Several years ago, I saw a quote, “There is no silver bullet. There may be silver buckshot.” I have no idea where I saw this quote, but it’s really stuck with me.

You might be more familiar with the saying, “Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.” Similar idea, but less colorful, right? I like the bullet/buckshot analogy because it fits so well with the idea of targeted economic development.

In fact, a speaker at a conference in North Carolina remarked a few years ago that he thought his town engaged in target development: If it flew, they shot at it. He’d come to realize that wasn’t really a targeting strategy.

Targeted economic development searches for industries in which a community, or more likely a region, has a competitive advantage and is likely to support successful businesses. Goetz, Deller, and Harris’s 2009 book, Targeting Regional Economic Development, discusses the how and why of a targeting approach. Deller the relationship of targeting development to economic clusters in a 2012 Choices article focusing on using targeting to fill supply chain gaps. A targeting strategy is not synonymous with targeted economic development subsidies, the effectiveness of which is debated by numerous scholars. Similarly, it does not exclusively imply business recruitment.

The main idea here is that we have a target or a small set of targets. Those goals are important, and we have all sorts of resources on setting community goals. But we can’t count on reaching those targets with a single magic bullet. If we put up one shot, we risk missing not only our prize game, but also other opportunities in the same area. One of the pitfalls of targeting or cluster approaches to economic development is that it is difficult to pick winners (Barkley and Henry, 1997).

On the other hand, we can implement a set of aligned strategies (plural), such as improving human capital along relevant metrics, addressing key infrastructure concerns, and addressing relevant quality of life factors. This buckshot may attract the company we are hoping to land by addressing multiple selection criteria. It may also appeal to a similar company or a company or start-up in a different industry with similar interests. Some of the strategies may also help retain or attract residents.

All of our AgriLife Extension planning programs fall within this idea of creating a plan to target specific industries while improving the community’s policies, systems, and environment to be more attractive to existing and potential residents and businesses. For example, the community or region’s goals and action plan may address 2-3 industries along with improvements to infrastructure and quality of life that affect a variety of businesses and households. The new Economic Opportunities Maps led by Dr. Carpenter are one source of data to support targeting efforts by identifying potentially strong industries and industry that may be under-represented within a region. Our economic impact program helps identify missing links in regional value chains.

There a potential argument that buckshot won’t bring down big game. Maybe not. Most of our rural communities aren’t landing Future 500 companies anyway. But there is a better chance of hitting some target. I’m game for that.