Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 108 Part 3.djvu/35

 PUBLIC LAW 103-318—AUG. 26, 1994 108 STAT. 1787 to the maximum extent possible, the natural beauty and habitat of the Northern Great Plains. (2) RECOMMENDATIONS.— (A) REGIONAL COLLABORATION.— The Commission shall, with respect to the Northern Great Plgiins— (i) determine the most effective and appropriate method for ensuring continued collaboration within the region on economic development matters, considering regional compacts, cooperatives, foundations, development corporations, and other agreements and organizations; (ii) identify the organizational structure, method of financing, functions, and participating organizations, of the collaboration referred to in clause (i); (iii) identify methods of effective multi-community, substate, and small region development; and (iv) assess the interconnection between metropolitan and rural areas and identify methods of collaboration between the areas. (B) BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT. —The Commission shall, with respect to the rural Northern Great Plains— (i) recommend methods of diversifying the rural economy, including the development and financing of value-added and new-use agricultural products; (ii) develop methods to promote and finance beginning owner-occupied farming and ranching operations; (iii) recommend methods of promoting entrepreneurial development, including business startups and expansions; (iv) recommend methods in which the public, private, and nonprofit sectors can help increase international trading levels and penetrate new markets in agricultural, manufactured, and service products; (v) evaluate the potential utility of business and manufacturing networks in target sectors; (vi) assess the competitiveness of manufacturers and the use of modern technology, processes, and information by the msuiufacturers, and methods of assisting manufacturers lacking the technology, processes, or information; (vii) recommend methods in which capital and technical assistance can be provided on a regional or sectoral basis to business startups and expansions by public, private, and nonprofit organizations; and (viii) recommend ways in which Federal and State resource conservation programs can be used to encourage tourism in the region. (C) CAPITAL. — The Commission shall, with respect to the rural Northern Great Plains— (i) determine if there are capital needs in the economy, and in what part of the economy the needs are located, and recommend how governmental, nonprofit, . cooperative, community-based, microlending, banking, venture, seed, and nonbanking financing sources can assist in meeting the needs; (ii) identify such strategies in organization, regulations, pohcy, marketing, and coordination as are

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