The Department of Community Affairs (DCA) has a Regional Representative in each of the eleven regions outside metropolitan Atlanta. With the advice and input of the Regional Advisory Councils, they work as a team to serve local governments and other community and economic development partners to:

• Identify technical and financial resources and services for community and economic development projects;

• Assist communities in the creation and implementation of rural development strategies, including the revitalization of downtowns and the development of rural workforce housing;

• Provide a broad range of technical assistance services to local governments and development organizations in meeting operational needs and opportunities;
• Facilitate multi-governmental initiatives and implementation of local and regional comprehensive plans;
• Support and assist in efforts to enhance local and regional leadership capacity; and
• Partner with local officials to generate solutions for growth management and other development concerns.

  Specific responsibilities include:

• In coordination with central office staff, assistance with the delivery of downtown development resources and facilitation of housing developments;
• At the direction of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development Board, assistance with the marketing and implementation of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development multi-day program;
• Identification of barriers and opportunities for regional collaboration in rural development.

The specific work plan of DCA regional staff is largely dependent on, and responsive to, the needs and activities of each community and region.

---

The Department of Economic Developmen (DEcD) staff are comprised of an Economic Development Representative and a Planning and Workforce Development Representative. The Planning and Workforce Development Representative:

• Technical assistance to local governments and development organizations with the implementation of the Business Retention and Expansion Process; an
  
• Works with the regional advisory councils and other partners in the regions to collaborate and facilitate the development of a state economic development strategy with a focus on workforce development;

In partnership with existing workforce development efforts, conducts regional assessments of workforce needs and create goals and strategies and establish benchmarks for evaluating workforce performance and the performance of workforce programs and ensures each region has a comprehensive, single approach to workforce development;

• Acts as an information source for business and industry on the types of programs and activities available from state and private organizations;

• Acts as DEcD's representative in communicating information, policies and actions from the advisory councils to the Commissioner and the Board of DEcD for decisions and recommendations to the Governor's Workforce Policy and Planning Council; and

• Works with DEcD's economic development representative and other regional service partners towards common development goals.

  DEcD's Economic Development Representative:

• In cooperation with local economic development organizations, establishes and implements an industry call program to help address business and industry needs with a focus on businesses with special needs including workforce needs;

• Works to strengthen DEcD's comprehensive Established Business and Industry Database;
  
• Communicates and provides assistance to DEcD project managers that will help communities prepare for prospect visits;
  
• Provides necessary follow-up to communities and project managers;
  
• Educates economic developers about Georgia's programs and business incentives and provides feedback to DEcD's policy development process;
  
• Refers expansion, export and tourism business to appropriate DEcD staff;
  
• At the direction of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development Board, assists with the marketing and implementation of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development multi-day program; and
  
• Serves as the lead in a Rapid Response Team established for crisis situations in communities with major business closings.

University of Georgia Business Outreach Services (BOS) staff work to provide a wide range of educational opportunities to small business owners, potential entrepreneurs, and community leadership organizations which support efforts to create, sustain and/or expand business ventures. These educational opportunities are delivered through direct business consulting, business training classes, and applied research studies. The BOS mission is:

• To support entrepreneurship and business expansion through the offering of direct business consulting and educational opportunities that address the human resources, management, technology, capital formation, and infrastructure needs of the business community.
• To address regional economic development needs for information by providing applied economic development research to communities and regions. This service includes the application of geographic information system technology and offers a wide range of resources for secondary research and an extensive primary research effort.
• To assist in the expansion of international trade primarily by educating new exporters who need assistance in all elements of exporting. The globalization of our economy demands that Georgia businesses take advantage of international opportunities.
• To deliver in-house managerial and employee training targeted especially to businesses which have difficulty obtaining affordable training.
• To facilitate the creation of economic development leadership groups that focus on the creation, retention, and expansion of business.
• To provide special attention to the needs of minority entrepreneurs by identifying procurement opportunities, locating sources of capital, and supporting outreach efforts of historically black colleges and universities.
• To assist existing businesses in taking advantage of state and local incentives for job creation, employee training, and other expansion efforts.

  For more information, please see http://www.sbdc.uga.edu/

---

The Georgia Institute of Technology's Economic Development Institute (EDI) staff work to provide the following types of assistance:

Assistance to Industry


• Advanced manufacturing technology and automation
• Computer selection assistance
• Cost analysis
• Energy conservation
• Environmental and safety assessments
• Equipment specification
• Facility planning and layout
• Government procurement assistance
• Hazardous waste management assistance
• Management information systems
• Manufacturing simulation
• Material and product handling
• Modern manufacturing
• Process controls
• Product costing
• Production and inventory control
• Quality control and ISO 9000
• Technical analysis and feasibility studies
• Training needs assessments

  Assistance to Communities
  

• Cooperative student programs
• Economic research
• Geographic information systems
• Labor supply analysis
• Scholarship and admissions information
• Wage rate surveys

  Access to Education
  

• continuing education courses
• customized course development and delivery
• in-plant technical and human resource training
• satellite courses for continuing education
• video-based engineering and continuing education

  For more information, please see http://www.edi.gatech.edu/