EDA Grant secured to help Shale Communities

Carroll County Well - Oil & Gas Symposium 5-25-12

What do you do when you’ve just been informed that you’ve won the mega-millions jackpot? You say “what?!!” and then the questions really begin to run through your mind. These are the questions that many residents, businesses and local officials are wrestling with as they experience the shale play in eastern and southern Ohio. Extension is prepared to lend a hand to address some of these questions, thanks to funding from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA). EDA funding will help support a three-year project that began in October 2013 focused on making the most of the economic upswing by leveraging manufacturing supply chain opportunities.

For an update on the progress of the grant, click here.

Project partners include:

  • Sustainable Strategic Planning Team, consisting of a multi-disciplinary group of Extension educators with expertise in community economics, energy development, sustainable community planning, community foundations and wealth management:
  • Nancy Bowen (PI): Assistant Professor and Extension Field Specialist in Community Economics
  • Eric Romich (Co-PI): Assistant Professor and Extension Field Specialist for Energy Development
  • Myra Moss (Co-PI): Associate Professor and Extension Educator, Community Development (Heart of Ohio EERA)
  • Cindy Bond (Co-PI): Assistant Professor and County Extension Educator, Community Development (Guernsey County)
  • Mike Lloyd: Assistant Professor and County Extension Educator, Community Development (Noble County)
  • David Civittolo: Associate Professor and Extension Field Specialist in Community Economics
  • Joe Bonnell: Program Director, Watershed Management, School of Environment and Natural Resources
  • Polly Loy: County Extension Educator, Family and Consumer Sciences (Belmont County)
  • Jim Bates: Assistant Professor and Extension Field Specialist, Family Wellness
  • OSU Extension Shale Working Group: Draws on Extension personnel and faculty from various departments and the Ohio Department of Natural Resources to develop accurate research-based information on shale energy exploration and drilling in Ohio.
  • Regional Economic Development Organizations:
  • Eastgate Regional Council of Governments
  • Northeast Ohio Four County Regional Planning and Development Organization
  • Ohio Mid-Eastern Governments Association
  • Buckeye Hills-Hocking Valley Regional Development District

The five core objectives of the grant are:

  • Advanced Industry Cluster Analysis
  • Industry Capacity Assessment
  • Asset Mapping
  • Sustainable Strategic Planning to Elevate and Expand CEDS
  • Develop Implementation Strategies

Submitted by Nancy Bowen-Ellzey, Assistant Professor and Extension Field Specialist, Community Economics)

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