We Must Do Better

Reimagining Delaware’s Growth Agenda

BY BRIAN DISABATINO

THERE ARE MANY REASONS to be proud of and excited about Delaware. Our diverse workforce, world-class researchers, colleges, and quality of life make Delaware a great place to live, work, and play.

These uniquely First State assets are in jeopardy, however, and the decisions made in the coming months will determine whether and how we address the challenges the state is facing and set a course for excellence and prosperity.

Today the Delaware Business Roundtable issues a challenge to fellow Delaware business and political leadership to confront what is holding us back and invest in what propels us forward.

As we reflect on 2023 and prepare for 2024 and beyond, we must ask ourselves whether we as leaders have the vision and political will needed to help change the trajectory of the state.

Consider the implications of the state’s diminishing labor force participation rate, the need for a more robust entrepreneur pipeline, a rapidly aging population, and challenges recruiting and retaining talent for leading-edge companies. In a state with so much potential, we can do better.

ROBUST TALENT PIPELINE

Delaware’s workforce development pipeline is perhaps the biggest challenge impacting the state’s economic growth. A reliable source of job candidates prepared to succeed is cited as the primary challenge for employers, regardless of location, size, and industry.

As of 2021, Delaware ranked 40th in the share of population participating in the workforce. Only 60.1% of Delaware’s population ages 16 and older are in the labor force. In comparison, Maryland had a labor force participation rate of 66.6% (ranked 8th), along with 65.6% in New Jersey (ranked 13th) and 62.4% in Pennsylvania (ranked 32nd).

Successfully creating a robust talent pipeline will require moving away from short-term thinking and episodic action.

When the White House released goals for the nation’s biotech and tech hubs, its report referred to our region as “Cellicon Valley,” noting the tremendous advances in genetic and cellular science that warrant much greater investment in education and training.

We need more efforts like the National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals’ (NIIMBL) SABRE Center manufacturing research facility located on the University of Delaware’s STAR Campus. The Center is at the intersection of drug creation, the manufacturing process, and entry into markets that help save and improve lives. This training ground for students helps ensure Delaware’s future workforce has the relevant skills, expertise, hands-on training, and experience to prevent pharmaceutical breakthroughs from getting stuck in labs or made overseas.

The University of Delaware will play a similar role in developing the workforce talent to propel the Mid-Atlantic Clean Hydrogen Hub (MACH2). University researchers and students are testing and studying multiple ways to reduce the cost and complexity of clean hydrogen adoption. Hydrogen energy has the potential to make many sectors of our economy completely free of carbon emissions. With the right leadership and resources, Delaware could be the first state in the nation to make hydrogen a major energy source!

Any disconnect between higher education and the business community in any business sector doesn’t just hurt economic development, it perpetuates inequity and limits students’ opportunities to pursue rewarding careers. A more strategic, healthy relationship between education and business will yield more applied learning opportunities, greater awareness of career choices, and collaboration in building the kind of knowledge and skills needed in current and future good-paying jobs.

EFFICIENT, PULSING ECOSYSTEM

Delaware needs a more concerted effort to keep entrepreneurs in the state by providing the tools and capital networks required to succeed.

Delaware’s Angel Investment Tax Credit has been allowed to sunset and has not been replaced or renewed. As such, the state is missing a major tax benefit and incentive to support early-stage companies engaged in innovative science and technology work.

There are many power players doing great things to foster innovations, like STAR Campus, The Innovation Space, and more. But access to capital and navigating a siloed system remains a challenge for Delaware entrepreneurs working to take their business to the next level. Austin’s Capital Factory, which helped companies raise $1.8 billion to gain elevation and successful entry into markets could offer a model for one-stop capital building and curating all the pieces for entrepreneurial success in one place.

ANTICIPATING CHANGE AND CREATING THE RIGHT POLICY APPROACHES

The Delaware Prosperity Partnership has been an extraordinarily successful vehicle for attracting business and catalyzing economic development. We believe the time is right to create a Futures Council—an entity that helps Delaware be increasingly nimble and evidence-based in responding to and creating opportunities in the industries of the future.

A Futures Council would be charged with coordinating planning and implementation to address the long-term issues facing the state. For example, Delaware ranks fourth in the share of households with residents over 65 years of age. We are not just failing to keep pace with a retiring workforce, we cannot risk the chance that the state’s healthcare and support service capacity will not meet our seniors’ needs.

The burden of getting this state to the next level is being carried by a smaller and smaller population of people. We need to make sure we have the right players, research, data, and resources to be on the forward edge of industries that will drive the next 20 years of change to our economies.

CALL TO ACTION

My grandfather passed down this principle our business has found useful for taking ownership and responsibility to build what matters: “If you expect something from this society, you better deliver something right back.”

We’ve been aiming too low. Satisfied with the meager minimum. What is our legacy going to be? The possibilities are endless if we work together and work toward enduring prosperity.

Look at the talent all around us. Let’s stretch our imaginations, link arms together, and reach the potential that we have.

Brian DiSabatino is the chairman of the Delaware Business Roundtable and president and CEO of EDiS Company.