December

December 26, 2010 @ 12:00 AM

BILL ROSENBERGER

The Herald-Dispatch

HUNTINGTON -- West Virginia's Vision Shared organization and its board of directors have set lofty five- and 10-year goals for the Mountain State.

The goals, which are far removed from West Virginia's standing now, include:

Leading the nation in percentage of residents who start a business.

To rank first nationally for reading and math among students in grades fourth and eighth.

To rank among the top 20 percent globally for percent of adults with at least an associate's degree.

To rank among the top 25 percent nationally in percent of workforce employed in high-tech, private-sector industries.

As of now, West Virginia lags both the regional and national averages in reading proficiency in the fourth grade and math proficiency in the eighth grade, according to Vision Shared's own 2010 performance report. The same is true in new business starts and percentage of people employed in high-tech sectors.

Nevertheless, the 2011-2014 strategic plan developed by the nonprofit economic and community development organization lists several reasons why it believes the state is positioned to reach some of the goals.

"We are home to a host of foreign companies. Our international exports are on the rise, more than doubling between 2002 and 2009, according to the International Trade Commission," the recently-released plan states. "West Virginia mines more coal than some of the top-producing countries in the world. And in today's knowledge-based economy, our research universities are pushing to increase West Virginia's global reach.

"As West Virginia enters a new decade, Vision Shared is charging into the future with a renewed sense of purpose. We are embracing our organizational history, championing our successes to date and taking the bold step of charting a new work plan for the coming years."

Vision Shared was created in 2000 as a public-private partnership. Its stated mission is to bring together business, labor, government and other diverse interests to develop ways to make West Virginia more economically competitive.

Reaching for more

Juliet Terry, president of Vision Shared, said she knows the goals set forth by the board of directors -- ones she also helped craft -- are quite lofty. But she said for too long, West Virginians have been complacent with just being OK.

"I think if Vision Shared is going to play a critical role, we need that voice to say, 'We can and will be better. We will be the best,'" Terry said.

"We have to aim high," she continued. "We can no longer aim to just meet the standards, because they aren't high enough."

Terry argues that the are enough reasons to be encouraged that the mindset of doubters will change.

For one, she said the state's economy is in pretty good shape, compared with a good number of other state economies.

"Ten years ago, if you would have said that West Virginia would have one of the best economies, no one would have believed you," Terry said.

She also said the short-term action plans, which have been developed by committee members, the board of directors and volunteers, will help keep the path toward those goals in place. Having short-term plans also allows room for adjustments, she said.

"Our goals are written so you can measure them," Terry said.

Attainable

The most attainable goals, according to Terry and Marshall University President Stephen Kopp, who sits on the board of directors, involve entrepreneurship and research and commercialization.

Kopp pointed to the state's Bucks for Brains research match program and a commitment to biotech startup companies for being able to reach those goals.

The research and commercialization goal is to bring West Virginia up to rank among the top 25 percent of the U.S. in the percentage of its workforce in private sector, high-tech industries by 2020.

"That's rising to the top," Kopp said. "I think that is a very achievable goal.

"On the entrepreneurship side, whether we become number one in they country ... by 2015 or not, isn't as important as achieving small business development and growth. If we aren't number one but move up (West Virginia was 18th in 2009) in the national ranking, that's a big step," Kopp added.

Terry said she also feels very good about those two goals, citing strides the state already has made with small business and research legislation.

"Those are the most attainable," Terry said, "frankly, because there is so much opportunity out there. This is an area where West Virginia can really blaze the trail."

Ranking first in the U.S. among fourth- and eighth-grade reading and math scores and reaching the top 20 percent internationally for the percent of adults with at least an associate's degree, both by 2020, may be a stretch, Kopp said.

"The goals that were hatched, they are very aspirational, but I think that was intentional," Kopp said. "We haven't put discrete timelines, but we do want to see measurable outcomes. You typically see this in 20-year cycles.

"We see it as a long-term transformation of the state of West Virginia," he said. "We're looking at this as long-term goals."

In the short term

Kopp asserted that the short-term action plans are critical to reaching the goals. But there are some obstacles that he said will need legislative assistance.

Among those is the goals for reading and math scores. He said the current framework for K-12 public education may not provide the best model to get there. And the 2007 scores listed in the 2010 Performance Measures Report shows West Virginia way behind the rest of the country.

Terry didn't disagree, but she said a lot could be accomplished on that front with more cooperation between the lawmakers, the West Virginia Department of Education and its state board and state executives.

"The first reaction is why it can't succeed," Terry said of all four goals. "I think we all do that. But a couple tiny things can tip the scale until change becomes the popular thing."

The short-term plans, according to the strategic plan, all include startup activities and action steps for years one, two and three.

Committees have been set up and will meet quarterly, but Terry said volunteers can still sign up.

The Workforce Development Committee will meet from 9:30 a.m. to noon Tuesday, Jan. 11, in Charleston and by conference call.

The Research and Commercialization Committee, on which Kopp will serve, will meet from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Jan. 12, in Charleston and by conference call.

The Entrepreneurship Committee will meet from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 13, at a location to be determined in north central West Virginia.

And the Education Committee will meet from 10 a.m. to noon Wednesday, Jan. 19, in Charleston and by conference call.

The committees will meet at least quarterly, and people can sign up at www.visionshared.com, or by calling 304-344-4244