Blueprint, economic study released for Delta Technology Education Center

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Economic study, blueprint to provide roadmap for Delta Technology Education Center in Dumas
‘DTEC in Action Blueprint of the 21^st Century’ available at DTEC

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DUMAS, Ark. -- A roadmap to help the Delta Technology Education Center in Dumas realize its full potential is now available, said Mark Peterson, professor-Community and Economic Development with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.

The roadmap, the “DTEC in Action Blueprint for the 21^st Century,” and a recent economic study of DTEC’s service area, were both funded by the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation and the Arkansas Science and Technology Authority. The Blueprint for the 21^st Century is a strategic plan that was developed by the DTEC in Action Steering Committee, a broad-based group of community leaders in the DTEC service area, with assistance from the Breakthrough Solutions program of the Cooperative Extension Service, part of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture. The blueprint is available at the DTEC in Dumas, or at www.uaex.uada.edu/publications/pdf/ced400.pdf.

“You have given us the information and tools we need for DTEC to take DTEC to the next level, to be proactive in seeking to promote education, workforce preparation, and economic development for the area,” said David Rainey, chairman of the Delta Technology Education Center board.

“Three key insights emerged from this process,” Peterson said.

First, “DTEC is moving from being a workforce education center to also becoming a valuable community center that can pipe in resources from throughout the state and nation to address critical issues and opportunities facing the DTEC service area,” he said.

“Secondly, DTEC is becoming a center with measurable results,” Peterson said. “ The DTEC board and staff are evaluating its current services, and has established a set of indicators to measure results and impact.”

“Thirdly, DTEC is moving from reactive to being proactive, based on an economic study just completed by Terre McLendon, Director of Community and Industrial Studies at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock’s Institute for Economic Advancement,” Peterson said. “The Institute examined the economy of the five counties in southeast Arkansas, and compared it with economic sectors in our nation that are growing and those losing jobs.”

McLendon said that “the study provides the DTEC board with the information they need to focus their efforts in workforce preparation and economic development where the opportunities are greatest.” The study, “Markets for DTEC Sustainability: Growth Industries and Occupations” is available here: http://www.aiea.ualr.edu/resourceslinks-101/library/publications.html#fourteen.

DTEC will also be more proactive in marketing its services. The UALR Small Business Technology and Development Center is assisting the DTEC staff with revamping its website, and Entergy Teamwork Arkansas is funding the development of a new logo and tagline.

“People get anxious because we all want something to happen yesterday, and we forget that those folks who are successful have gone through a process,” Rainey said. “As we have some additional successes, and tell our story, people who are courageous enough to try this will want to get into a learning mode, and seek assistance.”

For more information about community development Arkansas, visit our newly revamped site at www.uaex.uada.edu, or contact your county extension office.

The Cooperative Extension Service is part of the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and offers its programs to all eligible persons regardless of race, color, national origin, religion, gender, age, disability, marital or veteran status, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

By The Cooperative Extension Service
U of A System Division of Agriculture

Media Contact: Mary Hightower
Dir. of Communication Services
U of A Division of Agriculture
Cooperative Extension Service
(501) 671-2126
mhightower@uada.edu

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