A discussion of regional development presupposes an understanding of what constitutes a region. A region can be defined as a group of units, in this case, counties, which are related to each other in one or more ways. For example, they can be "homogenous", that is, "as much alike as possible throughout and different from other nearby areas.  Or they can all be tied to a central node or core area. Usually (but not always) the units are contiguous, meaning they share common borders or boundaries.

The Central Wisconsin region, defined as Portage, Wood, and Marathon counties, fits the definition of a region in all three ways. Table 1 shows socioeconomic characteristics of the extended region and the state. When the counties are organized in rank order of socioeconomic characteristics (Table 2) and of economic structures (Table 3) the similarities become obvious. The counties also have a functional core in the quad cities: Marshfield, Wisconsin Rapids, Stevens Point, and Wausau. In the 1970s Lee Sherman Dreyfus, who was governor at the time, coined the phrase Ruro-plex to describe the region. The Ruro-plex concept postulated that each of the quad cities has a unique feature which complements unique features in the other communities. Marshfield has a world class medical facility. Stevens Point is the center of higher education. Wisconsin Rapids is home to the corporate headquarters of a major player in the paper industry, and Wausau is the regional financial and commercial center. Geographically, the counties are contiguous and the major population centers are accessible through the state highway network. In addition, they share the Central Wisconsin Airport at Mosinee, the regional air transportation hub.

Each of these three central counties has other counties on its periphery, so-called ring counties, which may not share the characteristics common to Marathon, Wood, and Portage counties, but which may, due to proximity and economic ties, be interested in common regional economic development. Such is the case with Adams County, which has joined with Wood and Portage Counties in forming the Central Wisconsin Area Economic Development Council (CWAEDC).

Traditionally communities, if they have had any economic preparedness plan at all, have had a community based plan.  This is an example of "bottom up" economic development, with basic planning on the local level but no overall coordination on a higher level. The idea of regional economic development is a "top down" approach.  The objective is integrated planning, which views economic growth in any part of the region as beneficial to the region as a whole and stresses intra-regional cooperation over competition. One advantage of this approach is that a more comprehensive "marketing package" can be presented to prospective businesses and industries. By packaging the region as a whole, the marketable assets of each community complement each other forming a more complete and balanced potential location.

The process of becoming economically prepared is essentially similar on the community or the regional level. The following outline for community preparedness was designed by the Wisconsin Department of Development. It details the steps a community (or region) should take to prepare to compete in the process of attracting and retaining businesses and industries.

 

TABLE 1
Socioeconomic Characteristics of the Extended Region and State
				Earnings	Percent
				From Mfg.	Of
				As	Families
	Pop.	Percent	Medium	Percent	Below	Urban-	Farm
	Per Sq.	Capita	Family	of Total	Poverty	ization	Pop.
	Mile	Income	Income	Earnings	Line	Percent	Percent
	1980	1981	1979	1981	1979	1980	1980
Marathon	71.4	8777	20133	33.2	6.2	43.9	10.1
Portage	70.9	8561	20237	20.6	6.8	50.5	6.8
Wood	90.9	9640	20584	42.3	5.8	53.0	5.8
Adams	20.8	6131	15270	14.1	10.0	0.0	9.5
Clark	27.0	7547	15405	15.4	12.4	8.4	27.8
Jackson	16.9	7814	15352	8.0	11.1	20.4	17.0
Juneau	27.2	8466	15381	30.7	9.1	15.6	12.6
Langlade	22.9	7939	15378	21.4	10.4	43.3	9.7
Lincoln	30.0	7510	17078	39.5	6.9	49.4	6.5
Shawano	40.1	7749	16427	18.6	8.5	19.5	18.1
Taylor	11.0	8202	16641	38.1	9.3	21.4	22.4
Waupaca	56.8	8668	17738	27.3	6.7	32.6	11.0
Waushara	25.2	7149	15496	10.8	8.7	0.5	12.5
Wisconsin	86.5	10043	20915	34.6	6.3	64.2	6.0

 

Economic Preparedness

 Definition of Economic Development:

Economic Development is the process by which a community organizes and then applies its energies to the tasks of creating the type of business climate that will foster the retention and expansion of existing businesses, attract new businesses, and develop new business ventures.

Why should you be concerned about economic development?

• So that the whole community becomes more prosperous
• To generate additional tax revenue to pay for governmental services.
• To establish an environment for long-run economic vitality

How does economic growth occur?

     1. Improve the efficiency of and/or help local existing firms to expand
     2. Attract new basic employers
     3. Encourage the formation of new businesses
     4. Improve the community's ability to retain existing income
     5. Increase financial aids from broader governments

The Community Preparedness Process

I.   Organize for development

     A. Determine if there is sufficient interest
     B. Educate participants
     C. Formation of a local development corporation 

II.   Identify basic community resources

     A. Prepare a community profile
     B. Gather site and building data
     C. Survey existing businesses to get information on community's strengths and       weaknesses, possible business expansions, and on businesses who may leave or are having problems

III.   Prepare a Community Analysis

     A. Objective - Identify the community's strengths and weaknesses in the following areas

          1. Physical capabilities:
              a. utility capacities
              b. transportation systems
              c. local labor force characteristics

         2. Programmatic capabilities:
             a. existing business base analysis
             b. available government services
             c. specific inhibitors to development
             d. employee/manager training programs

         3.Financial capabilities:
             a. tax information and comparisons
             b. available incentives for development 
             c. Banking capability and/or capacity 

         4.Quality of life availability:
             a. housing price and type/condition
             b. overall community appearance
             c. quality of education
             d. recreation and arts
             e. health care 

     B. Community Economic Preparedness Index

    Clarify the major issues, opportunities, strengths, and weaknesses of your community

    1. What specific community assets match some of the needs of various industrial sectors
    2. What types of industry does the community want?
    3. What are the strengths and weaknesses of your community's facilities/services?  How will they affect specific industrial sectors?
   4. What are the community's development strengths and weaknesses discovered in the community analysis? What must be worked on for economic growth to occur? What are your unique strengths? Which of the five basic economic growth options are priorities for the economic future of your community?
      a. improving the efficiency of and/or helping existing firms to expand
      b. attracting new basic employers
      c. encouraging the formation of new businesses
      d. improving the community's ability to retain existing income 

IV.               Development of a Long-Range Plan and Strategies 

            A. Development of long-range goals and objectives (four areas)
                
                 1. Values (efficiency and equity)
                 2. Goals (short and long term)
                 3. Resources (internal and external)
                 4. Opportunities for action (compare opportunities vs. costs)

           B. Develop a Detailed Economic Development Action Plan to Achieve the above Goals. Examples include:

                 1. Industrial retention program
                 2. Targeted marketing and promotion program
                 3. Quality of life/ image improvement
                 4. Recreation/ tourism development
                 5. Industrial park program
                 6. Infrastructure projects
                 7. Housing development

          C. Evaluate and Select an Ongoing Economic Development Organizational Structure

                1. Profit/nonprofit
                2. Public/private
                3. Volunteer only
                4. Local or regional 

          D. Design a One-Year Work Plan

                1. Identify individual objective/projects
                2. Identify tasks and time lines
                3. Clarify participants' roles and responsibilities
                4. Obtain local endorsement of support

V.                 Evaluate Community Preparedness Efforts

          A. Evaluate, annually, what you have accomplished
          B. Design a new annual plan every year
          C. Review/revise your community analysis every two years

Community Preparedness is a Continuous ~ Never a Static Process

 

Regional Economic Preparedness - A Central Wisconsin Approach

In 1984 Central Wisconsin made a bid for the General Motors "Saturn" project. Since data were maintained only at the local level, it was not possible to put together the regional "marketing package" that would have been required to make Central Wisconsin a serious contender for a project of that size in the time available. Although the bid was unsuccessful, one very positive spillover resulted from the experience. Area business and community leaders recognized the need for a coordinated economic development effort on a regional level and conceived the idea for the Central Wisconsin Area Economic Development Council (CWAEDC).

Organizations already exist for marketing Wisconsin to businesses and industries outside the state (Forward Wisconsin), for marketing and retaining existing businesses within the state (Wisconsin 000), and for marketing individual communities, but there is often an empty niche on the regional level. Two catalysts for the actual creation of the CWAEDC were the plant closings in the region and Forward Wisconsin's regional marketing meetings. Both compelled and encouraged public officials, educators, and economic development professionals in Wood, Portage and Adams counties to discuss the need for an umbrella organization to market the region.

One objective of both the Wisconsin Department of Development and Forward Wisconsin is to encourage regional economic preparedness. The two organizations, functioning jointly, facilitated the initial meeting of what was to become the CWAEDC. Discussion of the objectives of the group was lively, but the consensus of the participants was to avoid creating one more organization which would duplicate services available through existing agencies. In December 1988, an application was submitted to the Office of the Secretary of State of Wisconsin to file the Articles of Incorporation for the Central Wisconsin Area Economic Development Council under Chapter 181 - the Wisconsin Nonstock Corporation Law. The goal of the CWAEDC is to advance the economy of Central Wisconsin through the promotion of educational development activities. The objectives are: (1) to educate new and existing businesses on the benefits of working in Central Wisconsin, (2) to combine resources of individual communities and organizations to develop a strong, viable, and unified educational program designed to attract new business and industry to the region, and (3) to coordinate area-wide educational efforts to assist, retain and expand existing businesses.

Any person representing a business organization, governmental unit, or who has a personal interest in economic development is eligible to join the Council. Three standing committees have been formed: (1) the Marketing Committee, (2) the Data Base Committee, and (3) the Membership Committee. Additional ad hoc committees may be appointed for special purposes.

Responsibilities of the Marketing Committee include developing and distributing educational and promotional materials, advertising and marketing Central Wisconsin, assisting communities with industrial relocation visits, and visiting prospective clients operating outside of the Central Wisconsin Area. The Data Base Committee will identify and maintain community statistical information needed to support an economic development program for Central Wisconsin. This will include the design of a data structure and the implementation of input and retrieval systems. The Membership Committee is responsible for soliciting and maintaining council membership from all segments of the region's economic base.

An excellent response to a major membership drive and a grant application submitted to Forward Wisconsin should assure that sufficient funding will be available for first year operations.

It is important to remember that a little over a year ago, all three counties were more or less "going it alone". Now there is an organization in place which can provide continuous new and updated information to serve as a basis for regional economic development planning.

 

Community Economic Preparedness Assistance Resources

Wisconsin Public Service Corporation
P.O. Box 19001
Green Bay, WI 54307-9001
(414) 433-1627

ANR Pipeline Company
30 West Mifflin Street
Suite 502
Madison, WI  53703
(608) 258-8077

 North Central Regional Planning Commission
407 Grant Street
Wausau, WI 54401
(715) 845-4208

Central Wisconsin Business Development Center
University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point
Stevens Point, WI 54481
(715) 346-2004

Wisconsin Department of Development
123 West Washington Avenue
P.O. Box 7970
Madison, WI 53707
(608) 266-9884

Forward Wisconsin
11270 West Park Place
Suite 550
Milwaukee, WI  53224

REFERENCES

Hugh O. Norris, Regional Economics (New York:  McGraw Hill, 1968), 130.