Project Context and Significance

At the public meeting on January 14, Diane Cherry of the Institute for Emerging Issues described both the context and significance of the ongoing project to strengthen the regional creative economy of Anson and Stanly Counties.

Project context

• There are three distinct partners in this project—the Institute for Emerging Issues (IEI), a public policy organization at N.C. State University; Regional Technology Strategies (RTS), a non-profit economic development organization in Carrboro; and North Carolina State University Cooperative Extension. Each brings a unique perspective and skill to the project. (Of course, the citizens of Anson and Stanly Counties also are a partner—in fact, the most important partner.)

• IEI has experience with running a statewide program on creativity and facilitating community conversation around building a creative culture. RTS has developed and mapped the creative assets for states such as Kentucky, Arkansas and North Dakota.  Finally, Cooperative Extension has experience working with residents in counties all across North Carolina on issues within their communities.

• This project is funded by the N.C. Rural Economic Development Center and both the community-based process and results will be used to help train other counties in North Carolina. Cooperative Extension has an important role in serving as the trainer for others.

Why should a community undertake a discussion on creativity?

• First, creative workers represent 5.5 percent of North Carolina’s workforce and these jobs are more resilient and not as likely to be outsourced or automated.

• Creative job growth in North Carolina far outpaced total employment increases for the state as a whole from 2002 through 2008 (21.1 percent vs. 13.3 percent), our most recent period of economic growth. Within the state, creative employment increased more than the state average in all areas of the state, often at substantially higher rates.

• North Carolina’s creative occupations shed jobs at a much slower rate compared to all jobs during the current recession (2.4 percent loss compared to -4.4 percent from 2008 to 2009).

• Creative occupations are located across the state, although more heavily concentrated in North Carolina’s 40 metropolitan counties.

• Creative industries represent arts and culture, design and technology. The packet includes a handout on how to define creativity and a more specific breakdown of creative industries.

• The meeting today will be the first step to learn about the creative assets within the Anson-Stanly county region. Once you define the assets you have, the community will then need to decide what strategies should be employed to build on those assets. These strategies may look different from region to region.