About InfoMentum

In 1995, The Appalachian Council of Governments (ACOG) partnered with county governments, public and private utilities, and the Appalachian Regional Commission to address the technical, financial and political challenges of providing a standardized set of research tools to all economic developers in the region. As a result, InfoMentum, a program that provides a decision support system to aid regional marketing, industrial recruitment and economic development in upstate South Carolina was developed.

InfoMentum, a 2002 NADO Innovation Award winner, provides a suite of services including a customized Geographic Information System (GIS) application providing access to multiple layers of data and maps; the Fact Finder Database; InfoMap, an online mapping tool; and research and technical assistance. InfoMentum is integrated into the economic development activities of six upstate South Carolina counties, major utilities, and numerous businesses.

Direction for this program comes from a public/private board representing county governments, private sector entities and the Appalachian Council of Governments. Funding is provided by the counties, private sector investors, and contracts. ACOG provides staff for technical support, database design/maintenance, training, administration and marketing.

The economic impact of InfoMentum has been significant, as it has helped create over 48,000 new jobs in manufacturing and distribution between 1995 and 2000, and total capital investment increased over 260 percent since the development and implementation of InfoMentum.