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Table 2. Summary of Emerging Issues to Address Through Strategic Priorities
Assessment
• High concentration of Federal and university research, technology and commercialization resources. • Key technology drivers in the County, most importantly
University of Maryland, College Park and Bowie State University, have made both improvements in improving technology generation and commercialization and investments in supporting economic development. • Leverage research and education anchors in the County, especially
University of Maryland at College Park and increasingly Bowie State
University and Prince George’s County Community College. • Continue to advance the Discovery District/Innovation Corridor as an important place-based development. • Better coordinate and take advantage of the growing entrepreneurship program efforts across higher education in the County.
Opportunities
• Federal Procurement is driving the growth and success of driver industry clusters, especially in fields such as Information Technology
Services and in Research-Intensive Sectors. • Procurement in Prince George’s County is driven by civilian agencies, most importantly the Department of Commerce and NASA, both of which have major locations with the County. • Ensure local workforce can meet needs of federal government, as well as other employers in the County’s other targeted industry sectors. • Leverage the presence of the federal government to help encourage the proliferation of federal contractors, especially those in technology-oriented sectors which can encourage innovation and entrepreneurship through their spillover effects. • Enhance placemaking and develop amenities at transit-oriented districts to help increase the competitiveness of the County in attracting federal leases.
• A well-developed transportation network including access to both highways and mass transit, rail service by CSX and Norfolk Southern
Railway, and close proximity to both BWI Airport and Ronald Reagan
Washington National Airport. • New developments like the Inter-County Connector (ICC) and the
Purple Line area adding to this advantage. • Build on excitement around developing placemaking around burgeoning live-work-play environments and transit-oriented developments (e.g., Discovery District, Largo Town Center,
Bowie Innovation District). • Consider approaches to accelerate placemaking and economic development, particularly as an opportunity to stem the outflow of more affluent, educated households.
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Financial and Development Resources Assessment
• Despite recent growth in venture capital investment, the county remains well behind its regional peers in both dollars and deals. • Access to capital represents a significant barrier to Prince George’s
County’s substantial small and minority business base. • PGCEDC, along with its sister agency, FSC First, offers access to a variety of Federal, State, and County financing programs, though additional targeted resources may be necessary. • Help more companies become “venture-ready” by offering targeted entrepreneurial support services such as Pre-Accelerator, First
Customer, and Value-Added Networking events. • Overcome constrained resource environment by focusing efforts on public-private-partnerships and targeting investments.
Opportunities
Small and Minority Business Environment
Workforce Development
• Among its regional peer jurisdictions, Prince George’s County has the third largest number of minority businesses, the fourth largest number of jobs in minority businesses, and the second highest level of overall employment in minority businesses. • The County has recognized the importance of supporting small and minority businesses and both offers access to targeted programs and works with key small and minority business organizations. • Intentionally support the growth of small businesses, especially those that are Black-, Latinx, and Women-Owned. • Fully integrate Prince George’s County’s diverse population in its innovation economy (e.g., at innovative anchor institutions, technology-oriented startups, or other companies).
• Although educational attainment (as measured by share of population with at least a bachelor’s degree) in the County exceeds the national average, it is lower than in the region and many peer jurisdictions. • A significant share of Prince George’s County’s educated population commutes outside of the County for jobs. • Align existing workforce with mix of skill needs Prince George’s
County’s leading industry clusters are expected to have a major rampup in needs for bachelor’s level and middle-skill level jobs. • Leverage strong STEM-oriented higher education talent development in the County by creating stronger connections of talent to businesses in the County.
Assessment
• Scoring in the bottom half of states according to most measures of tax incidence, Maryland ranks similarly to Washington D.C. but well below
Virginia in national indices of business climate. • While State tax burdens in Maryland are higher than in Virginia and many key competitor states, County taxes are generally competitive (except that Virginia does not have a local income tax). • Sustain focused effort on encouraging business attraction, retention, and development across targeted industry clusters. • Accelerate aggressive and proactive efforts to market the region internally/externally and offer incentives/other resources for business attraction and retention. • Address issues expressed by both innovation-oriented companies and real estate developers about concerns with hurdles in the permitting process.
• The cost of living in Prince George’s County is one of the lowest among key peer jurisdictions. However, the County also has lower levels of median incomes and higher poverty rates. • In the area of K–12 education, Prince George’s County lags in standardized testing scores, graduation rates and percentage of high school graduates going on to higher education. • Ensure that more of the County’s residents are connected to jobs and skills needed to pursue economic opportunity. • Make systematic improvements with County’s K–12 Public Schools, as concerns are expressed that the quality of K–12 schools may influence the persistent outmigration of higher-income households in the county. • Create more vibrant places to live, work, learn, and play.
