New report highlights “a way forward” for South

Nov 17, 2011

A new 220-page report highlights how far the American South has come over the last 25 years, but how far it still has to go. The report, “A Way Forward: Building a Globally Competitive South” from the Global Research Institute at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, includes 39 essays from thinkers across the region, including Center for a Better South President Andy Brack. [download hi-res PDF | download lo-res PDF]

Contributors provided short essays on subjects as wide-ranging as the South’s economic history and ways to grow a competitive educational system to innovation, changing demographics and visions for the future. From the conclusion:

‘It’s time to roll up our sleeves’ is a good way of summing up the most compelling conclusion our contributors have reached. The public and private sectors must come together to create a pro-growth economic agenda and to support policies and programs that help all people acquire the knowledge and skills needed to earn a living, whether by means of entrepreneurial self-employment or by working for someone else in the formal sector of the economy. … Learning to work smarter is the only solution. …

We must invest in learning opportunities, from preschools to universities to job training programs. The federal government; the public, private and nonprofit sectors; and philanthropy all have a role in securing this future. If our leaders, Republicans and Democrats alike, work together to build a shared agenda conducive to economic growth, if they continue to invest in avenues for building human capital, and if our fellow citizens remain flexible in their skill sets and willing to secure new skills and make adjustments when necessary, North Carolina and the American South can prepare the adaptable globally ready students and workers who will be in demand tomorrow.

Better South’s contribution

Brack offered a four-page essay that focused on ways that the South could move toward progress. He suggested five strategies in “Getting Past Our Civil War Hangover and Moving toward Real Southern Progress:”

Better education: Leaders and the public need to better understand implications of policy alternatives.

Better communications: Leaders need to use a full array of communications tools to highlight why their positions are important and smart, not fall into the same ideological traps as in the past.

Build coalitions: Future policymakers need to cobble like-minded people to build issue-based coalitions to be successful in pushing progress.

Better organizing: Tomorrow’s leaders need to organize where people are, not use worn methods of the past.

Better use of issues: Pragmatic leaders need to focus on mainstream issues that bring people together, not issues guaranteed to cause conflict. Examples of “agreeable” issues: tax reform, energy efficiency, reducing violence, boosting wellness and nurturing the economy through better education.

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