BEACON planning regional information base

SALISBURY, MD ---An automated regional information base is being developed for the lower Eastern Shore by the Business, Economic and Community Outreach Network (BEACON), affiliated with the Perdue School of Business at Salisbury University. This information base will serve as a critical tool for area planners and decision makers, providing a Web-based, one-stop source for regional economic, workforce and community development information, including vital in-depth analysis of local trends.

"Good planning requires good information," said Ruth Baker, BEACON's managing director. "However, our region currently has no centralized, searchable repository for the kind of information that is critical to planning, such as regionally relevant industry and labor statistics, socio-economic indicators and trend forecasting. This results in missed opportunities and difficulty in advocating at the state level for the Eastern Shore's unique needs."

With financial assistance from the Wicomico Partnership for Families and Children, BEACON has developed a prototype of the regional information base. It incorporates mapping technology into a tool that enables county or topic searches and county-by-county comparisons.

"The lower Eastern Shore is a unique area, whose needs are not always well understood at the state level," said BEACON Director Memo Diriker. "This tool will help local decision makers be proactive, rather than reactive, in developing the region's true potential for economic prosperity and quality of life."

For more information on the regional information base contact BEACON at 410-548-5353 or beacon@salisbury.edu.