Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

AEDC Shifts Industry Focus

Recruitment will no longer be the primary focus of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission (AEDC).

This, Barbara Pardue, executive director of the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, and the first woman to hold the position, said recently.

Instead, according to Pardue, the AEDC will focus on working with existing business and industry to help them grow. However, this doesn't mean the AEDC will stop all efforts at recruiting industry to Arkansas.

A prime area for growth, Pardue said, is knowledge based industries. These industries, she said, include bio-tech, agriculture and health care. All are good paying jobs, with many allowing the employees to telecommute.

But, she continued, a problem is Oklahoma and Tennessee are recruiting Arkansas industries, trying to entice them to relocate to their states. Some 85 percent of all new jobs created come from existing industry.

Other areas the AEDC will focus on include tourism development and retiree relocation.

The AEDC, she said, has been streamlining itself, going from 10 divisions to four teams. These teams include finance, policy and research, marketing and community development. This, Pardue said, will lead to better communication within the organization and cut the red tape somewhat.

The Arkansas Community of Excellence (ACE) program will remain a key part of the AEDC, though it, too, will change.

Pardue said industrial recruitment needs to include the planning of an entire community and is best done at the local level. The AEDC will offer any assistance it can in the recruitment process. She said expansion of local businesses and industries should also be done at home as well.

In this way, Pardue said, the ACE designation will be even more meaningful.

The AEDC will be working to education and help train local workforces, she said, as its part with the ACE program. By so doing, the ACE program will address an entire spectrum for business and industry needs.

Within its own framework, Pardue said, the AEDC is working to eliminate duplication of effort and partnering more with such entities as the Clark County Industrial Council.

Meetings such as this, she said, will get dialogue started and allow the economic development offices to be better partners with the AEDC.

In order to insure this, Pardue has added staff to the community service section of the commission.

At this time there are 97 people working with the AEDC, though the budget is funded for 123. There is currently no attorney on staff, though this will be remedied soon.

Discussing the AEDC's budget, Pardue said it was cut to $10 million in 1997, though the department is usually funded at $20 million annually.

When the Arkansas General Assembly gathers in 1999, she said, this issue will be brought up again. And, when it is, the AEDC will be asking for more funding because of the need for industrial access roads.

This is because the Arkansas State Transportation and Highway Department (ATHD) has basically dropped the construction of access roads for industry into the AEDC's lap.

The AEDC, she said, is looking for ways to change incentives and keep business and industry already in Arkansas able to compete on the global economy.

With massive changes going to occur in the state House of Representatives and Senate because of term limits. The AEDC will be needing the legislature to fund a work force development program.

In addition, Pardue said, there will be policy shifts within the AEDC and more interest in local development. The AEDC will help smaller communities with ideas, policy and research and discuss trends these areas can take advantage of.

Along with this, she said, members of the AEDC will make site visits to smaller communities. "Our role is to level the playing field for rural communities. Our job is to help with the recruitment of business and industry."

She said the AEDC will gladly help existing industry find locations within the state for any planned expansions, while helping communities plan for these site visits by industry leaders.

"We can help show off your assets," she said. "We need to do follow up and closure better."

Pardue said anything the AEDC can do to help with the expansion of business and industry in the state, it will.