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Appalachian Regional Commission PDF

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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 470 436 RC 023 754 Appalachian Regional Commission Annual Report, 2001. TITLE Appalachian Regional Commission, Washington, DC. INSTITUTION 2001-00-00 PUB DATE 59p.; For the 2000 Annual Report, see ED 455 991. NOTE For full text: http://www.arc.gov/index.do?nodeld=1429. AVAILABLE FROM Numerical/Quantitative Data (110) Reports Descriptive PUB TYPE (141) EDRS Price MF01/PC03 Plus Postage. EDRS PRICE Access to Computers; Annual Reports; *Economic Development; DESCRIPTORS Entrepreneurship; *Federal Aid; *Labor Force Development; *Leadership Training; Public Health; Road Construction; *Rural Development; Rural Education; Secondary Education; Strategic Planning; Technical Assistance *Appalachia; Appalachian Regional Commission DC; Capacity IDENTIFIERS. Building; *Telecommunications Infrastructure ABSTRACT In fiscal year 2001, the Appalachian Regional Commission invested $63.6 million in 469 economic and human development (nonhighway) projects and $389.6 million in highway projects in Appalachia. The Commission launched a new initiative to promote the development of telecommunications infrastructure, especially in distressed counties. The Commission has continued to push its 5-year entrepreneurship initiative, which addresses entrepreneurial education and training activities, technical and managerial assistance, access to capital and financial assistance for growing companies, the formation of entrepreneurial networks, and technology transfer activities. The Commission funded 58 education projects and continued its work on the Appalachian Higher Education Network, which aims to help participating high schools boost their college-going rates to the national average or higher. Seventeen computer learning labs were established in the region. Efforts to bolster the region's civic capacity continued with the provision of leadership training programs and technical assistance for communities. Efforts to strengthen infrastructure included the completion of 72 more miles of the Appalachian Development Highway System and the provision of water or sewer service to over 24,000 households. During 2001, 68 doctors were placed in the region. Studies were launched on disparities in health status and in health care accessibility, and on health care institutions that are at risk of closure. Tables present funding statistics for the 13 Appalachian states, highway obligations, and population data. Contact information is given for all local development districts in the Appalachian region. (TD) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the on Mal document. APPALACHIAN REGIONAL COMMISSI ..- .- -; ." i ;it); 7 11" i a' .. 1 tl, / or:* -.i ,: ... ' ) // .: 1 ill 4 II / r, 2 N, . , ,1! ' ., i' . .. 1 j_ 7,4.1 ,/'' f-r.'hi -- 1',.,, C., i.,-.....-. ..i ; , i . .:-:;',, , I... , , - .'.,i . -I ...j'. '.. -, :':- :.-+,' -,:li.',''..--- 4.,' '''.:'f.-ir./ :51-7 % -,": '? l':` , , - ';:";...*C"-,, I: . =.0..., .: . 't -' '....: ''..' i' ''..-.:f...,; ..' -fr '- f.-.'..r.,-:.:1.",4-..: ...- '':,, '. 1 : '.. -..--.10! t-; 7 -, . .' 3.'-"'.0'. LI .. 7,'; ., L JZ-ZV- ...i'y' ... z -=. :-. '..','... ,..i.-, -.., r, ./ r. . 2,...7... .,: , : .r..:1..;:-;' -;, . '. - t i./ ... TA: zi ..-,1-. - .I ;,!*,,,': . ; ... .....7......,,,,,,,, -:, 4, ?- / : -...t.,:.;;Ir-74..i.c.,:, .::..-,.',... 4';'.,..., i.... ,,,,,:,,,.!, -.. li-'^r;li, U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educauonal Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) O This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization onginating it O Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. ARC'S MISSION with the people ARC's mission is to be an advocate for and partner economic of Appalachia to create opportunities for self-sustaining development and improved quality of life. GOAL 1 Appalachian residents will have the skills and knowledge necessary to compete in the world economy in the twenty-first century. GOAL 2 Appalachian communities will have the physical infrastructure and improved necessary for self-sustaining economic development quality of life. GOAL 3 The people and organizations of Appalachia will have the vision economic and capacity to mobilize and work together for sustained progress and improvement of their communities. GOAL 4 Appalachian residents will have access to financial and technical local economies. resources to help build dynamic and self-sustaining GOAL 5 Appalachian residents will have access to affordable, quality health care. CONTENTS SECTION 1 Transmittal Letter 5 Examples of ARC Projects by Goal Area 9 Examples of Entrepreneurship Initiative Projects 11 Examples of Distressed Counties Projects 12 ARC-Designated Distressed Counties, Fiscal Year 2001 13 SECTION 2 Program Funding 15 Nonhighway Project Totals Appalachian Regional Commission 19 Alabama 20 Georgia 21 Kentucky 22 Maryland 23 Mississippi 24 New York 25 North Carolina 26 Ohio 27 Pennsylvania 28 South Carolina 29 Tennessee 30 Virginia 31 West Virginia 32 Appalachian Development Highway System and Local Access Roads Obligations 33 Population Tables 35 Local Development Districts in the Appalachian Region 48 4 APPAL ACHIA NEW YORK WISCONSIN MICHIGAN PENNSYLVANIA ILLINOIS INDIANA 41. dp EST VIRGINIA KENTUCKY VIRGINIA TENNESSEE Frg NORTH CAROLINA SOUTH CAROLINA GEORGIA MISSISSIPPI ALABAMA Appalachia, as defined in the legislation from which the Appalachian Regional Commission derives its authority, is a 200,000-square-mile region that follows the spine of the Appalachian Mountains from southern New York to northern Mississippi. It includes all of West Virginia and parts of twelve other states: Alabama, Georgia, Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia. AVAILABLE BEST COPY APPALACHIAN REGIONAL COMMISSION The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is a regional economic development agency representing a unique partnership of federal, state, and local government. Established by an act of Congress in 1965, the Commission is composed of the governors of the 13 Appalachian states and a federal co-chairman, who is appointed by the president. Grassroots participation is provided through multicounty local develop- ment districts with boards made up of elected officials, businesspeople, and other local leaders. Each year Congress appropriates funds, which ARC allocates among its member states. The Appalachian governors, consulting with local development districts, draw up annual Appalachian development plans and select for ARC approval projects to implement them. The broad objective of these programs is to support development of Appalachia's human and community infrastructure to provide a climate for the growth in business and industry that will create jobs. ARC programs include an interstate-quality highway system, education and job training, health care, water and sewer systems, housing, and other essentials of comprehensive economic development. 6 APPALACHIAN DEVELOPMENT HIGH AY SYSTEM WHEELIN ERSTOWN WN MO A ALTIM LA D C B RKSBURG. C Vy/TS'11AtalaND ELKINS A POLIS IRGI I RICHMOND BECKLEY IRGINIA OANOKE R GBH BORO RALEIG N RTH CA LINA CHA TTE TANBU G A.NA b COLUMBI N GIA Adequate or Complete September 30, 2001 To be Completed Interstate System AVAILABLE BEST COPY 7 4 March 31, 2002 The President The White House Washington, D.C. Dear Mr. President: We are pleased to submit for your review a report on the activities of the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) during fiscal year (FY) 2001. This report is the third annual summary of ARC activities since Congress reauthorized the Commission in 1998 and put into law many aspects of the agency's strategic plan, adopted in 1996. OVERVIEW In FY 2001 the Commission invested $63.6 million in 469 economic and human development (nonhighway) projects in the Appalachian states. An additional $389.6 million was made available from the federal Highway Trust Fund to assist completion of the Commission's planned 3,025-mile Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS). In accordance with the ARC strategic plan, nonhighway funding was targeted to projects in five areas: education and workforce training, physical infrastructure, civic capacity and leadership, dynamic local economies, and health care. These projects are expected to provide direct benefits to more than 181,200 people. Their projected impact includes: > Creation or retention of 59,600 jobs, which will generate an estimated $200 million in state and federal tax receipts annually; > Education programs to benefit 27,300 students and trainees; > Improved water and sewer systems to serve 24,500 households; > Leadership development activities involving 1,800 participants; and > Health-care projects estimated to benefit 25,200 people. ARC's FY 2001 nonhighway funding attracted $163.5 million in other federal, state, and local funds, a match of over two to one. Private-sector business investments associated with ARC nonhighway activities totaled $292 million, a ratio of more than four to one. THE NEW APPALACHIA From the February launch of our PowerUP partnership to establish computer learning labs in communities across the Region to our record-setting "New Appalachia" conference in November, this truly was the year of the new Appalachia. The conference, which was held in eastern Kentucky's distressed Floyd County, was our largest conference to date and emphasized the link between leadership and Appalachia's economic development. Attended by over 800 people from the 13 Appalachian states, it featured best practices in community and economic development and included a keynote address from motivational expert Dr. Stephen Covey, who encouraged participants to join together to move Appalachia into a new era of growth and prosperity. DISTRESSED COUNTIES Throughout the year the Commission focused on fostering development in the Region's 114 distressed countiesa continuing priorityspending over 50 percent of total project funds on programs that benefit these counties. While in the,past our distressed counties efforts have emphasized public infrastructure, in FY 2001 the Commission partners established a new program to energize capacity building in distressed areas. This program is designed to strengthen communities and help local organizations fulfill their mission effectively. Elements of the program include: > A mini-grant initiative to provide strategic-planning and technical assistance to local communities to help jump-start the economic development process; a 8 5 > Workshops, knowledge-sharing efforts, and other activities to encourage community learning and leadership development; > Outreach efforts that give local communities access to other resources, including nonprofits, foundations, and government agencies. Ten million dollars has been earmarked for this effort over the next five years. Additionally, to help draw the people in the Appalachian Regionparticularly those in its distressed countiesmore fully into the global community, we have begun developing a multi-faceted online resource center to provide information on funding, grant writing, and best practices in community and economic development. The online resource center will also offer research and data on the Region, as well as ideas and resources for strategic planning. By supporting civic leadership, the center will help foster economic development at both the community and regional levels. This new resource will be an important tool for individuals and groups leading Appalachia in the twenty-first century. TELECOMMUNICATIONS In FY 2001, ARC launched its new telecommunications initiative, "Information Age Appalachia," to help bridge the digital divide in rural Appalachia by promoting the develop- ment of telecommunications infrastructure and expanded access to telecommunications services. With a special focus on helping distressed counties, this initiative is critical to the Region's future. While much of the United States has been reaping the economic benefits of the Information Age, rural areas and small towns in Appalachia have too often been left behind. For a variety of reasons, these areas lack adequate access to a robust telecommunications infrastructure. This, in turn, exacerbates the Region's geographic isolation and serves as a further barrier to the economic, educational, and other benefits that other regions enjoy. Accordingly, the Commission has approved the following policy statement for the Information Age Appalachia program: The Information Age Appalachia program envisions Appalachia as a prosperous and vibrant region with full access to the tools of the Information Age, and possessing the knowledge and capacity to use those tools to compete successfully in the twenty-first-century economy. To achieve this ambitious goal, the Commission has begun assessing the opportunities and obstacles before communities as they work to bring advanced telecommunications services into their areas. ARC's new five-year reauthorization legislation, which you signed on March 13, 2002, provides significant funding authority for this initiative. ENTREPRENEURSHIP Appalachia's economic future depends on energizing local business, supporting innovation and risk taking, and fostering investment. To this end, we have continued to push our five-year, $20.1 million Entrepreneurship Initiative, which focuses on venture and risk capital formation, technical assistance, technology commercialization, and entrepreneurship education and train- ing. Since 1997, ARC has funded 237 entrepreneurship projects, providing over $20 million in support for a range of program activities. These programs have leveraged $19.3 million from other sources to support activities targeting the Region. The 91 entrepreneurship projects that have been completed report the creation of 389 new businesses, and the creation or retention of 1,283 jobs in Appalachia. The 146 ongoing programs are projected to create 859 new businesses and to create or retain 2,726 jobs. These projects address all five of the key elements of an entrepreneurial economy: > 107 projects focus on entrepreneurial education and training activities; > 135 projects provide technical and managerial assistance to firms; > 62 projects enhance access to capital and provide financial assistance to growing companies; > 81 activities support the formation of sector and entrepreneurial networks; and > 17 programs target technology transfer. activities. 6 As part of the initiative, the Commission has provided over $2 million in support to eight emerging investment funds designed to address one of the significant barriers to growth facing Appalachian entrepreneurs: the lack of risk capital. To date, these emergent Appalachian funds have leveraged ARC's support to bring over $70 million in new capital into the Region from private, philanthropic, and public sources, including the Small Business Administration's New Markets Venture Capital Program. The Commission has also continued to support youth entrepreneurship education, partnering with the U.S. Department of Education and other organizations in FY 2001 to create the Appalachian Youth Entrepreneurship Springboard Awards. This program recognizes the Region's most effective youth business-training programs and their outstanding teacher and student participants. In 2001 the ARC Entrepreneurship Initiative was selected as a semi-finalist in the Harvard University/Council for Excellence in Government's Innovations in American Government competition. EDUCATION Advancing education is crucial to economic development in Appalachia. In FY 2001, ARC funded 58 education projects that will benefit approximately 27,000 students and trainees. Over $9.5 million in ARC funds leveraged more than $22.7 million from other sources, a ratio of 2.5 state and local dollars for every ARC dollar invested. To raise the levels of educational attainment in the Region, the Commission continues its work to establish the Appalachian Higher Education Network, with centers currently operating in Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Ohio, and West Virginia. The goal of the network is to help participating high schools boost their college-going rates to the national average or higher. We are enthusiastic about the centers' impact thus far: at some participating schools, the percentage of students going on to college has nearly tripled. This past year ARC worked with PowerUP, a coalition of nonprofit, business, and government partners, to help establish 17 computer learning labs in the Region. These labs offer young people the chance to develop their skills with computers, the Internet, and educational software. They are also safe places where responsible, caring adults provide guidance and support to youth. Additionally, ARC continues to work with nonprofit organizations, foundations, for-profit cor- porations, the U.S. Department of Education, and other federal agencies to bolster education in all parts of Appalachia. CIVIC CAPACITY The Commission has continued to support efforts to build the Region's civic capacity through training programs for new and emerging leaders, technical assistance for communities, training for meeting facilitators, and organizational development and management training for commu- nity-based organizations. These activities have been undertaken with the cooperation of univer- sities, community foundations and other nonprofit organizations, and community colleges. Since building capacity is a prerequisite to achieving all of the Commission's goals, significant resources were designated to this purpose in the counties that needed it most. Using $1.1 mil- lion in distressed counties funds, ten states have initiated a variety of projects and strategies to stimulate development.in distressed counties. ARC has also continued to invest resources in the Appalachian Community Learning Project (ACLP), which was launched in 1997 to promote self-reliance among participating communities through an action- and results-oriented community improvement process. In the ACLP's first three years, 72 projects received $892,000 in mini-grants and training and leveraged another $10 million from other sources. The projects involved diverse activities, including community 7 10

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