Economic Development

Committee:  Wally Boston

Suggested committee members from representative organizations:

            Community Colleges
            Center for Professional and Workforce Development
            Public Libraries
            Business Development

Ideas:

1. Build a website to publicize:
   a.       Committee minutes
   b.      Subcommittees and their minutes
   c.       Initiatives – technology
             i.      In education
             ii.      For businesses
   d.      Initiatives - funding
   e.       Technology efforts statewide
   
2. Committee website – professionally built
   a.       Professionally built website could be up and running in a matter of days, not weeks or months
             i.      Utilizing content management software, content could be created and added by anyone who has “ownership” of webpages,
                     eliminating IT work order requirements or programming knowledge
             ii.      “Web forms” could be utilized for surveys that council, committees, and subcommittees may wish to undertake during data gathering              phase.  Low cost software is available to tally survey results and ensure confidentiality through web.
   b.      Concept of goal of websites for all high schools in state
             i.      Website built by students through IT curriculum or IT club
             ii.      Website would maintain stats on PC’s and other technology-related stats
   c.       Eventual goal of websites for all K-12 educational institutions
   d.      Goal of websites for libraries including interlibrary lending and online reference material availability to public.
             i.      In higher ed, a number of interlibrary consortiums already exist; statewide model could be automated through web
             ii.      Automated library resources could stretch budgets and provide expanded access (one of the goals of S.B. 248) without expanding physical plant hours.
   e.       Goal of websites for businesses and technology applications
             i.      Mini-version of education
             ii.      Benchmarking applications
             iii.      Showcase “state of the art” practices with WV companies
             iv.      Link to Economic Development website
3. Community Colleges online
   a.       Evaluate synergies of offering an adult learning curriculum that could be shared among community colleges statewide
             i.      Benefit – if asynchronous, eliminates travel issues for students and expands capabilities and efficiencies of curriculum statewide (could reach an agreement that certain institutions provide instructors for programs thus leveraging capabilities).
             ii.      Benefit – reduces requirements for classroom space at CC’s.
             iii.      Benefit – offers courses to citizens in remote areas not contiguous to community colleges
4. Benchmarking
   a.       Examine “best practices” statewide and nationwide
             i.      Encourage submissions from technology proponents in existing education system by publishing on website
             ii.      Publish Council’s contact persons on website and encourage contact among states
             iii.      Identify leaders in field through research, networking, etc. and send our “experts” to visit people/programs.
   b.      Identify best practices that should become goals for programs to achieve
   
5. Funding
   a.       Website will provide ongoing evidence of statewide efforts
   b.      Programs that work in local, state, or national efforts can be shared
   c.       Coordination of grant applications can be made through data shared