Aug/Sep 2013
| Business World Magazine | 79
tive Director Steve Ernst posits that in or-
der to devise the appropriate strategies to
achieve sustainability goals, the region first
had to have a thorough understanding of the
aspects working for it and against it. Liken
it to a doctor treating a patient. In order to
prescribe the necessary remedy, the doctor
must make a full diagnosis of the patient’s vi-
tal signs. In the case of the Rockford Region,
the prognosis for future prosperity involves
the first regional plan for sustainable devel-
opment through a project called Rockford
Region Vital Signs.
Ernst explains that the project originat-
