Enhancing Your Center's Visibility, Outreach and Research:

1. Enhancing Your Center's Visibility, Outreach and Research: Turnkey Applications and Tales from REAP Users Using REAP Regional Analysis Subscriptionsto Promote Your Center Clifford A Lipscomb, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Economic and Director Center for Business and Economic Research Valdosta State University

2. The Problem • Smaller AUBER centers are especially limited in their capacity to initiate and undertake applied research (relatively small staffs and small budgets). • Larger AUBER centers could make better use of scarce limited resources if they could access and use web-based tools for performing regional economic analysis. •  AUBER Directors and Staff receive far more requests for analysis and presentations than their resources will allow. •  The use of traditional analytical models to process, analyze and present regional data takes time, resources and expertise.

3. The Problem (Continued) • AUBER Directors receive many requests from constituencies to the effect of: • “Where can I find it?” • "How can I compare it?“ • "How important is _____ to our economy?“ • "How has the sector changed over the decade?“ • "Where are the high (low) income areas of the region?"

4. A Possible Solution(esp for smaller research centers) • Spend money on advertising (problem: 25% budget cuts from state appropriations in Georgia this year with more cuts pending) • Soliciting speaking engagements for anyone who will listen • It takes time! • WILL SPEAK FOR FOOD! • New website and brochures mailed to local government agencies (Chambers of Commerce, economic development authorities, and industrial authorities) and private businesses •  Produce some free analyses (quarterly Cost of Living Index articles and summaries of business indicators and forecast) •  Get local sponsors of some of your data products/analyses (e.g. real estate market summary) • New data product – the Georgia Regional Economic Analysis Project!

5. GA-REAP Goals • To provide our constituencies with a source of credible data and sound analysis that is user-friendly and readily accessible to the public at large. • To minimize the Center’s data collection efforts (turnkey county, regional and state-level analysis capabilities for publication and electronic distribution). • To raise the CBER’s visibility on the web. • To broaden our constituents’ understanding of regional economic conditions and trends against the backdrop of an ever-changing national economy. • To use sophisticated web-enabled technologies to expedite the delivery, portrayal, and interpretation of regional economic data and analysis.

6. What is GA-REAP? • An interactive web-based regional economic analysis project that processes BEA state and county level data for all 159 counties in Georgia, providing the user with “ready to print” analytic modules. • Modules include both graphical analysis and customized explanatory text. • GA-REAP now can compare two regions directly (counties or MSAs) • Internet address is http://www.pnreap.org/Georgia/ • New BETA site: http://georgia.reaproject.org/

7. Results of being the state of Georgia host for GA-REAP: • More phone calls • More internet hits on the GA-REAP and VSU CBER websites (500 hits in the first 5 months) • More visibility

8. For more information: CBER Director Clifford A. Lipscomb, Ph.D. Center for Business & Economic Research Harley Langdale Jr., College of Business Administration Valdosta State University Phone: (229) 245-3774 Email: calipscomb@valdosta.edu