Regional LEading Edge Practices (LEEP)


Note that the data is in an Excel 2007 format that can be searched easily by ‘Geography’ or ‘Focus of the Organization’. Searching is done through the 'Filter' capability of Excel. Examples included in the ‘Best Ways to Search’ document should provide a brief tutorial for those with a working knowledge of Excel. If more help is needed, there are many resources available on the web or you can contact Peggy Hosea at phosea@purdue.edu.

Dear Colleague:

Would you find it useful to have ready access to information, success stories, challenges and opportunities from dozens of regional efforts across the country that give you insights about "what works" in regional development?

We believe that the best way to learn about regional development is from other professionals doing regional development.

In that spirit, and with support from the EDA Regional Office in Chicago, we are developing an information and virtual networking hub for regional development. The National Association of Development Organizations (NADO),Transformative Regional Engagement (TRE) and the Rural Regional Innovation Initiative of the Rural Policy Research Institute (RUPRI) are also supporting and encouraging our efforts.

Our initial product is a searchable Excel database with information from approximately 1400 regional organizations. The file includes a brief description of each regional organization, the counties within each region, and contact information.

With your help and insights, we plan to incubate and evolve our initial work. We see a wide range of learning and networking opportunities that could strengthen your organization and organizations like yours.

For example, we are now making plans to generate and feature a few case studies of regional organizations that are on "the leading edge" of innovative regional initiatives. We intend to highlight these leading edge practices on our website and organize webinars to share insights.

We are asking for your help in incubating this effort. Would you please take a moment to do the following?

  1. Review the database and (a) send us information about other regional organizations that should be included and (b) let us know if you have suggestions on how to make the searchable database more “user-friendly”.
  2. Nominate specific regional organizations or efforts you think should be featured in our case studies of "leading edge" practices. Let us know why their work is interesting to you.
  3. Suggest organizations in addition to EDA, NADO, TRE and RUPRI that might want to partner and cooperate with us on this venture.
  4. Share with us any other ideas or suggestions you have that would make our evolving information and networking hub valuable to you and your organization.

Please respond to any (or all) of the above four items by simply emailing us. Send your comments to Peggy Hosea at phosea@purdue.edu.

As regional development and regional innovation continue to gain momentum, our goal is to provide useful tools and learning opportunities to help support this movement and to help accelerate regional development and innovation.

We look forward to your participation and your thoughts, comments and suggestions; and we will continue to keep you informed and involved as our work moves forward.

Thank you for your help and assistance in this important initiative.

Sam Cordes
Co-Director, Center for Regional Development
Associate Vice Provost for Engagement
Purdue University