Ph: 907.562.7380 Fax: 888.356.1206
Submit Your Community Projects for Southwest CEDS Update
May 2012 - As the designated economic development organization for Southwest Alaska, SWAMC develops the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for the region. As we update the strategy this year to reflect the region's opportunities and respond to changes in the economy, we also want to collect the region's community improvement projects for inclusion in this year's update. SWAMC is the Economic Development Administration's (EDA) planning partner for SW Alaska, so if your community plans to pursue EDA funds this year for a capital project, please submit your project list to us to make sure it is recognized in the CEDS as an economic development priority for the region. SWAMC staff will follow up with community leaders soon to incorporate project information into our CEDS, but we are sending out a first reminder for your community. Please try to have project information to our office by June 15. Contact SWAMC Executive Director Andy Varner with any questions.
SWAMC Seeking Broadband Advice via Online Survey
April 2012 - Thanks to a grant from USDA Rural Development, SWAMC is leading a new regional effort to stimulate increased use of the Internet by area businesses, schools, health care providers and residents. Recent investments in fiber optics, new wireless technologies and improved satellite services by a number of Internet providers create an opportunity for more effective use of technology throughout the region. We are seeking YOUR INPUT on how we can capture these new opportunities.
Recent broadband access investments in Southwest Alaska will improve regional economic development opportunities and quality of life only if organizations and residents make effective use of the new technologies. “We want to make sure that residents have good reasons to go online and that the regional economy benefits," according to Andy Varner, Executive Director of SWAMC. "We want them to be able to do business, access health care and education, and communicate with family within the region. Our local organizations have to be prepared to serve the region with these new technologies, otherwise they will lose business outside the region.” Read More
SWAMC Starting New VISTA Project Focused on STEM Activities
April 2012 - SWAMC is excited to announce that a VISTA service member will act as the STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Math) education coordinator for the Southwest region, starting in April 2012. The VISTA volunteer will focus efforts on existing partnerships for educational opportunities at the K-12 level, and investigate how broadband technologies can be used to maximize entrepreneurship and learning opportunities. Read More
Southwest Alaska: The Genuine Aquabounty
February 16-17, 2012 • Hotel Captain Cook • Anchorage, Alaska
The 2012 Southwest Alaska Economic Summit and SWAMC Membership Meeting was a great success, and we want to thank all of the attendees, sponsors, presenters, and exhibitors who helped make the event what it was. Click here to see the summary page of the conference, including information on resolutions, Board elections, presentation material, and more.
SWAMC Undertaking Asset Mapping Project
December 2011 - In mid-2011SWAMC hired an intern to undertake a new asset mapping project aimed at developing a comprehensive system of Southwest Alaska's resources, from human capital to the industrial base. Sam Tappen is an economics student at the University of Alaska and will graduate in the spring of 2012. Sam worked primarily on a new development initiative in which he will created a map and database of all assets in the Southwest region. When it reaches its full potential, the asset map will be an invaluable source of information for local leaders, businesses, and households, as well as decision-makers outside of the region. With this new tool, we will be able to leverage the region's foremost asset clusters as well as identify and understand any inefficiencies that exist in the regional network.
Southwest Alaska Fisheries Resource Allocation: A 30 Year Analysis
May 2011 - What does the fisheries landscape look like in Southwest Alaska, based on the past few 
decades of activity? Unfortunately, it is nearly impossible to adequately answer such a complex question. However, through information provided by ADF&G's Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission, we have compiled 30 years of resource allocation data to help give an understanding of the period. Aggregate data on each sub-region of Southwest Alaska has been analyzed for various resource access categories, along with the entire region as a whole. The document is quite large, so we have included links in the Table of Contents that take you to each sub-region, and each header takes you back to the Table of Contents. We invite readers to examine the document and share your thoughts with us.