CREC is providing technical assistance and peer-based learning to assist local development districts (LDDs) in building regional collaboration to help those in recovery from substance use disorder (SUD) transition to or maintain work opportunities. With support from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and partnering with the Development District Association of Appalachia (DDAA), CREC is supporting […]

CREC provided technical assistance and generated lessons learned from the experience in local development districts (LDDs) in how to help businesses and individuals succeed in their recovery from substance abuse disorder. Providing staff support to the Development District Association of Appalachia (DDAA), CREC assisted four LDDs through a year-long process of articulating the challenge, identifying […]

CREC, worked with EntreWorks Consulting, continued their work in promoting entrepreneurial efforts in the Appalachian Region by maintaining a database of the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem, updating research on the region’s economic dynamism, and maintaining a web presence at http://arceco.creconline.org for the entrepreneurial directory and the entrepreneurial index (updated through 2017).

CREC partnered with EntreWorks Consulting and the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship to provide insight on entrepreneurial resources across Appalachia, which covers 420 counties across 13 states. The team provided a comprehensive view of the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystems by providing research findings on entrepreneurship, identifying innovation indicators, developing an inventory of entrepreneurship programs and initiatives, and […]

Under a partnership with the Appalachian Regional Commission, the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness worked with West Virginia University’s Regional Research Institute and its Bureau of Business and Economic Research to analyze the agency’s effectiveness during the past 50 years. Specifically, CREC teamed with the two other organizations to examine the significant structural and socioeconomic changes to the […]

This study, commissioned by the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC), “Appalachian Then and Now: Examining 50 Years of Changes to the Appalachian Region Since 1965” analyzes 50 years of socioeconomic trends, including poverty, income disparity, unemployment, employment change, population change, economic and industry mix, educational attainment, housing quality, health, transportation access, and telecommunications capacity in the Appalachian Region and summarizes the economic impacts accruing to the Region through ARC’s non-highway investments.

CREC, working in collaboration with the University of Illinois’ Regional Economics Applications Laboratory, developed a set of diversity measures to better understand the relationship between economic diversity and economic growth and development.

The Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC), in partnership with West Virginia University (WVU) have launched a new website that seeks to further educate the public about the significant structural and socioeconomic changes that have taken place in the U.S. Appalachian Region following the Appalachian Regional Development Act’s passage in 1965. The site specifically focuses […]