News & Events

Chris Beacham, RTS Director of Economic Development Programs, was asked by the North Carolina Technology Association to present to their Annual Leadership Conference on the topic: Dare to Compare: How Does North Carolina Stack Up? Chris presented an overview of the dramatic change of North Carolina from a state built on traditional manufacturing to one based on knowledge and technology.  But in the constant battle for economic success, how does North Carolina compare to other states on policy, workforce, venture capital, entrepreneurship and other factors in building a strong technology-driven economy?  The presentation details the data that shows the state as strong in many areas like R&D and presence of scientists and engineers while lagging in areas like citizen’s access to computers and Internet access. Read the rest of this entry »

RTS staffers Chris Beacham, Director of Economic Development Programs, and Senior Research Analyst Jenna Bryant were requested by the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) to present a webinar on measuring the creative economy.  The presentation, “Analyzing the Creative Economy (note: it requires creativity)” details the issues analysts face and the creative strategies needed to develop an accurate measurement of the economic role of the creative economy within a region.  Properly done, the analysis can help communities develop strategies to further develop this increasingly important sector.

RTS is working as part of a team, led by Senior Associate David Dodd of DADCO, Inc., with the St. Bernard Parish Economic Development Foundation on a Strategic Workforce Contingency Plan for Fishing and Related Industries in Coastal Louisiana. The team, which also includes The Johnson Group of New Orleans and Ann Guissinger & Associates of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, is examining impacts and developing strategies to help Orleans, Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes deal with the cumulative impact of hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the BP oil spill. The focus is on the fishing industry and the devastated livelihoods of the fishermen but we are also looking more broadly at issues of strategic economic targets and relevant workforce development strategies to help the region. The project, funded by the US Economic Development Administration, will be completed in early fall of this year.

The TA3 is a membership consortium of more than 30 leading community and technical colleges, and several state system offices, in the U.S., Europe and South Africa that promotes community colleges’ efforts to support their regional economies, and promotes the value and importance of a global perspective on community college missions.

The latest TA3 Connections provides updates on the May 1-4, 2011 TA3 Symposium in San Sebastian in the Basque Region of Spain and brings you up-to-date on member activities including an interesting outreach program by EUC-Syd with Dung Quat College of Technology (DQC) in Viet Nam. York Technical College in South Carolina, USA is profiled. Along with other innovations, York Tech has created the Hive Business Center (HBC), a work-based learning cooperative that opened in February of 2011. The cooperative offers start-up and small business support with a focus on Internet marketing and web design and development.

Learn more about TA3 here.

CraftNet is an international alliance of community colleges, created and supported by RTS, in North America, Europe, and Africa that work together to enhance their own arts and crafts-based teaching programs and to develop local and regional artisan-based economies. Please go to craftnetglobal.com to learn more about this exciting network.

Monthly, RTS publishes a newsleter, CraftNet Sketches, highlighting the network’s recent activities including the efforts of member colleges. The most recent edition highlights Haywood Community College and Western Piedmont Community College in North Carolina, the Montana Arts Council, and Hazard Community College’s Kentucky School of Craft. In addition the issue describes some recent events and news of interest and profiles CraftNet member Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology’s Furniture College at Letterfrack, Ireland. Click here to download the issue. All past issues are available on the RTS website.

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.

In May of 2010 the District of Columbia Office of Planning released an action agenda for using the arts to build the economy within DC.  The plan, prepared by RTS along with Mt. Auburn Associates, Cutting Edge Design, and Green Door Advisors, examined DC creative segments such as museums, culinary and performing arts and media and then defined strategies and actions to build these segments.  The strategies and actions dealt with youth, markets, work, business and other areas that are fundamental parts of a creative economic environment.

The National Capital Area Chapter of the American Planning Association recently awarded the plan with a Jury Award for how it outlines using arts and culture to stimulate the local economy.

Read the plan here and an article on the award here.

Milwaukee Public Radio WUWM 89.7 fm interviewed RTS principal Stuart Rosenfeld and Michael Kane from Mt. Auburn Associates about the just completed Milwaukee area creative economy analysis.  You can listen to the interview on WUWM or here WUWM interview 1/24/2011.

Michael Kane of Mt. Auburn Associates and Dr. Stuart Rosenfeld of RTS presented the final results of the Creative Industries: A New Economic Growth Opportunity for the Milwaukee 7 Region study to a sold-out crowd of 300 at the Creativity Works! Moving Forward event.  Click the link to hear the Creativity Works! radio story from WUWM 89.7 FM radio.

A streaming feed of the full event is available from the Creativity Works! website.

Read or download the Executive Summary or the Full Report

In 1999 RTS developed Kentucky’s very first Science & Technology (S&E) plan. The strategies focused on People, Enterprise Development, Technological Infrastructure and Modern Manufacturing. A series of strategies were designed and most implemented to build a stronger S&E economy.  A bit more than a decade later, RTS has been asked to look back at the initial plan and develop a new, 21st century plan that takes into account the vast changes we’ve seen in technology and the world economy.  We are working with the Kentucky Science & Technology Corporation and its partners to both evaluate the past investments that have been made and recommend modifications and new strategies that reflect the new reality.