affordable housing."

Lewis researched past studies on quality of life indicators, many of which, he says, go hand-in-hand with economic development. Based on his findings and other input, the team recommended transportation and water quality as the first two quality of life issues Thrive should study.

"The ongoing work of Andy Lewis, Matt Kures and Gary Green in assessing the regional target sector assets in agriculture, biotechnology and health care, as well as quality of life factors important to the region, will help Thrive staff and regional partners advance plans to carry out Thrive's vision--to grow the Capital Region in ways that preserve and enhance the quality of life," says Alexander.

For more information about Thrive, go to http://www.thrivehere.org. For more on the work of UW-Extension’s Center for Economic Development, visit http://www.uwex.edu/ces/cced/.

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http://www.uwex.edu/news/2008/01/uw-extension-helps-guide-new-regional-plan

Contacts: Andy Lewis, 608-263-1432, andy.lewis@ces.uwex.edu

Matt Kures, 605-265-8528, matthew.kures@ces.uwex.edu

Meg Gores, (608) 262-4563