October 2, 2020— The High Technology Foundation announces receipt of a United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Business Development Grant Award and a press event to be held on October 6th.
The USDA has awarded the High Technology Foundation a grant to help enhance its strategies to recruit federal operations to the I-79 Technology Park in the ongoing effort to diversify the West Virginia economy. The grant will enable the High Technology Foundation to contract with experts who will conduct a thorough analysis of the I-79 Technology Park as a location for federal operations allowing the organization to more precisely leverage its strengths and address weaknesses. The process that will be followed is often referred to as “Reverse Site Selection.” The analysis will be used to establish a “Resource & Recruitment Roadmap” that will build upon competitive strengths and identify approaches for overcoming gaps and weaknesses. This information will allow the High Technology Foundation to identify resources and refine the approach needed for following its recruitment strategy.
The High Technology Foundation leverages the I-79 Technology Park to recruit federal operations to West Virginia that provide contracting opportunities and have a technical orientation. The availability of contracting opportunities creates a “business case” giving businesses a reason to have operations in West Virginia, i.e. the opportunity to make money. Because the federal operations are technical, technology companies are attracted that provide jobs for today’s “knowledge workers,” the fastest growing segment of the national economy. This is critically important for balancing the state’s workforce demographic and raising the state away from its 50th place ranking in educational attainment – a crucial economic development factor.
“I am very grateful to the USDA for providing this grant support to our efforts,” said Jim Estep, President and CEO of the High Technology Foundation. “Never has there been a time in the state’s history that we were more in need of aggressive economic diversification efforts to stabilize and expand the state’s economic basis. The USDA has repeatedly demonstrated that it is an important resource for economic diversification and other important areas, such as broadband. I’d like to thank Kris Warner, State Director of USDA Rural Development in West Virginia, for doing an amazing job of positioning the USDA to be a critical resource to the people of West Virginia.”
A brief press event with remarks from Kris Warner and Jim Estep will be held on Tuesday, October 6th at 1:00 p.m. in the Exhibition Hall of the Robert H. Mollohan Research Center, located at 1000 Galliher Drive in the I-79 Technology Park in Fairmont. Physical distancing protocols will be enforced, and masks are required.
