Business View Civil and Municipal | Volume 3, Issue 3

77 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 3, ISSUE 3 COLORADO OFF I CE OF ECONOMI C DEVELOPMENT AND INTERNAT IONAL TRADE horizon. One new program that is about to launch is one to provide capital to businesses to start up or re-start.” BVM: Are rural communities an important focus, as well? Kraft: “Absolutely. We have a series of business support programs that focus on economic development in rural Colorado. We received grants from the Federal Economic Development Administration to administer rural road mapping, planning and capacity building. A key topic in rural communities right now is, how do you build diversity and resiliency? Since the 1980s, the Front Range of Colorado – Denver and its urban core – has focused on not being subject to a single industry. But our state’s rural areas are often dependent on a single industry, like tourism, agriculture or even extractive industries, like coal. So, our rural road mapping programs collaborate with communities to plan for a more diverse economic base, so a place is not