SBIR-STTR Award

Rural areas have numerous investment opportunities which are overlooked. The absence of adequate data on the local e economy makes publicizing such opportunities difficult and impedes rural development. Rural counties have neither the expertise nor the funds to readily correct this problem. This project assesses the feasibility of a self-help manual for rural economic developers to provide needed data on l local economic structure. Field tests in six rural Pennsylvania counties are used to determine (a) the ability of rural development groups to collect data on local instruments; and (b) the ability and willingness of business people to provide specific linkage data on their activities.