Publication: CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL
Published: 01/29/2004
Page: 4A
Headline: EXECUTING THE FUNDAMENTALS, THE STATE IS GETTING BETTER AT GROWTH-BUILDERS
Byline: DAVE PEYTON, DAILY MAIL COLUMNIST

WHEN you mine the data in a new report from the West Virginia Development Office, you find that all is not lost. There is some progress in the state and, while it may not be apparent, it's there amidst many setbacks.

The report, second in an annual series, assesses the state's progress in achieving the goals of "West Virginia: A Vision Shared," an economic development plan released in December 2000.

The plan is to build the state's competitiveness in intellectual infrastructure, the new economy, results-based government and building bridges and empowering citizens.

The state is compared to national and regional averages. In most cases the region consists of Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee and Indiana.

West Virginia gets a gold star in the most recent report year in tourist visitations, which is "the aggregate measure of the volume of tourist business in the state."

"West Virginia fared well in growth in total tourist visits between 2001 and 2002, with growth exceeding 8.6 percent," the report says. That compares to 1.3 percent for the U.S.

Why the spectacular growth?

"Various explanations have been offered for this, mostly relating to vacationers' desire to avoid large urban areas, traditional tourism centers and airline flights (opting to drive instead to non-traditional locations within a day's drive) for security reasons."

Industry financial support and sponsoring of academic research and development was another bright spot. This activity is "a key measure of the degree of technology transfer and industry innovation within an area economy," according to the report.

West Virginia lagged behind the United States and the region on this measure during three of the four years between 1994 and 1997 at about 6 percent of the academic research and development expenditures compared to 7 percent and 8 percent for the nation and region respectively.

But from 1998 on, the state rate accelerated to lead both the region and the nation at 10.4 percent.

The recession caused a fall-off in all three sectors in 2001. The state's decline was steep "but it still managed to outperform the nation and match the region (8.3 percent vs. 6.8 percent and 8.3 percent respectively)," according to the report.

Federal obligations for research and development activity in the state grew significantly during the 90s, the report says. It increased from $114 million or 0.41 percent of the Gross State Product in 1990 to $235 million or 0.58 percent of the Gross State Product in 2000.

More recent data indicates that the federal R&D obligation to the state "spiked upward to 0.83 percent in 2001, surpassing the national average of 0.77 percent and closing to within 79 percent of the regional average of 1.05 percent."

The Industries of the Future Program is another bright spot in the state. Those projects are "bricks and mortar or research projects designed to develop and demonstrate new and innovative energy efficiency technologies. . . . The number of partners participating in state projects per 1,000 manufacturing workers was 0.56 for the (most recent) 4-year period, an increase from 0.20 in the previous three-year period and nine times the national average of 0.06."

And when it comes to the West Virginia employers and employees receiving customized training courses, the number of courses quadrupled in a one-year period. In academic year 2000-2001, the number of courses was 295. In academic year 2001-2002, the number increased fourfold to 1,312, and the number of enrollees increased from 8,613 to 18,583, according to the report.

"This is largely a result of the legislature's decision to refocus the community college mission on workforce development, the revamping of the State Workforce Investment Office and its placement within the Development Office," the report says.

While some of these stats may seem arcane, they matter, and in time, there'll be a payoff in jobs and economic development.

Peyton may be reached at 522-0179 or dpeyton@davepeyton.com.