HUNTINGTON -- History shows the United States going from the Agricultural Age to the Industrial Age to the Information Age.
The next phase is the Conceptual Age, said Jeff James, chairman of the Creative Class Work Group for Create West Virginia. This stage focuses on visualizing ways to streamline processes that create things in a cheaper, faster, better way.
"We are seeing that we value the innovation process," James said to a group that gathered at the Huntington Area Development Council office on Tuesday. "The value is in the intellectual property, not necessarily the physical nature of it."
It has changed the dynamics of the economy in a lot of ways, James said. He visited HADCO and a group of government and business representatives to talk about what Huntington should do to nurture its creative class and get some ideas.
"West Virginia has to have a strong muscle in this creative economy to thrive," he said. And Huntington has a lot of things going for it, he pointed out, not the least of which is Marshall University.
James cited some pieces of the puzzle that should be in place. First is support for research and development, and a great first step is the state's new Bucks for Brains program, which allotted millions to Marshall and West Virginia universities to recruit researchers that will turn their intellectual property into commercial developments.
West Virginia's communities also need to make sure they have an environment where these researchers would want to live. They should have a strong sense of place, plenty of technology offerings, cultural diversity and good elementary and secondary schools, as well as institutions of higher education, he said.
The state needs more entrepreneurs, both homegrown and imported, he said. The same kind of environment that will attract others to the state of West Virginia may prevent some of its college graduates from moving away. It at least could entice native West Virginians to move back, many of whom already have a desire to move back but haven't for one reason or another.
Suggestions made from others at the meeting included getting the school system involved as early as possible because schools are such a big piece of the puzzle. Cabell County school officials have already said they're receptive to ideas to incorporate into their 20-year plan, said Brandi Jones, director of administration and finance for the city.
Active community members also need to make sure they follow through, said Joe Randolph, president of the Chamber's Young Professionals Committee and branch manager of Wachovia Securities, formerly AG Edwards.
It's also important for West Virginia to start comparing itself with other states rather than where the state itself was a year ago, said Mark Bugher, president of the Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce.
"To get where we want to be, we're not going to have to do what everyone else is doing, we're going to have to do more," Bugher said.
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