We recently completed a project for the Kentucky Science & Technology Corporation that updated our work from 1999 that led to Kentucky’s first science, innovation and technology plan. Not much has changed in technology since 1999 except maybe Facebook, Twitter, phones that are computers, GPSs and video cameras, nano-textiles, artificial livers and hearts, the iPod, hybrid cars, YouTube, drones, personal genome maps, 3-d printers and much better golf clubs. (more…)

The first is our recently released report for the Appalachian Regional Commission assessing the workforce trends and needs of the ARC region’s increasingly important renewable and non-renewable energy clusters. The report, Energy Workforce Trends and Training Needs in Appalachia, also includes compelling case studies of exemplary training programs in all 13 ARC states meeting the needs of the industry.

The second is Growth from the Ground Up: Community Colleges and Sustainable Food Systems, a conference report from the Alliance for Sustainability, a creation of RTS to network community colleges, held in September 2011 in Pittsboro, NC.

Lastly, we’ve added a report from TA3, an international network of community and technical colleges, that details the information and best practices found during a study tour of Denmark that demonstrated their commitment to sustainability and green building and the technical training supporting it. The full report is available here.

The Mississippi Economic Council in cooperation with the state’s citizens and private sector is building a collaborative vision for moving the state’s economy and community forward.  The process, known as Blueprint Mississippi 2011, has led to the development of a series of goals and recommendations on education, the economy, diversity, financial resources, health, infrastructure and other key areas.

A top focus is the creative economy.  The following creative economy strategies are based in large part on the study we completed with the Mississippi Development Authority and the Mississippi Arts Commission Development. The reports are available here and more on the effort is on the Mississippi Creative economy website.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

• Support the goals in the report, Mississippi’s Creative Economy, released by the Mississippi Arts Commission with the Mississippi Development Authority:
  • Facilitate efforts that make communities throughout the state more creative and vibrant.
  • Promote entrepreneurship and small business growth among creative firms.
  • Help communities preserve and generate added value from cultural and historic heritage.
  • Enhance the competitiveness of the state’s businesses and industries through increased use of art and design.
  • Enhance the support and networking infrastructure for creative talent across the state.
  • Build capacity to grow and retain creative talent living and working in Mississippi.
• Develop tools and strategies to support growth throughout the tourism industry.

On August 11th the Mississippi Development Authority and the Mississippi Arts Commission released our report on the state’s amazing creative economy.  Information on the strategies for the creative economy is found on the state’s new creative economy website. The report demonstrates that the creative economy generates more than 60,000 jobs within the state. You can find project director and RTS founder Stu Rosenfeld’s presentation on the report here.

The report examines the various segments of the creative economy including visual and performing arts, design, film, literary and publishing, culinary arts and museums and heritage.  We also detail the support structure for the creative economy such as organizations, education and training, creative spaces and the investments that the state has made to build the creative economy.

Working with the Authority and Commission, we also developed a series of recommended goals and strategies intended to help the state reap the full benefits of its creative people and creative economy.

The report has three parts.  A short Executive Summary succinctly presents the main elements of the study. The Main Report provides all the detailed data and information on the creative economy and is a great resource. Finally we produced a series of vignettes on the state’s creative assets titled Red Hots and Deep Blues: Stories of Mississippi’s Creative Economy that provides a rich feel for the depth and variety of creativity within the state.

Be forwarned that the files are pretty large, especially the vignettes, so be patient with the downloads!

The latest TA3 Connections focuses on the upcoming TA3 Annual Symposium scheduled for May 1-4, 2011 in San Sebastian in the Basque Region of Spain. The symposium will focus on creativity and innovation in education. The issue also provides extensive member news, discusses a recent TA3 Webinar with Julian Alssid, executive director of the Workforce Strategy Center, and profiles TA3 member Ivy Tech Community College, Indiana.

You can download a copy of the newsletter here.

We are excited to announce the publication of Unveiling the Creative Economy in Arkansas: Strategies to Increase Creative Capacity and Competitive Advantage.  The report is the culmination of a three year study that RTS, along with its partner in the Alliance for Creative Advantage, Mt. Auburn Associates, conducted for the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation.  This report offers recommendations on how Arkansas can build upon its impressive assets to enhance its creative economy. The report offers lessons for other states as well particularly those with large rural populations and that have traditionally depended on low-wage manufacturing.  You can download a copy of the report here.

The National Governor’s Association report Using Arts and Culture to Stimulate State Economic Development provides the nation’s governors with ” examples from states across the country to help governors incorporate the arts and culture into their long-term economic development strategies.”  RTS’ work in Arkansas and North Carolina is featured prominently in the work.  The work specifically mentions RTS’ approach of using case studies as a way to ” provide powerful insight into a state’s cultural industries, illuminating the economic impact of specific industries, the relationships between various businesses and occupations, and the needs of various economic clusters.  The report can be downloaded from NGA’s site here.

Our latest edition of CraftNet Sketches has arrived.  Sketches is our way to keep you up to date on the goings-on of CraftNet, a network of community college’s who are collaborating together to create innovative approaches to using artisan-based strengths as a way to foster economic development.  In this issue of Sketches, we highlight Berea College’s E-Commerce program that is helping student artists find a new marketplace for their work. We also focus on the upcoming Craft Organization Development Association annual meeting in St. Paul, which will feature the public debut of CraftNet’s E-Commerce Curriculum.  We also use this issue of Sketches to welcome CraftNet’s newest member Flathead Valley Community College located in Kalispell, Montana.  You can read all about CraftNet and download past issues of Sketches here.

Sheridan, Wyoming is the latest place where RTS and its partners in the Alliance for Creative Advantage are exploring the impact of the creative economy.  Among our findings are that the creative economy of Sheridan and Johnson Counties includes an estimated 1,123 people who earn their living from the creative content of what they produce, support and/or sell. Based on the number employed or self-employed in the two counties, the creative economy represents more than one in 20 people employed, which is higher than manufacturing, and about one in 14 enterprises.   Our report offers recommendations on how the community can take the next steps to making sure that the region builds on its reputation as a center for Western art.  You can download our report here.