For its series on regional economic development, Building a Region, Handshake 2.0 asked:

"To foster its regional economic development, what are the three most important traits a rural region needs to develop in order to have a chance at attracting a high-tech Global 1000 company - or two or three - to establish headquarters, a division, a product development laboratory, or a research facility in its locale?"

Joe W. Meredith, Ph.D., President of the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center, Inc. in Blacksburg, Virginia replied:

1. A sufficient talent pool to meet the needs of a large company,
2. a lower total cost of business than where they currently are,
3. facilities that enable them to be more productive at a lower cost.

Regional economic development means simply that more people are better off today than yesterday.

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