Strategic Plan
Regional economic development partnerships, which are collaborative arrangements among communities and counties, allow their members to combine their individually attractive attributes together as they seek new business investments. These partnerships allow their members the opportunity to provide companies seeking a new location with the kinds of advantages they would find in larger areas, such as a collective workforce and opportunities for financial incentives, while at the same time, enticing companies with small-town advantages, such as responsive and personal interactions with local decision-makers, lower costs of doing business, and lower costs of living. Prospects find regional partnerships attractive because companies are looking for cohesive communities where the localities work well across jurisdictional lines.
One of the key components of Governor Mike Beebe’s 2009 Strategic Plan for Economic Development is the transition to regionally-based economic development. Many rural Arkansas communities have declining populations and do not have the infrastructure to compete in the global marketplace of today. A regional approach will allow all communities in the region to compete and prosper.
The Crossroads region is already ahead of the game with the formation of the Crossroads Coalition in 2005, an organization that promotes broad-based economic development in a 10-county region in Eastern Arkansas. The 10 counties include: Crittenden, Cross, Jackson, Lee, Mississippi, Monroe, Phillips, Poinsett, St. Francis and Woodruff.
In 2008, the Crossroads Coalition hired its first Executive Director to lead the region’s economic development efforts. In addition to the Executive Director, the Crossroads Coalition organizational structure includes a board of directors, a foundation, the Technology Center of the Delta, and a Pillar Group for each area of development targeted by the Coalition. The Technology Center of the Delta, which opened in August 2006, represents a partnership between the Cross County Economic Development Commission and the University of Arkansas.
The Crossroads Coalition engaged Boyette Levy to develop a Strategic Blueprint (Blueprint) focused on enhancing current efforts to attract jobs and promote the 10-county region as a business location. The development of the Blueprint involved:
- Conducting an assessment of the region and its assets related to economic development;
- Identifying or confirming targeted industry sectors or opportunities for the region;
- Developing strategic recommendations for the Crossroads Coalition to attract and develop such sectors;
- Developing strategic communications and marketing recommendations to positively impact the perception of the community among key target audiences
- Establishing performance measures related to the visions, goals and objectives of the Blueprint.