Most communities understand that to really succeed, they need a plan. It’s not enough to simply “want” to grow and prosper, the key players must work together at identifying the things that will make that happen and then be ready to help along the way.

So it is important, and impressive, that Northwest Missouri State University and the community of Maryville are so closely joined. Their leaders understand that they share a past and a future.

They increasingly are giving the community a boost in the arena of economic development by envisioning opportunities — ones that might be possible in many places — and pursuing them as if they were solely their own calling.

The latest example is Northwest’s Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE), a $24.4 million complex to be completed next spring.

The CIE received major funding through the state of Missouri’s Lewis and Clark Discovery Initiative for science and technology facilities. The same source is helping fund two major projects at Missouri Western State University: the renovation of the existing Agenstein Hall and the new adjoining Remington Hall.

At Northwest, two tenants of the new complex already have been announced:

n Carbolytic Materials Co., with sales offices in Hudson, Ohio, and current research facilities in St. Louis, plans to locate its research and development activities at the center. The company extracts carbon black, a substance used in making plastics and rubber, along with combustible oil and gas, from shredded automotive tires. CMC also plans to build a processing plant in Maryville.

n Practical Sustainability LLC, based in Chesterfield, Mo., will provide analytic support for health care facilities working to reduce the incidence of MRSA and other infections. The company’s managing partner, Dr. Earl Beaver, previously developed and commercialized several forms of air filtration membrane technologies. In a separate endeavor, the company plans to work with biological research firms working with nano materials (particles smaller than 100 billionths of a meter).

As at Missouri Western, the state money is making it possible for local universities and communities to chart their own futures — ones heavy on innovation and investments of intellectual capital and with seemingly boundless opportunities for growth.