You can survive on the Plains according to conventional wisdom but hold your aspirations and dreams in check because you certainly can’t hope to thrive in flyover country.

Yet in the next few decades the Plains states and Prairie provinces could well prove a critical asset for the entire continent.  Indeed during the current global economic crisis and even before, the Plains and Prairie region – stretching from the edge of the Arctic in Canada to Texas – has been experiencing a largely unheralded economic and social revival.

The oil and gas boom is certainly a big contributor to the region’s rising economic fortunes and ambitions.  Surely this growth comes with its challenges. But it also compels leaders in government, business and other sectors to plan and work together to take prompt action to build 21^st century communities through investments in infrastructure, transportation, community facilities, public services, workforce development and housing.

Conventional wisdom about the Great Plains states and Prairie provinces is being shattered in other unexepected ways.

The Great Plains is urbanizing, and some small and medium-sized cities enjoy the fastest job growth in the nation.  Multi-purpose hubs that serve as regional trade, government and service centers with universities or colleges are showing the strongest growth but many smaller communities in proximity to economic opportunities in energy and manufacturing are experiencing new growth too.

Agriculture is booming and becoming increasingly knowledge-intensive as tech-savvy farmers adopt precision agriculture practices and work with processors to reach high-value markets in food, fuel, fiber and pharma. A looming world population of 9 billion assures a growing long-term market for commodities and specialty products well into the future.

The Great Plains is a relatively “undiscovered” hotspot for science and technology-based development.  The region has long boosted better education scores than most coastal states. For instance, today North Dakota has the third highest percentage of college educated people under 34 of any state. There is also rapid growth of technology corridors, including around Winnipeg, the Red River Valley, Sioux Falls and in parts of the Texas prairie.

In 2010, INC. Magazine identified the Red River Valley Research Corridor as one of 20 places in the country where “great ideas are born.”  INC highlighted the Corridor’s emerging vaccine and infectious diseases industry but the Corridor is also on the leading edge in microelectronics, manned/unmanned aviation, remote sensing, farm machinery and equipment, off road vehicles, energy, agriculture, coatings and surfaces, and advanced manufacturing.

Our challenge for the future will be to build on our existing and emerging opportunities, while ensuring that the benefits accrue as broadly as possible.  This will require investments in education, training and infrastructure and the vigorous creation of networks around synergistic opportunities in agriculture, manufacturing and energy.