Mission Statement

Guide state and national actions that affect economic development in the region and adopt joint actions among member governments that enhance the regional economy.

2010 Regional Economic Development Strategic Focusing

In the 2010 REAP Economic Development Committee work plan, the priority of the use of a comparative analysis of the regional economy, to identify its strengths and weakness and recommend action to address them, was included.  With the help of staff, the Committee has integrated their past efforts, through the 2007 Areas of Focus, and an update of the regional analysis performed by Dr. John Wong, WSU, to implement a Regional Economic Development Strategic Focusing.  The focusing will be broken into four sections, covered during the Committee's monthly meeting schedule. 

Strategic Focusing Meeting Schedule and Important Documents

General Overview: In this section of REAP's Strategic Focusing, the Committee will focus on the general, historical trends of employment, income, earnings, and wages within the region.

  • February 25

  1. Members will be presented with a general presentation on the historical trends of employment, income, earnings, and wages within the region.

  2. Members will also compare these trends with the overall general trends of the United States, the plains states, peer communities, and the State of Kansas.

  3. Presentations and Additional Documents:

  • March 25

  1. Committee members will reflect on the meaning and significance of what was presented at the February 25th meeting.

  2. Committee members will also begin developing an institutional history of economic development policies and initiatives from the past 30 years.  

  3. Additional Documents:

  • April 29

  1. Committee members will reflect on last month's discussion, and highlight its meaning and significance.

  2. Committee members will then conclude their discussion on economic development and policy initiatives.

  3. Additional Documents

  • May 27

  1. Committee members were presented with an updated presentation on economic conditions and performance indicators.  Discussion on the region's economic base will begin at the June 24th meeting.

  2. Presentations and Additional Documents

Economic Base: In this section of REAP's Strategic Focusing, the Committee will conduct an in depth analysis of the trends of key industry within the region.

  • June 24

  1. Committee members will conduct an in depth analysis of the trends of key industry in the region. 

  2.  Presentations and Additional Documents:

  •  July 22

Workforce: In this section of REAP's Strategic Focusing, the Committee will analyze the region's job gains and job losses, and compare them to national, plain states, state, and comparable peer region benchmarks. 

  • August 26

  • September 23

  • October 28 

Development Policy: In this section of REAP's Strategic Focusing, the Committee will discuss policy and develop some guiding principles for economic development in the region.

  • November 18

  • December 16