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Home > Featured Stories > Innovation and Discovery > February 2009 > The Good Growth StateThe Good Growth State
My dream is that North Carolinians all over the state will see the importance of this issue and take part in our conversation.
Anita Brown-Graham, director of the Institute for Emerging Issues
North Carolina’s growth is placing great strain on its physical infrastructure, a key element for realizing sustained economic growth.
By Dave Pond, Web Communication
As new residents continue to flock to North Carolina for work, school and play, it's imperative that our leaders make unprecedented investments into our state's physical infrastructure. They can no longer stand idly by and attempt to adjust to situations in real-time – rather, our leaders must use incredible foresight to make sound decisions regarding our roads, water, energy, schools and telecommunication systems.
Even as you read this, the U.S. Senate is debating a stimulus package that has $1.5 billion slated for infrastructure funding for North Carolina. But on NC State’s campus, similar conversations began a year ago, as Emerging Issues Forum planners looked toward their 2009 event – lining up a star-studded field of political and industry leaders able to focus on our state's changing landscape and make appropriate recommendations for the future.
"I am thrilled that the Institute for Emerging Issues is focusing on infrastructure at this year's Emerging Issues Forum," said Anita Brown-Graham, director of the IEI, a public policy group housed on NC State's Centennial Campus. "We hope the forum capitalizes on the intensity of current national conversations related to the need for immediate infrastructure investments.
"However, this forum seeks to stimulate a conversation that goes beyond short-term issues of creating much-needed jobs and stimulating private investments," she said. "We want our attendees to also be engaged by larger questions of what kind of state we want to become and how we build to accommodate that vision. We also need to tackle questions of how we will pay for what we say we want."
An increasing number of attendees, coupled with the desire to offer a number of concurrent sessions, necessitated the forum's relocation from NC State's McKimmon Center – which hosted the event for 23 years – to Raleigh's larger convention center.
"This marks a bittersweet moment for the Forum – it was difficult for us to leave McKimmon," Brown-Graham said. "I think that attendees will find our seven concurrent workshops to be the jewels of the 2009 Forum – instead of a generic conversation on infrastructure, they can talk about the specific challenges for our schools, transportation, energy, water and sewer, technology and development in environmentally sensitive areas."
Tickets for this year's EIF event, highlighted by appearances by U.S. Senator Chris Dodd (who co-sponsored the National infrastructure Bank Act of 2007) and New York Times columnist David Brooks, are sold out. However, a virtual workshop and live streaming will ensure that anyone with an internet connection can participate through IEI's website. Last year, Brown-Graham said, as many people listened to the audio stream as attended the Forum in person.
"My dream is that North Carolinians all over the state will see the importance of this issue and take part in our conversation," Brown-Graham said. "By reaching people who can not be at the Raleigh Convention Center for the forum, we are able to ensure that a truly diverse set of voices are part of the conversation."
