Past Projects
City of Bowling Green LUCA Project
CRD contracted with the City of Bowling Green to be its agent for the Local Update of Census Addresses (LUCA) program for the 2010 Census. CRD verified addresses and made adjustments to ensure a complete and accurate count can be obtained through the census. CRD identified and made corrections to the boundaries, roads, or other physical features and submitted digital updates using data provided by the City of Bowling Green. Additionally, CRD assisted the city with the appeals process following the US Census Bureau’s full canvassing that will be completed prior to the 2010 census.
Impact of the Creative Industries
CRD expanded its analysis of the creative industries to include the southeast and southwest regions of Ohio. The impact study allow regional comparisons of the creative industries in the footprint of the Rural Universities Program (RUP) regions across the state. The results were released in March of 2009.
Liberty Center Master Plan
CRD partnered with DGL Consulting Engineers on completing a master plan for the Village of Liberty Center in Henry County. CRD focused its efforts on assisting with the projections of housing demand and residential growth, industrial development potential and site possibilities and a description of available funding sources and financing alternatives for community investments.
WSOS Internship
The Wood, Seneca, Ottawa, and Sandusky Community Action Commission (WSOS) partnered with Bowling Green State University and CRD on development of rural transportation plans for three counties in their service area. CRD provided an intern from the MBA program that to work for WSOS twenty hours a week assisting in the development of these plans. The project was funded in part with grants from the US Department of Transportation Federal Transit Administration.
Wood County Emergency Management Agency Internship
The Wood County Emergency Management Agency (WCEMA) was seeking assistance with plan revisions and project coordination. BGSU and the CRD provided a twenty hour a week intern to WCEMA to work on revisions to the All Hazard Plan to bring the county in compliance with the National Incident Management System. Additionally, the intern worked on the Community Emergency Response Team, updated and maintained the agencies website and developed a directory for emergency management responders.
Cluster-Based Economic Development
Dr. Michael Carroll worked with Dr. Neil Reid, Associate Professor of the Department of Geography and Planning at the University of Toledo (UT), and Sue Wuest, Research Associate with the Urban Affairs Center at UT on a project on cluster-based economic development. Clusters are geographic concentrations of interconnected companies, local suppliers, infrastructure providers, educational institutions, and other relevant agencies that work closely with each other for mutual and regional benefit. Through clusters, companies (and their region) can realize higher levels of competitiveness by looking beyond the limited capacity of one single company. By strategically partnering with other companies and support institutions, the companies can address challenges and solve problems that it would be less able to address alone. Cluster-based approaches to economic development also help companies identify new market opportunities, become aware of best practices, and become more innovative.
The research team seeks to identify clusters in the Toledo area and analyze how these clusters function in the community, as well as identify potential clusters and make policy recommendations to enhance cluster growth and economic development.
Economic Impact of Greenhouse Nursery Industry
A study by Dr. Michael C. Carroll (CRD) and Dr. Mark K. Kasoff (Canadian Studies) examined the ways in which the greenhouse industry impacts the economic region of NW Ohio and Southern Ontario. Economic impact in this case is the total economic value of the industry's output; the employment in the greenhouse and related industries, salaries and wages of the greenhouse and auxiliary employment, and the value added to a product or material at each stage of its manufacture or distribution (value added). The research team anticipates that the greenhouse industry will emerge as a significant component of the Ohio economy. Other agencies involved in the research project included the University of Toledo, the Ohio State University, and the Toledo Botanical Garden. The study incorporated issues such as technology, management practices, business costs, and evaluation of sales opportunities. By establishing researchable needs of the local industry, the study can improve competitiveness, increase revenues or reduce costs through improved production technology.