Thursday, May 29, 2014
I picked up some Southern Indiana economic development advice
recently and thought I’d share some takeaways from a recent conference.
Through my participation on a workforce development panel
with the Crawford County Community Foundation, I was lucky to get invited to an
economic development conference hosted by Radius Indiana and Purdue University
on May 15 at French Lick Resort.
Radius Indiana is an eight county region surrounding the
Crane Naval Base and headquartered in Bedford, IN led by former Indiana Lt.
Gov. Becky Skillman. Shireman Construction has done a lot of construction work
in the area and we border the southeast counties of Crawford and Washington.
Sampson told the story of working across county and
political boundaries with the business and political world to create a more
coordinated and attractive economic development approach. It was a process full
of risk and sleepless nights for him (and the politicians) that have started to
create great results.
Some of Sampson’s advice:
 | ||
| John Sampson |
Focus on
the Enemy – Sampson defined the enemy of the Fort Wayne region and Indiana
as a whole as the chart of “Personal Income vs. the National Average.” Each
year for decades the region had been in decline in personal income as good
paying manufacturing jobs left the USA, gutting out the local middle class. The
goal was to create good paying jobs and reverse the trend.
Strategy: Visioning and Goal Setting
- Sampson and the region aggressively went after and received a Lilly
Foundation Grant to create “Vision 2020,” a plan which identified regional weaknesses
and a clear path forward. http://www.neindiana.com/vision/the-vision/overarching-vision
- The Lilly Foundation also helped fund $20M in specific projects in the
region.
Economic
Gardening – Sampson cited statistics that showed 80% of new economic
development projects were regional companies growing or start-ups. 20% of
projects were relocating existing businesses to a region, which is ultra-competitive
and difficult.
Strategy: Local Business and Entrepreneurial Focus
- Working hard to make sure local business have all the tools they need to succeed and grow, staying in constant communication and engagement
- An overall strategy of educating the business leaders and workers of tomorrow
- Educating an entrepreneurial workforce of the future: The Partnership has helped create six tech schools in the region. Here’s a map of them: http://www.neindiana.com/docs/maps/nt-high-schools.pdf?sfvrsn=2
- Working closely with Indiana-Purdue Northwest and Ivy Tech to help them grow programs that local businesses need to have a great workforce and see as the jobs of the future.
Business Recruitment - NE Indiana hasn't given up on recruiting new businesses to relocate to the region. Their main strategies he discussed:
- Make sure your product you are offering is wanted, NE Indiana had a major problem with that at first according to the experts. Use site selection consultants, realtors, etc. and identify the regional areas most attractive to outside companies.
- Get the properties hooked up to utilities and shovel ready certfied through the State
- Use public relations and free media much more than advertising
In the last few years, the region has seen 7 new companies relocate from these efforts, he said.
The result of these efforts is that for the first time in
decades, the past two years NE Indiana residents have seen an upward trend in incomes vs. national average,
Sampson said. NE Indiana is starting to
win the war against “The Enemy.”
Thanks for reading. In Part II I’ll go more in depth about what the Purdue
experts brought to the table and takeaways from panels involving local business
leaders and some the most aggressive mayors in the Radius Indiana region.
