Tools & Techniques for Northeast Missouri—Building Your Region from Within

The first in a series of meetings on community development in the northeast part of Missouri was held at Culver-Stockton College in Canton, Mo., on March 9.

The theme was regionalism. Mark Drabenstott, vice president and director, Center for the Study of Rural America with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, suggested that to achieve a competitive edge at a regional level, community leaders should tap key markets, adapt essential technologies, and capitalize crucial public and private investments.

“Governance—how we think and act as a region—is critical,” he said. “This is a special role for nonprofits and institutions of higher education to play. Regional governance is the new frontier.”

In a competitive strategy, drivers include a region’s assets (what your region has going for it) and its markets. These drive entrepreneurship and innovation which lead to regional growth, Drabenstott said.

In the future, regional development strategies should look like a pyramid with entrepreneurship representing the largest portion:

Currently, the pyramid is reversed.

Drabenstott suggested that some of the critical assets that he sees in northeast Missouri include: the Mississippi River, heritage and culture, agriculture, high value cost of living (amenities, health care and housing quality).

In addition to a strategy for developing a "River of Heritage," Drabenstott offered ideas for a possible agricultural strategy that included:

• regionally branded foods,
• organic farm-to-grocer foods,
• pharmaceutical crops, and
• wine and cheese (capitalize of the hills of the Mississippi River).

He added a wild card strategy for the region—become a world class place for entrepreneurs. Drabenstott's conclusion led into a presentation by Burt Chojnowski, founder of BrainBelt Consulting in Fairfield, Iowa.

Chojnowski was named “Rural Entrepreneurial Practitioner of the Year” in 2005 by the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship and the Kauffman Foundation. He described some of the techniques used in Fairfield for creating an entrepreneurial community, such as recognition and rewards, peer mentoring and networking events, boot camps for entrepreneurs and a loan pool for downtown development.

Chojnowski indicated that there is a “BrainBelt” competitive edge in areas like northeast Missouri: low overhead, good workers and quality of life are attractive; and with the Internet and overnight delivery systems, businesses can locate anywhere.

Back to top