SWOT Analysis

REGIONAL WEAKNESSES

The rural counties within the Piedmont Triad are falling behind in providing public transportation services and high-speed broadband connectivity. This creates economic barriers that doesn’t allow for full workforce participation, constrains business startups, and encourages residents to move to the urbanized counties. These factors make it difficult to coordinate leadership effectiveness within the region as rural and urban counties are growing at different rates and have different struggles.

Weaknesses to Confront

    • Competition among other Regional Jurisdictions
    • Limited Public Transportation options in Urban and Rural Counties
    • Weak Broadband Connectivity and Cellular Coverage in Rural Counites
    • Supply Chain Inefficiencies with Labor and Input Shortages
    • State Budget cuts impacting K-12 Education
    • Stagnant Income Levels

Key Findings from our 2022 Regional CEDS Survey:

 

  • 58% of CEDS public survey respondents selected Public Transportation Infrastructure as a Regional Disadvantage Supported by 69% of survey respondents disagreeing to the statement “My community has sufficient public transit options”.
  • 69% of CEDS public survey respondents selected Broadband Internet access as a major improvement within the past three years. Supported by 71% of survey respondents agreeing to the statement “My community has access to high-speed internet”.