Innovate Northeast Florida Economic Development Strategic Plan: Targeting Jobs and Talent for the Future Prepared for the JAXUSA Partnership By

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1 R E P O R T 4 : I M P L E M E N T A T I O N P L A N E X E C U T I V E S U M M A R Y Innovate Northeast Florida Economic Development Strategic Plan: Targeting Jobs and Talent for the Future Prepared for the JAXUSA Partnership By Avalanche Consulting, McCallum Sweeney Consulting, and the Council for Adult and Experiential Learning April 19, 2012

2 Executive Summary The original purpose of this strategic planning exercise was to validate the region s target industries and develop a deeper understanding of the niche sub- cluster opportunities that will spur growth in Northeast Florida into the future. Northeast Florida has a richly diverse economy that has performed better than the US average for many years, only dropping to the US level during the recession. It is time to reinvigorate employment growth and enrich the region s assets so businesses thrive and residents prosper for many years to come. This is a strategy for the entire Northeast Florida, and a variety of regional organizations will take part in its implementation. This is not an operational plan for the JAXUSA Partnership. The Partnership will lead the facilitation of implementation, but local businesses, educators, government organizations, and individual citizens will all have a role to play in achieving Innovate Northeast Florida s goals. The final section of this plan offers task assignments for each recommendation, along with suggested timing, budgets, and metrics. Early in the project, the consulting team discovered that despite its many strengths, Northeast Florida s residents were overly modest about sharing the region s success stories and often times unaware of them. In response, the consulting team worked with the JAXUSA Partnership and other regional leaders to launch a story- telling campaign, JAXBoldest ( The first phase of the campaign asked residents to identify bold initiatives across the region companies, non- profits, and projects - that make Northeast Florida great. More than 100 stories were submitted and thousands of people voted. JAXBoldest helped energize residents and instilled confidence to talk up the community. This in itself will provide a significant lift to economic development and talent retention and should continue as a community initiative. Public Input More than 2,800 people participated in the creation of Innovate Northeast Florida, and their input contributed to the ideas contained in the Implementation Plan. The planning process included the creation of a 50- member Steering Committee, a regional survey of residents, more than 30 individual and small group interviews, nine industry focus groups, and mock site selection tours of all seven counties. Specifically, public input entailed: 2,539 survey responses Nine Industry Executive Focus Groups with more than 90 participants Additional focus groups on the topics of talent, young professionals, entrepreneurship, lifestyle Hosted three young professional socials Page 1

3 Innovate Northeast Florida: Targeting Jobs and Talent for the Future 30+ individual and small group interviews Five 50- member Steering Committee meetings Four meetings with partners from all seven Northeast Florida counties Five meetings with JAXUSA Partnership leaders and staff Individual interviews with each member of the JAXUSA Partnership team Six mock site selection visits Meetings with leaders from K- 12 public education, Florida State College at Jacksonville, Jacksonville University, the University of North Florida, the University of Florida, First Coast Technical College, and St. Johns River State College Interactive session with 100+ participant Regional Economic Development Forum (October 19, 2011) The consulting team, the JAXUSA Partnership, First Coast WorkSource, and the Northeast Florida Regional Council offer their sincere thanks to everyone who participated in crafting this Strategy. Recommendations contained in this report reflect your ideas and thoughtful insight. Target Audiences What does Northeast Florida stand for? The diverse employment base is enviable, but it also dilutes Northeast Florida s brand identity across many different industries. Innovate Northeast Florida has lent focus on this issue and revealed that the region has and is developing three industry ecosystems that differentiate it on an international level and lie at the heart of the region s brand:!"#$%&'($)*+"#,-'.()/0-1($#2)34"(2($&5()!"#$%&'"()*$%+,-*.$/-%( $#0$/-%1(&2'$%(34'2+1(*$02($%"(,-*.(2-50+/&+1(,-6'*(+.-*$5'1(,*-,42+0-%(+7+.'8+1(.*$&90%5( "'#0&'+($%"(+'&4*0.7(+7+.'8+1("0+.*0:4/-%( &'%.'*+1(+4,,27(&;$0%(8$%$5'8'%.($%"(<)( ( =0%$%&0$2(>'*#0&'+( Advanced transportation, including aviation, clean fuels, rail and port logistics, power storage, propulsion systems, tracking devices and security systems, distribution centers, and supply chain management and IT Financial services, making Northeast Florida one of the country s most prominent locations for financial services support, data centers, insurance, financial software, trade financing, and wholesale banking Health & life sciences, ranging from human healthcare and wellness to?%$%&0$2(+'*#0&'+(+4,,-*.1("$.$(&'%.'*+1( 0%+4*$%&'1(?%$%&0$2(+-@6$*'($%"(<)1(.*$"'(?%$%&0%51($%"(6;-2'+$2'(:$%90%5( A'$2.;(B(C03'(>&0'%&'( ;48$%(;'$2.;&$*'($%"(6'22%'++1(8'"0&$2(.'&;%-2-50'+1(;'$2.;(<)1(3--"(+$3'.71( $5*0&42.4*$2(+&0'%&'+1(8$*0%'(+&0'%&'+1( 0%+4*$%&'1($"80%0+.*$/#'(+'*#0&'+1($%"( &-8,2'D(*'542$.-*7(&-8,20$%&'(( ( Report 4: Implementation Plan Executive Summary Page 2

4 medical technologies, food safety, agricultural sciences, marine sciences, health insurance, administrative services, complex regulatory compliance, and health IT In addition, the region offers several unique competencies that thread throughout all of its target industries: Lean manufacturing and six sigma expertise have immediate applications to the Advanced Manufacturing, Aviation, and Logistics industries and their niche sub- clusters. Regulatory compliance is another unique knowledge base in Northeast Florida, which has strong applications in Financial Services and Health & Life Sciences industries and gives the region a competitive advantage as regulations tighten in the coming years. Information technology capabilities permeate every niche sub- cluster. As a stand- alone industry, IT growth in Northeast Florida has been remarkable, expanding by 26.8% between 2005 and 2010 (5% faster than the US average and almost 20% greater than San Diego, New York, Boston and many other benchmark communities.) On top of that, significant IT functions are widely found within the region s other five core targets, especially in Financial Services, Health & Life Sciences, and Logistics.!"#$%&'($)*+"#,-'.()/0,12&)3"45&$&06,&() 7&'0)89:;) <&:2+'$"#=) 3"45+,'06&) Military know- how and a large exiting pool of military personnel is a strong advantage. During focus groups conducted for Innovate Northeast Florida, executives from all six target industries stated that the military workforce is a fuel for their talent pool. 8,+,$'#=) The major industry ecosytems and core competencies set the stage for Northeast Florida s long- term growth. They form the roots of the economy. While Innovate Northeast Florida presents the realm of all economic development opportunities for the region (today, tomorrow and into the future), the region does not have the resources to pursue all target sub- clusters at one time. Kick off implementation by focusing on four sub- clusters that offer a high possibility of early wins that will fuel a long- term campaign: Page 3

5 AIRCRAFT AND AVIATION COMPONENTS, INCLUDING OEMS Northeast Florida has competitive strengths in the Aircraft & Aviation Components target sub- cluster, centered on the significant Military aviation presence and related defense contractors. Military facilities such as the Fleet Readiness Center Southeast employ thousands of civilians in aviation roles, in addition to the numerous active duty military personnel throughout the region. These workers present a strong employment base for aviation companies considering locating in the region. Aircraft & Aviation Components could also take advantage of the opportunities presented by Cecil Commerce Center, which is one of the most competitive shovel- ready sites in the State of Florida. OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) will also find Cecil Field attractive. A former Naval station and current business park with existing buildings, a 12,500 ft. runway, and significant developable acreage, Cecil Field holds competitive opportunities for a diverse range of advanced manufacturing OEM operations. FINANCIAL SERVICES SUPPORT, INCLUDING SOFTWARE AND DATA CENTERS Northeast Florida s extensive insurance and banking operations require Financial Services Support and Data Centers. As information technology expands the capacity for data collection and customer interaction, financial services firms continue to seek new locations for data management and customer support. Additionally, the financial sector is increasingly on- shoring their support centers, presenting opportunities for regions with established strengths in Financial Services Support operations such as office administrative services. Northeast Florida s large information technology industry can also support the financial services industry through development of Financial Services Software. FIS and LPS already develop banking IT solutions in the region. With both a large information technology workforce and concentration of financial firms, Northeast Florida presents an ideal location for software firms developing new technologies for financial services. HEALTHCARE IT As with financial services, the local health sector benefits from an information technology industry and workforce in Northeast Florida. Healthcare IT will grow locally. New healthcare regulations and the increased digitization of medical records present opportunities for software developers to create programs for managing medical data and assisting regulatory compliance. Local startups such as Rise Health, which offers call center customer relations for healthcare, demonstrate regional competitiveness in making healthcare more efficient. Nationally leading medical facilities, such as St. Vincent s HealthCare and the Mayo Clinic, are paving the way in Hospital Efficiency & Regulatory Compliance. New healthcare regulations are designed to increase the efficiency of healthcare provision by streamlining data collection and hospital operations. The Mayo Clinic was an early adopter of digitized medical records and presents a strong case study in reform. Page 4

6 SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT / IT The Supply Chain Management / IT target sub- cluster is the convergence between two of Northeast Florida s target clusters, Information Technology and Logistics, and is will be one of the drivers of the region s Advanced Transportation ecosystem. The Northeast Florida information technology community and existing freight arrangement firms provide ideal skill sets for this sub- cluster, combined with extensive logistical operations for testing and rollout of programs. Existing transportation and logistics companies have large in- house information technology divisions, and demand is increasing. Northeast Florida also has many independent software and computer programming firms. These priority targets have room to grow in Northeast Florida and the region has the combination of assets that they seek out in a business location. As recommended by this Strategy, the combination of a more focused marketing campaign with workforce development, business climate, and physical infrastructure improvements tailored to their needs will cause these sub- clusters and others to exponentially grow. Key Recommendations The following are the topline recommendations of the Implementation Plan. Talent Goal: Northeast Florida is a magnet for talent and businesses seeking an innovative workforce. Key Recommendations Increase the region s capacity to supply target industry skills. Develop STEM and Workforce Councils within the JAXUSA Partnership. Create a STEM- focused Career Center that serves all Northeast Florida target industries. Develop support systems and advocacy efforts to retain talent in Northeast Florida. Increase the region s capacity to connect residents with target industry learning opportunities and careers. Streamline Employer Services across the range of skills development providers. Encourage and celebrate employer engagement in talent development. Launch a regional Back to College campaign. Page 5

7 Expand prior learning assessment opportunities. Improve the availability of industry driven degree programs and employer connection to target sector skills development. Entrepreneurship & Innovation Goal: Northeast Florida has an innovative entrepreneurial environment that teems with high growth startups and capital. Expand, refine, and better connect the pool of capital for entrepreneurship. Expand, refine, and better connect support services for entrepreneurship. Increase opportunities for Northeast Florida s entrepreneurs to connect and learn from one another. Increase the availability of affordable, sophisticated spaces for entrepreneurial ventures and create a cluster of entrepreneurial activity in downtown Jacksonville and other Northeast Florida city cores. Integrate entrepreneurship education into all levels of learning, starting with K- 12. Business Climate Goal: Northeast Florida is the most competitive and innovative location for business in the US. Strongly advocate for improving the competitiveness of the state of Florida for economic development. Streamline government processes in all Northeast Florida counties to save businesses time in their startup, expansions, and relocations. Ensure that the entire region has competitive incentives. Work together to preserve and enhance military in Northeast Florida. Further amplify efforts to re- invigorate downtown Jacksonville with businesses, cultural amenities, and educational institutions. Physical Infrastructure Goal: Northeast Florida is a national model for anticipating and implementing innovative infrastructure solutions. Advocate for increased State and Federal funding for major infrastructure projects. Rally leadership and resources to deepen the Port of Jacksonville and resolve the mile point issue. Promote infrastructure and spec building development in suburban and rural Northeast Florida counties. Page 6

8 Marketing Goal: Northeast Florida develops a regional brand and marketing campaign that supports target industry promotion. Develop JAXUSA's brand image Dramatically increase economic development specific public relations nationally and internationally Create awareness of Northeast Florida s assets via social media Continue to invest in the jaxusa.org website Drop print advertising entirely and take a green approach to marketing Build personal relationships with site consultants and target industry executives Make sure that dollars are spent on target industry publications, events, and marketing geographies, rather than more general avenues Involve the region s private sector and academic leaders in every marketing activity Page 7