Ask economic developers in the 11 counties around Fort Wayne. With Ball State’s assistance, their new marketing partnership is drafting a regional plan to bring more jobs to northeast Indiana.

Ask charter school students in Gary, Indianapolis, and 12 other Hoosier cities. They’re achieving success in Ball State-sponsored alternative learning environments focused on their needs.

Or ask tourism planners in rural Brown County, Indiana. Ball State’s expertise is helping them spark a 21st-century renaissance in the 100-year-old artist colony that drives the local economy.

“It’s all about partnerships,” says Doug May, consultant for the Brown County Economic Development Corporation. “I see this as a long-term relationship with Ball State. We’re planning for the next century, and this partnership will help us determine the best approach.”

Through Building Better Communities, Ball State works one-on-one with cities, towns, counties, and neighborhoods across the state to spur economic development and advance the quality of life in Indiana. The initiative is supported by funding from the Indiana legislature. A grant from Lilly Endowment Inc. created the related Business Fellows program.

Individual projects bring faculty and students together to solve real issues facing Hoosier communities. They foster local innovation, investment, entrepreneurship, leadership, strategic planning, and collaboration. Many efforts focus on business, education, technology, and wellness.

While local leaders tap the vast resources of a major university, students gain career skills through relevant, creative, and challenging immersive learning experiences.

Just ask the students whose designs will help the small northern Indiana town of Reynolds manage growth when new bioenergy industries move into “BioTown, USA.”

“This town is going to be an example of how to build in the future,” says architecture major Tracey Parfitt. “This is going to be the breeding ground of ideas.”