Two of Virginia's Region 2000 Organizations Receive IEDC Excellence in Economic Development Awards

Sept. 30, 2011 - PRLog -- Two Region 2000 organizations, the Center for Advanced Engineering and Research (CAER) and the Region 2000 Technology Council, walked away with Excellence in Economic Development awards from the 2011 International Economic Development Council conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, September 20.

The Excellence in Economic Awards Program annually recognizes the world’s best economic development programs and partnerships, marketing materials, and the year’s most influential leaders.  The program honors organizations and individuals in 28 categories for their efforts in creating positive change in urban, suburban, and rural communities.

Virginia’s Region 2000 Technology Council received an IEDC Excellence in Economic Development Award for their Growing Our Own Workforce in Virginia’s Region 2000 in the category of Partnerships with Educational Institutions for communities with populations of 200,000 - 500,000.

The Region 2000 Technology Council and Central Virginia Community College have formed an ongoing dynamic partnership in an effort to cultivate a workforce appropriate to regional employers’ future needs. Since 2003, this effort has reached thousands of area youth and adults in K-20 via activities and initiatives in the “Grow Your Own Workforce” initiative, an innovative use of the career pathways model. This comprehensive workforce development strategy exists to create well-defined, regionally relevant career path pipelines with activities and opportunities, which extend from elementary school through graduate education, providing an increasingly dynamic bridge between economic development and education in Virginia’s Region 2000.

The Center for Advanced Engineering and Research (CAER) received an IEDC Excellence in Economic Development Award for their Industry-University Collaboration in R&D in the category Technology-Based Economic Development for communities with populations of 200,000 - 500,000.

The CAER is helping drive the growth and success of the region’s economy through their efforts as an industry-university collaborative science and engineering research organization that assists area companies in creating new products and processes, as well as serving to develop, recruit and retain science and engineering talent. As part of a technology-based economic development (TBED) strategy that includes STEM workforce development and related business support services, the CAER is accelerating the region’s transition to a knowledge based economy by bringing university level research and technology where it was previously lacking. This initiative includes the engagement of research faculty from R&D partners and the facilities to house the CAER’s activities, which include high technology industry clusters, such as wireless communications and nuclear energy, that will drive economic growth in the region over the next 10-20 years.

For more information on Virginia's Region 2000 Technology Council visit: http://www.techcouncil.us

For more information on the Center for Advanced Engineering and Research visit: http://www.region2000.org/the-caer.html

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A proud member of the Lynchburg, Virginia regional area's Region 2000 partnership, the Region 2000 Technology Council’s mission is to foster an environment that stimulates innovation and growth of technology-focused organizations in our community.