Grand Challenge

On August 9th and 10th, Tennessee Technological University’s Stonecipher Hall hosted the first Upper Cumberland Economic Development Summit, hosted by the Tennessee Center for Rural innovation (TCRI). Regarding the summit, TCRI director Michael Aiken’s states, “The TCRI was honored to host the 2022 Inaugural Upper Cumberland Economic Development Summit. It was a great forum to share ideas, network, and most importantly, discover resources and programs that seek to transform and revitalize our rural communities.” The conference featured keynote speakers Representative Ryan Williams, U.S. congressman John Rose, and Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton.  

In addition to government leaders, the summit engaged participants to learn from community experts as they spoke on topics such as education and workforce development, business resources, rural development, funding and financing, and tourism. To continue the conversation, the Business Resource Collective (BRC), a collaboration between the TCRI, Upper Cumberland Small Business Development Center, and the Biz Foundry, held a panel session moderated by Paige McVity from Brightbridge Capital. The overarching goal of the panel was to recognize the needs of entrepreneurs and small businesses throughout the region, explain the ways the BRC addresses those needs, and ultimately cultivate awareness about BRC in economic developers, government officials, and chamber executives attending the summit.  

The BRC comments on their participation in the panel, “Entrepreneurship and small businesses are the backbone to the vitality of rural communities. Collaboratively, TCRI, TSBDC, and The Biz Foundry offer an innovative, comprehensive approach to supporting and growing businesses. Whether it is employing TN Tech student interns, providing startup-up resources, or assisting with business plans, the BRC can help entrepreneurs reach their next business goals free of cost. We were excited to participate in the panel discussion to help spread the word about our program and collaboration.” The panel discussion encouraged the summit participants to recommend the BRC to small businesses in their respective communities to continue economically and developmentally enriching our region. 

During the BRC panel discussion, conference host, TCRI, in conjunction with Rural Reimagined, also spoke on their contribution in revitalizing rural communities. TCRI maintains the primary purpose of creating companies and establishing economic development by providing technical assistance to main street entrepreneurs and businesses within the tourism, technology, innovation, retail, and agricultural sectors. The TCRI and Rural Reimagined position their efforts to directly transform rural living through science, technology, innovation, and economic development across the state’s 76 rural counties. TCRI currently has over 3,000 individuals involved and has been able to offer approximately 50,000 hours of service and volunteering.  

In addition to the $11,000,000 of previously awarded research grants, the TCRI announced that another $1 million in state appropriations have been granted to help fund the TCRI and Rural Reimagined as they continue to serve all 76 rural counties in Tennessee. Director Aikens explains, "The TCRI is thrilled to proliferate Rural Reimagined across the state. In collaboration with local, regional, and state partners, the TCRI’s technical assistance, research, and service is a catalyst for transformative change in rural, distressed, and disaster impacted communities.” TCRI facilitates technical and financial assistance through multiple avenues. The active services include the employment of TN Tech interns; the increased access to capital, loans, and investments; and the establishment of connections to university and community strategic partners such as commercialization assistance, research opportunities, grant resources, data collection, and more.  

Another focus of TCRI includes rural research which aims to create models and tools that enhance resiliency within Tennessee’s distressed and disaster impacted communities. From this research, TCRI will soon be equipped to provide free economic impact analyses using IMPAN software for rural businesses, government councils, and chambers of commerce across the state. Impact analysis is important for these entities so that they can determine their returns on investment and make data informed decisions that shape rural policy, strategy, and fiscal responsibility. 
The 2022 Economic Development Summit shed light on the readily available information and resources provided by TCRI and other community organizations. If you would like to receive TCRI assistance or be involved in TCRI’s efforts to assist and improve our TN rural communities, please visit our contact page:

https://www.tntech.edu/innovation/ruralinnovation/contact.php