A year later, another LOCI study helped local government officials decide what level of incentives they could offer an industrial prospect that turned out to be Caterpillar. In addition, FaciliTech , a state-funded program that makes Georgia Tech engineering expertise available at no cost to locating and expanding industry, was included in the package. Georgia Tech was part of a sizable and successful team that also included top political figures, several state agencies, the Griffin-Spalding Development Authority and Griffin Technical Institute . Designed to enable communities to gauge the costs and benefits of plant locations, LOCI is now an integral part of applying to the state Department of Community Affairs for a Regional Economic Business Assistance grant. Since 1995, LOCI has been used in 116 projects border to border from Catoosa County to Lowndes, Effingham and Seminole .
Teachers then take their experiences back to the classroom.