News & Events

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.

The new year finds us embarking on an exciting new project with North Carolina’s Southeast Partnership.  NC’s Southeast is one of the seven established economic development partnerships within the state and includes 11 counties.  They have brought together all of the workforce boards, community colleges, local economic developers and other stakeholders into a process to look at the region’s workforce and its ability to support it’s existing and emerging clusters.  RTS will be working with NC’s Southeast throughout 2011 to analyze the workforce needs across this diverse region that includes Wilmington and its port, Fayetteville and the expanding Fort Bragg Army post and several counties with long-term economic challenges.  The Partnership and RTS expect to end the project with a compelling strategic vision and a number of short- and medium-term practical and implementable projects to build the workforce and economy of the region.

The Wilmington Business Journal has an interesting article describing the project.

With sustainability and green energy set to play a critical role in the growth of our national economy, community colleges represent a way to meet the needs of local businesses and residents.  Join experts and practitioners from the U.S. and Europe in Asheville on April 26-27 as they highlight expanded roles for colleges in educating students, businesses, and communities about and for economic opportunities in renewable energy, conservation, ecotourism, and local sustainable agriculture and manufacturing.

Topics to be discussed include:

• Skills for new green-oriented industries and for sustainable practices in other sectors
• Enhancing local and sustainable agriculture, natural resources, and crafts
• “Green thinking” in all programs
• Making campuses models of sustainability

Go to www.ta3online.org/2010meeting/ for more information including information about registration and scheduled speakers.

One of the most dynamic cities in the South, Charleston, South Carolina, has asked RTS to examine its creative economy. We will take a look at a three county region’s creative enterprises, workers and assets and help develop strategies to enhance the creative economy’s impact in the Low Country. The project will also benchmark Charleston’s creative economy against selected communities in the Southeast.

Helping communities act more collaboratively in regional approaches has long been a hallmark of RTS’ work. A new effort in South Dakota will allow us to work with a group of counties and municipalities looking to create a new regional growth strategy. The strategy will include an analysis of the region’s clusters and a plan designed to build and support the research enterprise and educational assets at the region’s universities and link them to the private sector as economic development drivers.

The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) awarded RTS a grant to assess the workforce trends and training requirements necessary to meet the needs of the ARC region’s increasingly important energy sector.  We will be working with colleagues at Penn State to project energy workforce growth, particularly in light of new green energy legislation. We’ll also be looking at the ability of the region’s community colleges and universities to train workers to meet the expected need.  Finally, we’ll take a look at best practices at these institutions.

Working with a group of business leaders in the Shreveport, Louisiana region, RTS is looking at ways to increase the ability of minority entrepreneurs and small business owners to compete and prosper.  In 2008, RTS reported back to the  Strategic Action Council of Northwest Louisiana on the most important economic development challenges and opportunities facing the region, identifying issues relating to the numbers and capacity of minority-owned businesses as critical. The SAC agreed with that assessment and has asked RTS to further investigate the challenges facing these firms and to develop a plan to begin to ensure their success.  RTS staff will conduct extensive on-the-ground interviews and focus groups with entrepreneurs and owners in the region to find out what exactly they see are the most important barriers to their success and how the region can help them grow.