The Appalachian Regional Commission has a key role in helping the people of Appalachia build a better future: creating jobs, building infrastructure to foster business and community growth and to connect the Region with national and international markets, and developing an educated, healthy workforce prepared to participate fully in the global economy. Appalachia has made significant progress in addressing its historical challenges, but ARC's vision for the Region has not yet been achieved. In fiscal year 2010, more than 80 counties were still classified as economically distressed. Increased global competition and technological change have resulted in job losses and restructuring in many key Appalachian industries. Because of its rugged terrain and high proportion of rural residents, Appalachia is at risk of falling behind in the implementation and use of modern technology and telecommunications, necessary components of competitiveness in today's economy. In this time of economic challenges and rapid change in the way business is conducted worldwide, ARC is working to ensure that Appalachia's leaders and citizens have the capacity, capability, and resources they need to build and strengthen their local economies. The Commission's structure as a federal-state-local partnership and as a regional agency makes it uniquely suited to help guide and foster the local efforts required for change. This strategic plan is a guide for ARC to take targeted and measurable action toward its vision of bringing Appalachia into full economic parity with the nation. It outlines goals and objectives that provide clear guidance for priorities and a basis for annual evaluation. It calls for alignment of resources to maximize results and for performance measurement that ensures that the ARC partnership is effective and accountable. It creates a framework for building on past accomplishments to help move Appalachia forward.