About the Center
The Claflin University Economic Development Administration University Center is a collaboration between the Claflin University Entrepreneurship and Innovative Strategies Program (CUEIS) and Center for Economic Development and Regional Studies. The Center serves a seven-county region near Claflin University (Allendale, Bamberg, Barnwell, Colleton, Hampton, Jasper, and Orangeburg counties) providing technical assistance, entrepreneurial and small business support to businesses, government, entrepreneurs (students, faculty and within communities). The Center focuses on rural and underserved minority populations that are not connected to economic and business development resources and regional commercialization efforts.
Service and Technical Assistance
The Center conducts research and offers technical assistance on local and regional economic issues to promote income and employment growth in the community. The Center utilizes its expertise in applied economics to assist public and private sector leaders in understanding the factors that lead to local and regional economic growth and identify effective policies that contribute to economic growth. The primary areas of research include regional economic analysis, economic impact analysis, labor and workforce development and strategies and planning for economic development. The Center provides research to identify industry clusters as well as identify industries to help diversify the regional economies.
Entrepreneurship and Innovation
The Center will work closely with entrepreneurs to conduct research and provide technical assistance to small businesses in the region. The primary objective is to empower regional entrepreneurs to become engines for economic growth in their communities by providing a business development curriculum that will increase the knowledge for entrepreneurs on how to register and be recognize as legitimate business entities that operate in the formal economy, that will allow entrepreneurs to increase their knowledge of the how to increase capacity and growth with commercialize products and services in the domestic and global marketplace through innovation (research) and general economic development, and that will enhance the performance of entrepreneurs by increasing their critical thinking and quantitative analysis skills through applied based training. The curriculum will help entrepreneurs identify viable business opportunities and create viable business plans
Contact Information
John J. Jasina
Associate Professor of Economics
University Center Director
jjasina@claflin.edu
803-535-5208