| SERVICES | LIBRARY | MISSION | ALLIANCES | NEWSLETTER | SUBSCRIBE | CONTACT US | RETDS | HOME |
| Services Baseline Conditions Report Community Development Workshop Emergency Planning Workforce Analysis Manufacturing Assistance Tourism Strategy Development Community Branding/Tourism Marketing and Promotion Fundraising The Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) serves as a catalyst for economic growth. Businesses of all sizes benefit from TEEX’s focus on the industrial supply chain, emergency planning and manufacturing assistance. TEEX helps companies upgrade their workforce, streamline processes and improve operations to become lean enterprises that can compete in the global marketplace. Market research identifies new opportunities for existing products and the development of new products with existing capacity. Additionally, technology transfer moves innovative ideas and research from the laboratory shelf to the marketplace by facilitating the adoption, use and commercialization of research and technology. TEEX fosters community economic development through workforce analysis, technical assistance and economic development training, helping cities establish a targeted plan for recruitment and business growth. TEEX supports communities seeking to broaden their economic base through development and implementation of strong tourism strategies and enterprises. TEEX also provides information technology resources and expertise in customizable instructional design, e-learning and Web applications. Following is a listing of some of the specific services provided
through TEEX Technology and Economic Development Division. For additional
information on these or other areas of support, please contact us.
The Baseline Conditions Report provides a community snapshot, showing
a community where it stands economically through four distinct components,
including demographics, income statistics, industrial profile and
an audit of infrastructure, financial vitality and other characteristics.
The baseline, which takes four to six weeks to complete, also gives
a foundation from which to build an economic development plan and
industrial recruitment strategy for the future. Community Development Workshop The community development workshop is designed to document the community’s perceived strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats to prosperity. Through the workshop, we capture dreams, aspirations, fears, and concerns of community representatives, using the voice of residents and leaders alike to describe a vision for community development and economic prosperity. During the workshop, we facilitate community representatives’ identification and prioritization of projects, functions and tasks that must be completed to realize the vision. The Community Development Workshop is an ideal tool for creating
consensus among entities with divergent views and values and establishing
a direction for economic development activities. Participants are
educated about relevant trends in community and economic development,
and are guided through the process of identifying and prioritizing
strategies and projects that will maximize opportunities for development
success. The workshop provides a venue for voicing of issues and
aspirations and empowers the community to establish their own vision
for and definition of prosperity. Following the workshop, the community
will receive a report with recommended community development strategy
including a prioritized ranking of projects to be performed and
estimated budget. The Community Development Workshop and resulting
report are generally completed within 45-60 days. Technical assistance is available to communities and is focused
on planning for jurisdictions, agencies, companies and other organizations.
Emergency planning includes four phases of emergency management:
prevention, preparedness, response and recovery. TEEX employs a
model that provides a structured ‘rapid prototyping’ approach
to designing, developing and deploying customized technical assistance.
Technical assistance is provided in facilitated, hands-on workshop
format tailored to the needs of the customer. A workforce analysis documents the local labor market and occupational
skills pool in a community. It compares local data with regional
and statewide statistics, studies a community’s employment
trends, analyzes local skills and wages, and profiles the strengths
and weaknesses of the local labor market. The cost and duration
for a workforce analysis is determined on a project-by-project basis.
A manufacturing assessment identifies areas in manufacturing operations
that can be improved through the implementation of lean manufacturing
concepts that reduce typical waste in production operations. Assistance
in the development of Quality Management Systems in support of ISO
9001-2000 certification initiatives is available. Many communities are turning to tourism as a strategy for diversifying
their economic base. Experiential tourism in particular, including
nature, historical, cultural and recreational activities, can help
diversify a community’s economy while enhancing the region’s
vitality and quality of life. Tourism Strategy Development includes
inventory and assessment of tourism assets, profiling of current
and prospective visitors, surveying of residents’ attitudes,
and development of defined development goals. Communities receive
a report documenting best developmental opportunities for creating
or enhancing tourism opportunities as well as recommended approaches
and budgets for bringing opportunities to fruition. Community Branding/Tourism Marketing and Promotion Establishing a community brand and implementing that brand across
all aspects of the community creates a unique identity and experience
for residents and visitors alike. A strong brand captures the culture
and personality of a place and leverages these in a way that provides
prospective businesses and visitors with a sense of place before
they visit and reinforces the community’s culture and values
throughout the entire stay. Branding is accomplished first by assessing
the promotional strengths of a community – it’s culture,
experiences, heritage and personality – and representing that
through the community logo, marketing messages (often captured in
a tag line), design of web sites and promotional materials, and
ultimately through consistent experiences at local accommodations,
restaurants, shops and attractions. TEEX offers marketing and brand
development services, from development of an identity package (logo,
business card, web presence) to a defined approach to extending
the brand to all aspects of the community’s tourism and business
offerings. Many small, underserved communities struggle to identify and acquire
the resources to implement sustainable community, economic and tourism
development strategies. TEEX will work with communities to identify
funding resources, provide proposal development support and devise
entrepreneurial strategies for bringing funds in to the community.
|
