Purdue Center for Regional Development Key Activities (2013–2020): Dr. Bo Beaulieu’s Time as Director

As the Purdue Center for Regional Development celebrates its 20th anniversary, it is my distinct honor to highlight some of the key activities and initiatives we launched during the time I served as its director. These efforts would not have been undertaken and completed without the dedication and hard work of a phenomenal team of individuals who were part of the PCRD team, or the active partners with whom we worked during my tenure at the Center.

On the Move

One of the major crises we experienced was being notified that the PCRD team had to vacate our office suite in Mann Hall in 2016. The Purdue Research Foundation agreed to let us move into Schowe House on Northwestern Avenue and make it the new PCRD home. It remains the home of the Center today.

Expansion of the PCRD Team and Key Campus Partners

When I joined the PCRD team in March 2013, the number of professional and support staff stood at approximately 10 individuals. Moreover, we were the host of two Small Business Development Centers (in the North Central and Southeast regions of the state). With the growing success in capturing extramural funding, we were able to more than double the number of professional, support, and student staff working at the Center. In addition, we built a strong partnership with the Purdue Extension Community Development program, a working relationship that resulted in two of the five regional community development educators being housed in the Schowe House. It is a partnership that remains intact to this day. Finally, our ties to our two SBDCs – along with other SBDCs across the state – strengthened as we sought to work together on programs of value to our respective stakeholders.

Expanding Data Products

Data Reports
One of the areas which expanded during my time at the PCRD was the development of a host of data reports or web-based information we produced in a way that was meaningful and understandable to our local, regional, and/or state stakeholders. The following is a list of some of the more common reports we prepared:

• County Data Snapshots
• Dimensions of Poverty in the NC Region of the U.S.
• Regional Decision Maker/Industry Cluster Reports
• Broadband Access/Digital Inclusion Reports
• Understanding Your Workforce/Talent Data Snapshots
• Indiana Association of Regional Councils (IARC) Data Dashboard

Rural Indiana Stats
The major data resource we developed and expanded over the course of my PCRD directorship was the Rural Indiana Stats website. The data site has proven to be of immense value to a variety of stakeholders. Since my retirement, the PCRD team has continued to expand the variety of data variables available on the site and significantly grown its users.

Maintaining Projects & Launching New Initiatives

The PCRD, under the leadership of Sam Cordes and Vic Lechtenberg, was successful in getting selected by the US Economic Development Administration as Indiana’s EDA University Center. Our team worked hard during my time at the Center to maintain that recognition – and I am happy to say we did. The annual funds the center received from EDA, coupled with the support from the Purdue Office of Engagement and from state/federal agencies and philanthropic organizations, positioned us to undertake a number of valuable projects/initiatives. This included the excellent working relationship we maintained and strengthened with the Indiana Association of Regional Councils (IARC).

Here is a list of some of the important efforts we undertook during my tenure at the PCRD:

Federal Agencies:

• Department of Defense Manufacturing Assistance Program (with Purdue MEP)
• Intergenerational Transfer of Poverty Project (in collaboration with USDA Economic Research Service and the Purdue Department of Agricultural Economics)
• RIDGE Center for Targeted Studies: Food Assistance Grant Program (with the USDA Economic Research Service)
• Rural Economic Development Innovation (REDI) Initiative (with USDA Rural Development)
• Stronger Economies Together (with USDA Rural Development)

State Agencies, Organizations, and Institutions:

• Business Retention and Expansion Program (with Purdue Extension)
• e-strategies for Local Government and Small Businesses (funded by Purdue Extension)
• Economic Gardening (with the Indiana Office of Community & Rural Affairs)
• Hometown Collaboration Initiative (with the Indiana Office of Community & Rural Affairs)
• Indiana Hardwood Strategy Project (with the Indiana Department of Agriculture)
• Measuring Communities/Military Friendly Communities Project (with the Purdue Miliary Families Research Institute)
• Regional Stellar Communities Capacity Building Project (with the Office of Community & Rural Affairs)
• Rural Economic Development Model (with Indiana Department of Agriculture, Indiana Economic Development Association, Indiana Soybean Alliance, and the Indiana Farm Bureau).
• Rural Housing in Indiana (with the Office of Community & Rural Affairs)
• Rural Opportunity Zones Initiative (with Office of Community & Rural Affairs, Indiana Housing and Community Development Authority, & Indiana Economic Development Authority)
• The Geographic and Socioeconomic Aspects of Poverty: An Examination of the North Central region of the U.S. (with the North Central Regional Center for Rural Development, Michigan State University)

Philanthropic:

• Transforming Indiana into a Magnet for High-Tech Jobs (a Purdue/Lilly Endowment project)
• Wabash Heartland Innovation Network project (with the Lilly Foundation and multiple Purdue departments/centers)

Collectively, these activities allowed us to capture several millions of dollars in support of our work As I look back, I am proud of the impressive work the PCRD team accomplished prior to, during my tenure, and since my departure from the Center. I congratulate my colleagues at the PCRD on the Center’s 20th anniversary, and I am honored to have been a part of its work over the years.