"Economic Stimulus"

Low income. High unemployment. Lack of opportunity.

Appalachian Ohio can be a tough place to successfully run a business.

"Sometimes the area is just not first on the list to get money, support or attention it deserves," says Tom Snyder, an Ohio State staffer who works on economic development issues in southern Ohio.

Fortunately, Ohio State has a plan: Help area businesses thrive, so that those businesses can create the jobs that give the region economic stability.

The Ohio State University South Centers, located in Piketon, operates a Business Development Network that serves small businesses and manufacturing companies. For nearly a decade, the network has helped businesses develop cooperatives. Snyder, manager of the Ohio Cooperative Development Center (OCDC), thinks cooperatives may hold the key to the area's economic success.

"I love the notion of cooperativeness--using the power of big numbers to get something done," Snyder says. "Working together can be such a great tool and can have quite a powerful positive impact on an otherwise negatively viewed situation."

"In Appalachian Ohio, as opposed to more metro areas, unemployment is higher, the average household income is lower and community structure is not always conducive to business growth. Additionally, businesses tend to be smaller so they have fewer opportunities to access resources individually," he says.

The goal is to encourage businesses that serve a common purpose to work together rather than individually, especially in communities where cooperatives would have a significant impact on economic development and where they would be more cost-efficient.

OCDC has assisted in the formation of six new cooperatives for farmers' markets, manufacturing businesses, and health care services. OCDC is funded by Ohio State University Extension, the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development.

Last year, the Business Development Network served 946 clients, investing 11,154 hours in one-on-one help. It also offered 118 training sessions, reaching 1,136 workers and business owners. The businesses the center helped created 234 new jobs, retained 319 more, and invested $6.4 million back into the local economy.

Among those businesses is the chemical company ISP Columbus, which is a member of the South Central Manufacturing Network co-op OCDC helped form.

"The South Central Manufacturing Network (SCMN) has truly benefited from the support given by the Ohio Cooperative Development Center. The staff of the center was instrumental in shaping objectives and bylaws to get the co-op off the ground and running," says Tom Markley, ISP's manager of employee relations.

"The center further assisted SCMN by sponsoring the initial healthcare seminar, assisting to procure matching training grants to support training and handling web page design to promote SCMN and to develop training curriculum. The training that ISP Columbus has been able to procure through the co-op has been outstanding, while purchased at a discount price, allowing us to stretch our training budget."

"The center has served both SCMN and ISP Columbus as a 'business partner' in the truest sense of the term."