On the web
A full copy of the strategic plan can be found on the following websites:
The steering committee can be contacted by emailing contact@swcindiana.org.
FRENCH LICK — Monroe County is one of 11 counties that make up the Southwest Central Indiana region. At least that’s the idea at the heart of a new economic development strategy presented Tuesday afternoon at the French Lick Resort Convention Center.
“The study shows we are a true region,” said Dan Peterson, vice president of industry and government affairs at Bloomington-based medical device manufacturer Cook Group.
A $650,000 Lilly Endowment grant was used to fund a study that resulted in the Strategic Vision for Southwest Central Indiana. Battelle Memorial Institute, a nonprofit research and development organization, conducted the study, which suggests several factors, such as commuter and employment patterns, make Brown, Crawford, Daviess, Dubois, Greene, Lawrence, Martin, Monroe, Orange, Owen and Washington counties a region.
It also suggests collaboration between leaders in those counties can result in exponential economic growth.
Battelle’s analysis found five challenges the region must address to realize that growth potential. Chief among those challenges is a lack of skilled workers, but others included not fully taking advantage of the Interstate 69 corridor, a lack of a relationship between Indiana University and Crane Naval Surface Warfare Center, a lack of an entrepreneurial culture and a lack of regionalism.
Creating a sense of regionalism is central to addressing other challenges, said Deborah Cummings, senior program manager at Battelle.
“We have to row in the same direction,” she said. “These problems are large and complex and not solvable for one unit of government.”
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