A Practitioner’s Perspective on Federal Policy and Opportunities for Local Economic Developers

A Practitioner’s Perspective on Federal Policy and Opportunities for Local Economic Developers

TEDC Winter MeetingJanuary 19, 2012

Federal Policy: Key Themes

19 January 2012 | TEDC Winter Meeting

• Regional innovation• “Bottom-up” strategies• Breaking down silos• Increasing ROI• Metrics

http://www.commerce.gov/americacompetes

Obama adds cabinet seat for SBA administrator, proposes merging commerce agencies

The Washington Post, 01/13/12

Wordle™ of remarks prepared for delivery by John Fernandez, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development, at the 18th Annual Conference of the National Association of Seed and Venture Funds in Arlington, Texas, on October 19, 2011.

Source: http://www.eda.gov/NewsEvents/Speeches/Speech10192011_SeedAndVentureFunds_TX

http://www.eda.gov/InvestmentsGrants/jobsandinnovationchallenge

16 agencies$37M combined funding$69M private investment4,800 new jobs4,000 trained workers300 new businesses

http://www.colorado.gov/cs/Satellite/OEDIT/OEDIT/1251595201376

http://nyworks.ny.gov

http://www.nortech.org/news-room/press-releases/northeast-ohio-winner-of-white-house-jobs-and-innovation-accelerator-challenge

intermediary

entrepreneurship workforce industry

Northeast Ohio Speed To Market Accelerator‐ ‐ will employ a step by step ‐ ‐process to help accelerate the commercialization of products, increase

the global competitiveness of cluster companies, attract additional private capital to the region, and attract students, incumbent workers,

and the unemployed to educational and training programs.

Louisiana Tech “LA_i6” Proof of Concept Center to support and expedite the introduction of new “green” technology innovations from companies along the I-20 corridor in north Louisiana, south

Arkansas, west central Mississippi, and northeast Texas into markets throughout the region and the nation.

Federal $ > academic research > intermediary > commercialization > entrepreneurship

i6 Green Winner

Future Opportunities: How can EDCs be ready?


• Form regional coalitions• Identify key clusters• Recruit employers to lead• Evaluate your “ecosystem”• Develop a strategy• Decide on metrics• Brief officials

START NOWIf you wait until you see the funding notice,

it’s already too late.

Clusters: Existing Initiatives/Potential Partners


http://www.clustermapping.us

Clusters: Making Your Case in Metropolitan Areas

http://www.clustermapping.us

Traded (Exporting) Clusters in Beaumont-Port Arthur, TX

Potential Targets

Using federally-funded tool (cluster map) to demonstrate alignment with federal goals (regions, clusters, exports)

Clusters: Making Your Case in Rural/Nontraditional


http://www.statsamerica.org/innovation







Best Practices: Kansas


http://www.nado.org/growing-rural-innovation-based-economies-kansas-opportunity-innovation-network

Best Practices: Venture Development


http://regionalinnovation.org

Check out profiles for case studies of VDOs in urban and rural areas, such as

i2E in Oklahoma.

Best Practices: Venture Development

19 January 2012 | TEDC Winter Meetinghttp://regionalinnovation.org

Federal Experience: Takeaways for Texas EDCs


• Budget realities and politics are transforming regional programs—business as usual is over

• Texas can be competitive if we are willing to think creatively about regional partnerships

• Demonstrating viability of clusters in rural communities will be critical opportunity

@brianjkelsey

http://civicanalytics.com

facebook.com/economicdevelopment

linkedin.com/in/brianjkelsey

Brian [email protected]

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A Practitioner’s Perspective on Federal Policy and Opportunities for Local Economic Developers