Chamber of Commerce: Regional partnership builds on economic momentum

Improving the quality of life or creating a better place to live is a common goal among communities, counties and chambers of commerce in southwest Missouri.

The ability to manage growth is essential to creating a better place to live and work. Our region has seen a steady 2 percent annual growth rate since 1990.

But more important is the fact that the vast majority of this increase has been seen in areas outside incorporated towns. For every person locating in town, more than three are locating outside corporate limits.

Every locality has different housing, economic development and environmental goals. It is important to accommodate growth in ways that respect the environment, the economy and the community.

The challenge localities face is to develop long-term growth plans that incorporate the development trends we have experienced in the last decade, as well as those anticipated in the future. It is important that cities, counties and chambers of commerce work together to manage where, when and how development happens.

The Ozarks Regional Economic Partnership is an effort to allow community and business leaders in a 10-county area to work together and address common issues that will affect our economic growth.

The organization's purpose is to promote sustainable economic development opportunities for partner members. We live and operate in a regional economy, and our ability to work together has a direct relationship to our economic prosperity.

The partnership began with 35 members a little more than one year ago. Today, the partnership includes 53 members who represent 10 counties, 25 communities and 18 chambers of commerce. Each partner has a unique outlook on what economic development means to its particular community or organization. This diversity is what strengthens the partnership and the region.

The partnership supports regional economic development. Each community in our region has assets to offer, and it is important to assist communities in identifying and marketing their assets and how they fit into a regional economy. No one community can meet the needs of all businesses or individuals. Each community needs to identify the niche it can fill, and create a development plan that will support its objectives.

The "Economic Overview of Missouri," a recent publication from the Missouri Department of Economic Development, includes the Index of Economic Momentum, which is a composite of percentage changes in personal income, population, and employment.

The index clearly indicates that the counties in this region of southwest Missouri have the most economic momentum in Missouri.

Growth in Stone, Taney and Christian counties far outpaced the growth in other areas of the state. In addition, the remaining seven counties in this region ranked high among the index scores.

Managing this economic momentum in a way that benefits the entire area can only be accomplished by neighboring governments and organizations working together in coordination with the business community. This concept of regional cooperation is the foundation of the Ozarks Regional Economic Partnership.

This region has the economic momentum to maintain a competitive edge over other areas of the state and the nation. But this economic momentum does not come without challenges. One of these challenges is building the communication and trust among community and business leaders throughout the region.

We have come a long way over the past year in building communication and trust, not only among communities, but also within communities. This communication and trust has allowed the members to come together and jointly identify priority issues for 2001.

The No. 1 priority issue for the 2001 Regional Summit is work force challenges the availability, retention, growth and development of a quality work force.

In order to sustain our economic growth and prosperity, we must address this issue as a region.

Bringing community, business, and education leaders together is necessary to develop a comprehensive approach to address these work force needs.

The Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce is taking the lead in this effort in coordination with the partnership.

The chamber will ask community, business and education leaders to serve on a task force to address these work force challenges.

As we move into 2001, how we manage our regional growth and economic momentum will hinge on how we manage our work force challenges. But through regional cooperation and communication, we can maintain our competitive advantage that makes the Ozarks a great place to live and work.

(Allen Kunkel is the manager of regional development with the Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce.)