Helping Regions Win in the Global Economic R ace
Strategic Economic Opportunities for The RiverLands: Reaching for New Horizons Mark Drabenstott, Director RUPRI Center for Regional Competitiveness University of Missouri he RiverLands region is bound together by the many rivers that carve its scenic landscape, including the mighty Mississippi. Yet the region is united even more firmly by the growing recognition that it shares a common economic future. In recent years, that recognition has given rise to stronger alliances among businesses, local governments, and higher education. This vital region spills across three states (see map). This means that partners must build new bridges able to span the borders of the past. That hearty spirit of collaboration gave rise to the RiverLands Economic Advantage Partnership. This Partnership has sponsored the RiverLands Competitiveness Project, a year-long effort to chart the best economic development course for the region.
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RiverLands has many strong assets on which to build its economic future. It has many highly competitive businesses and many are locally owned. It has deep expertise in manufacturing, across a broad swath of industries. It has a strong commitment to education, with excellent educational institutions to show for it. It has a highly productive agriculture sector, the foundation for a solid concentration of both food processing and farm input-producers. Last but not least, the rivers that run through the region have sculpted a landscape with renowned scenic vistas and attractions. University of Missouri
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Notwithstanding these strengths, seizing its economic future will demand both creativity and determination. The region has relied heavily on its factories, and the globalizing economy is putting those firms to a stiff test. The RiverLands Region To be sure, RiverLands has witnessed some notable glimmers of an economic transformation, none more hopeful than IBM’s recent announcement to locate a new service center with a final tally of 1,300 new jobs in Dubuque. Similar glimmers of economic transformation are found elsewhere, such as a successful avionics firm in Platteville, Wisconsin. Still, the industrial inertia is powerful, and seizing new economic opportunities will likely require the region to redouble its focus on innovation and growing new firms. Two trends underscore the need for RiverLands to reach for new economic horizons. Per capita incomes in RiverLands have edged down relative to the rest of the nation over the past 15 years, leaving them some 20 percent lower than the nation. And the region has suffered a steady exodus of its youth. This brain drain of young, talented workers will make the region’s economic transformation all the more challenging. There is hope, however, that building new economic opportunities may not only stem the tide but actually reverse it.
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focus on an innovation-led, entrepreneurial economy. The first section summarizes the economic foundations for the five economic options, discussing pivotal findings from the roundtables and principal conclusions from the analysis of the RiverLands economy. The second section discusses the region’s five economic options in turn: manufacturing; food and agriculture, business services, tourism, and a “wild card” category aimed squarely at stoking innovation and entrepreneurship.
What are RiverLands’ brightest economic opportunities? The RiverLands Competitiveness Project aims to answer this very question with two critical pieces of information. The first is identifying the economic assets that distinguish the region. That was achieved by holding a series of 3 roundtables with a broad cross-section of leaders from all corners of the region. The roundtables bring critical local knowledge to the process that can be missed when looking at data alone. The second is identifying what the region currently does best in the global economy. To discover the region’s best niches, a range of regional economic analysis was conducted by a team of analysts led by the RUPRI Center for Regional Competitiveness. The analytics bring the discipline of market-based information to illuminate the region’s inherent strengths. Together, the twin approaches provide the region with a more robust set of economic development options than either would alone. The development options will now be the focus of more intensive discussions in the region to identify the best ways to exploit its competitive advantages.
Key Strengths in the RiverLands Economy RiverLands has several economic strengths, but there is widespread consensus that the region must turn with renewed vigor to building new economic engines. Agriculture and manufacturing have sustained the region for more than a century. Yet these key sectors are undergoing profound changes—globalization, technological advance, and an entrenched pattern of consolidation. Most leaders believe that the two sectors will remain important bulwarks of the region’s economy, but probably in different ways than in the past.
This report lays out five economic options that hold the greatest promise for RiverLands. These five options reflect the region’s current economic footprint, building importantly on manufacturing, agriculture, and a budding service sector. But they also signal the need to go beyond the region’s industrial past by redoubling a
Leaders are also turning to the future with renewed energy to turn around the erosion of household incomes in the region. Over the past 15 years, incomes have edged down further, with per Chart 1: Region’s Per Capita Income as Percent of Tri-State PCI capita incomes now nearly 20 percent under the national aver94% age (Chart 1). The only part of the RiverLands region that has 92% % of Tri-State PCI bucked this decline is the WisTrendline 90% consin counties, but they started out, and continue, with incomes 88% lower than the rest of the 86% region. Thus, raising the income bar across the entire region will 84% be an important goal of this 82% project. Leaders throughout the 81.7% region express both eagerness 80% 80.7% and confidence in accepting this 78% challenge. 76% 74% 1990
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Demographic trends pose another significant challenge for RiverLands. The region is substantially “older” than the
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nation (Chart 2). For instance, the region has over 40 percent more people than the nation in the cohort of 75-plus years. In the cohort from 60 to 74 years of age, the region has roughly 15 percent more people than the nation. By contrast, the RiverLands region has about 15 percent fewer people than the nation in the critical 30 to 44 years of age cohort, with smaller shortfalls in 0 to14 and 15 to 29 categories.
Chart 2: RiverLands Cohort Concentrations Relative to Nation (Nation=1) 1.6
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A 21st century development 1.0 strategy for RiverLands will be 0.9 founded on three key planks. The first is the region’s current eco0.8 nomic specialization and performance. This defines the existing 2003 2004 2005 2002 foundation for economic growth, an essential starting point for the Region’s strategy. The second is the business clusters now established and emerging in the Region. Development experts believe such clusters give the Region a competitive edge in global markets and thus help to highlight where more potential lies. The third is a comprehensive inventory of the region’s economic assets as understood by those who know them best—regional leaders themselves. At least some of these assets may not yet be fully exploited in the global economy. Put another way, these assets help assess what could be, not just what is.
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Current specialization and performance The RiverLands economy has many dimensions, and leaders acknowledge it is undergoing some transformation. Still, its farming and industrial roots are still very much in evidence. A variety of data confirm that the Region has three economic pillars today: agriculture, manufacturing, and retail. The first two segments are spread widely throughout the region; retail is more concentrated in the Wisconsin portion.
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while the farming and retailing are concentrated in the Wisconsin portion.
The “specialization” of the region’s workforce underscores the importance of the three pillars to the regional economy. This approach examines employment by industry in the region, and then compares that profile with what it would be if the Region were just like the nation. Comparing the two highlights those industries in which the Region has a strong specialization—and also identifies those that are clearly under-represented. Table 1 lists the sectors in which the RiverLands economy specializes. The degree of specialization is shown two ways. Table 1 ranks in descending order the sectors in the region where it has the highest index rating of specialization (column 1). This specialization can also be expressed as the number of “surplus” jobs (column 2), where surplus is the actual jobs in the region less the number the Region would have if it looked like the nation as a whole. By either measure, RiverLands has three strong areas of economic specialization: farming, manufacturing, and retailing. Combined, these three sectors provide roughly 40,000 jobs that would not be present if the RiverLands economy looked just like the nation. The manufacturing specialization is concentrated in the Iowa portion of the region,
Table 1. Top-Level Sector Groups Sector
2007 Jobs
On the other hand, the region does not specialize in professional and business services—it is missing (a jobs “deficit”) more than 10,000 of these jobs (which would be present if it looked like the nation). Another deficit is administrative jobs (a deficit of around 7,400 jobs—a reflection that few really large companies are found in the Region. Government jobs are also lacking in the Region (a deficit of around 7,200 jobs), which may correspond with the fact that those parts of each state are well-removed from their respective state capitol. Table 2 provides a more detailed look at specific industries in which the Region has marked specializations. Agriculture is a strong theme here. Crop and animal production is far and away the industry in which the region specializes much more than the US economy as a whole. The mail order industry (heavily concentrated in Wisconsin in companies like Lands End and Swiss Colony) comes next. However, agriculture is found in many other categories, including the farm machinery production that is included in construction machinery and the region’s abundant milk Specialization Surplus Jobs production used in cheese Index production. 21,865 496
Farm Employment
27,387
Manufacturing
32,201
11,291
154
Retail Trade
35,053
7,452
127
Other Services (except Public Administration)
13,633
267
102
Table 2. Industrial Specialization Industry Crop and Animal Production
Surplus Jobs
2007 Jobs
Specialization Index
25,176
20,973
599
Mail-order Houses
6,200
5,840
1,724
Construction Machinery Mfg.
2,316
2,199
1,974
Other Direct Selling Establishments
4,158
2,120
204
Cheese Mfg.
1,881
1,824
3,293
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers
1,431
1,266
855
Discount Department Stores
2,682
1,248
187
Nursing Care Facilities
3,603
1,201
150
Automatic Environmental Control Mfg.
1,210
1,175
3,499
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The second approach to identifying what the region does best is cluster analysis. This analysis is a proven way of finding those constellations of businesses with strong synergies that lend a competitive edge in national and international markets. Employment data for all RiverLands business establishments was combed to identify business clusters that are either prominent or beginning to emerge here. This analysis focused on 45 value chains, or clusters, that are the critical elements of the national economy. Therefore, the cluster analysis results allow regional leaders
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Chart 3: Cluster Size, Specialization, and Projected Change in Employment
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Management, higher education & hospitals Business services
6 M AT U R E 5
Cluster LQ
Hotels & transportation services
MORE COMPETIVE STRENGTH
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Arts & Media Financial services & insurance Construction Information services
HIGH POTENTIAL
Nondurable industry machinery Construction machinery & distribution equipment Wood building products Appliances
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Machine tools Concrete, brick building products Motor vehicles
3
Wood processing
FASTER GROW TH
Feed products Precision instruments
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Dairy products Rubber products 1
Wood products & furniture Aluminum and aluminum products Metalworking & fabricated metal products
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Plastics products DECLINING
EMERGING
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0%
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30%
40%
Projected Change in Employment (over 2007–2017 period)
to see the critical value chains in which the region has a competitive advantage.
where jobs are projected to grow over the coming decade. RiverLands has 11 clusters with index values greater than 1 (above the main horizontal axis) and where projected job growth is greater than zero (Chart 4).
The region participates in many clusters, as shown in Chart 3. The circles on the chart are scaled to reflect the size of employment in that cluster. The largest cluster is management, hospitals, and education, but the region has the same relative concentration of these activities as the nation as a whole. (Given the importance of health care and education, this cluster often ranks among the largest clusters in any given region.) The second largest cluster is business services, yet here again this cluster is present to about the same degree as in the nation.
The third approach is to identify the distinct assets and emerging industries that regional leaders believe offer the greatest potential for future growth. This was the singular goal of 3 roundtables held with more than 125 public and private leaders from throughout the Region. The findings from that regional dialogue corroborate many of the analytical findings, but also point to new directions not yet apparent from the data. Three findings stand out:
These and other large clusters could become more competitive. However, the more intriguing opportunities lie in the high-potential quadrant clusters where the region has a clear competitive edge and University of Missouri
n Regional leaders agree that agriculture and manufacturing are the real pillars of the current economy, but there are concerns about the effects of ongoing consolidation and globalization. The
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underlying work ethic and focus on innovation in both sectors is a source of optimism. That said, there appears to be broad consensus that the region must complement its farm and industrial past with new economic engines if it wants to achieve the economic growth to which it aspires.
significant constellation of colleges and universities as cornerstones of any new development strategy. K-12 schools have always been a priority in the region, although population loss in rural areas has created some budget pressures there. The region’s private and public colleges and universities are viewed as real assets. New efforts are under way to create stronger collaboration among the private colleges in Dubuque. And the University of WisconsinPlatteville is seen as a powerful asset to harness in new economic development, especially linking its excellence in engineering with the region’s dominant manufacturing sector.
n The region sees tangible signs of new economic opportunities taking root in the region, but many of these are still in relatively early stages of development. Most notable is the emergence of a new cluster of business service firms, drawn to the region’s low cost of doing business and corresponding low cost/ high amenity lifestyle. There is mention of renewable energy as a new source of growth, although apart from the emergence of a few firms that manufacture components for wind turbines, this opportunity appears to be further out on the horizon.
Finally, leaders across RiverLands recognize that partnership must be the hallmark of their new economic era. They realize that crossing three state lines to achieve a durable economic partnership will not be easy, but they also see great potential in bringing together the political, business, and civic throw-weight that three states can represent.
n Regional leaders regard the region’s educational excellence and
Chart 4: High-Potential Clusters 8
Dairy products 7 M AT U R E
HIGH POTENTIAL MORE COMPETIVE STRENGTH
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Cluster LQ
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FASTER GROW TH Nondurable industry machinery
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Concrete, brick building products Wood building products
Machine tools
Motor vehicles
2 Feed products
Wood processing Plastics products
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Metalworking & fabricated metal products
EMERGING
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Projected Change in Employment (over 2007–2017 period)
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Five Strategic Opportunities
ed jobs) in the RiverLands is far lower that what it once was. Thus, the region faces critical questions about how to best maintain and build on its industrial expertise.
The best development strategy builds on what a region does best. Based on a combination of the three approaches outlined above, RiverLands has five major strategic opportunities in building its economic future: manufacturing, food and agriculture, business services, tourism, and a “wild card” category aimed squarely at stoking innovation and entrepreneurship. Each opportunity carries with it a corresponding geography. Business services will likely center on Dubuque, and possibly to a lesser extent Platteville. Tourism will connect portions of the region that share its scenic vistas; put simply, a river runs through it. Manufacturing and agriculture are common to the entire region. Innovation and entrepreneurship transcend all the other strategies. They are the wildcards with the potential to dramatically affect every fiber the economic landscape. Given existing trends, this final opportunity represents a sort of anchor leg in the region’s economic race.
The key is figuring out how to exploit the region’s legacy of industrial expertise and skilled workers in markets that offer potential in the future. To help answer this question, it is helpful to set aside one large industrial segment—food processing—which probably is best placed alongside agriculture. Even after doing so, there is a very wide range of manufacturing that remains. RiverLands produces everything from nuts and bolts to highly sophisticated industrial machinery. Manufacturing activity is heavily concentrated in Dubuque, although three other counties also have a significant presence (Chart 5). Chart 5: Manufacturing Employment by County
The remainder of this section describes each strategic opportunity in turn. In each case, the goal is to identify the strengths that can propel the strategy and the factors critical to successful development. An overriding consideration is how the opportunity can help the region boost incomes and retain its youth and talent.
Percent of Region's Manufacturing Employment Located within County 0-6% 6.1-12% 12.1-18% 18.1-24% 24.1-30%
Manufacturing Manufacturing has defined the economic history of RiverLands, and it will continue to be a critical part of its economic future for some time to come. One in six workers in RiverLands works in a factory of one sort or another—a much higher share than for the nation as a whole. That said, the number of factories (and associat-
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Table 3. Established Clusters and Industry Composition Cluster Top Industries in Cluster
2007 Jobs
Earnings Per Worker
Proj. US Growth 2007 to 2017
Nondurable Industry Machinery Relay and Industrial Control Mfg. Misc. General Purpose Machinery Mfg. Motor Vehicle Seating and Interior Trim Mfg. Wood Building Products Wood Window and Door Mfg. Prefabricated Wood Building Mfg. Truss Mfg. Appliances AC, Refrigeration, and Forced Air Heating Heating Equipment, Except Warm Air Furnaces Residential Electric Lighting Fixture Mfg. Machine Tools Machine Shops Fluid Power Cylinder and Actuator Mfg. Misc. Fabricated Metal Product Mfg. Concrete Brick Building Products Ready-mix Concrete Mfg. Cut Stone Product Mfg. Concrete Block and Brick Mfg. Motor Vehicles Motor Vehicle Body Mfg. Truck Trailer Mfg. Travel Trailer and Camper Mfg. Wood Processing Sawmills Misc. Wood Product Mfg. Wood Container and Pallet Mfg. Feed Products Farm Labor Contractors and Crew Leaders Support Activities for Animal Production
6,562 816 803 759 3,585 985 776 383 3,532 375 45 24 3,402 798 513 421 3,278 235 71 24 3,059 729 72 58 3,000 343 195 189 2,747 701 497
$68,747 $76,518 $46,183 $35,982 $42,356 $41,995 $39,703 $45,644 $43,592 $50,112 $63,022 $33,933 $51,345 $45,509 $40,256 $42,640 $43,343 $44,995 $38,414 $40,250 $43,928 $38,899 $42,575 $34,405 $38,919 $31,720 $30,626 $21,080 $37,377 $19,811 $24,782
7.2% 25.0% 41.6% 62.9% 2.9% 6.2% -4.0% 59.5% 6.2% -1.1% 13.3% 70.8% 11.4% 7.5% 22.2% 26.6% 8.4% -26.4% 85.9% 12.5% 26.6% 45.5% 29.2% 53.4% 6.5% -29.2% -60.0% -30.0% 1.6% 17.7% -4.6%
Soil Preparation, Planting, and Cultivating Dairy Products Cheese Mfg. Fluid Milk Mfg. Creamery Butter Mfg. Metalworking and Fabricated Metal Products Sheet Metal Work Mfg. Prefabricated Metal Buildings and Components Fabricated Structural Metal Mfg. Plastics Products All Other Plastics Product Mfg. Unlaminated Plastics Profile Shape Mfg. Polystyrene Foam Product Mfg.
222 2,522 1,881 470 65 1,795 473 190 155 1,763 1,440 80 39
$18,638 $51,009 $49,151 $61,239 $70,241 $43,800 $47,187 $49,532 $56,545 $38,341 $33,771 $30,659 $35,938
-19.4% 7.9% 7.8% 15.3% 15.4% 20.1% 44.2% 5.8% 34.8% 14.1% 24.0% -43.8% 10.3%
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To focus the discussion, it is helpful to identify the manufacturing business clusters where RiverLands already has a strong competitive position and where jobs are likely to grow in the future. As noted above (Chart 4), there are elevensuch clusters and a quick scan shows that manufacturing is the foundation and principal activity in virtually all of them (the dairy and feed product clusters are closely connected with agriculture and will be part of the discussion below). A good starting point to crafting a manufacturing strategy for the region is to look beneath the broad cluster definitions to the key industries within each cluster. Table 3 lists the three largest industries found in each cluster in RiverLands. For each cluster, the largest industries are ranked by total employment with accompanying information on earnings per worker and projected job growth. These elements provide an important context in choosing a regional manufacturing strategy, since not all industries will contribute to raising the income bar, nor do they enjoy the same growth prospects. Still, the twenty-seven industries provide a useful starting point for maintaining and growing the region’s industrial prowess. One distinct plus in the region’s industrial future is the fact that many of the major firms are locally owned and controlled. Local owners not only have a big incentive to seize new market opportunities, they have a strong commitment to the region that is not always the case in many parts of rural America where branch plants have both come and gone over recent decades. Another plus is the entrepreneurial spirit of new companies, which often combine the deep technical know-how of former employees with a nimble approach to emerging specialty niches.
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Food & Agriculture
abating any time soon, and the recent peaks in commodity prices will only spur a new round of technological advance.
Agriculture is another cornerstone of the RiverLands economy. The region has always been a diverse agricultural landscape. While it has rich soils, the rolling terrain has always encouraged a diverse agricultural landscape, one with a broader sweep of enterprises than is often found in the Corn Belt. The RiverLands produces a wide variety of farm products, including dairy, corn, soybeans, and pork. Dairy production is especially important, as it underpins several large dairy processing and cheese plants throughout the region. In fact, the dairy production business cluster holds the strongest competitive edge of all 45 business clusters in RiverLands. Farm income is especially important to the rural portions of RiverLands. The region accounts for just under 10 percent of the combined farm income in Illinois, Iowa, Wisconsin. Finally, agriculture in the Midwestern region has provided the foundation for the region’s significant farm equipment industry, which includes operations for several major companies.
It is important to consider how the region creates new opportunities in the emerging local foods movement as well as in specialty, organic, and branded food products. Put another way, how can RiverLands exploit the best synergies between its scenic vistas and its diversified agriculture? Tuscany and Napa Valley offer interesting models for considering new opportunities in RiverLands. Roundtable respondents indicated that a new wine industry is taking root, although it is still in formative stages of development. New specialty goat cheese companies are also emerging. With some additional specialty foods, RiverLands could create a regional brand to underpin a new round of specialty restaurants and a new basket of branded foods on the shelves of Chicago and Minneapolis grocers. Providing support to new food entrepreneurs and connecting the dots across the region will be some of the keys to success under this approach.
RiverLands agriculture appears to have a strong competitive edge going forward. The region’s farmers are efficient and generally strongly capitalized, having benefited from the farm boom of the past couple years. Land values have moved sharply higher, adding significantly to farm wealth across the region. Farm wealth is an important asset that could fuel a wide range of new businesses throughout the region, although the equity capital mechanisms to do that are not in evidence.
Business Services Business services represent a new economic horizon for the region, and one that could offer significant upside. This is the encouraging story of new seeds sprouting as the region moves away from traditional economic stalwarts like manufacturing. The most visible sign of progress is IBM’s recent announcement to locate up to 1,300 jobs in Dubuque in a computer hardware and software assistance center. The region’s excellent work force, its educational institutions, and its overall high quality of life all contributed to the decision.
The region’s agriculture is mostly tied to commodity production, and that poses an ongoing dilemma for RiverLands. Consolidation remains the steady companion of commodity production. Technology has made it possible to expand farms to an average size that now likely approaches 2,000 acres. This trend shows no signs of
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This recent business decision highlights the general strengths that RiverLands may bring to further development in the business services industry. The region is within a two-hour drive of the
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The scenic vistas that define the essence of RiverLands obviously underlie a tourism strategy, but they are not the only assets that can fuel it. The region has many distinct historical and cultural features, providing the grist for a “story” to tell to the rest of the world. The farms that dot the rolling terrain not only grow agricultural products, they also create a working landscape of interest to many tourists. The region has enormous “weekend” tourism potential due to its location convenient to major metro areas like Chicago, Madison, Milwaukee, and Minneapolis. Many residents of these cities have already built second homes in the region. The key appears to be combining all of these assets into a strategy that has the critical mass to attract far more tourists than RiverLands does today. This means going further than just a joint marketing campaign of existing businesses. It means giving thought to how to connect new restaurants with wine trails and art festivals. It means coordinating the role for public park designations and the design of hiking and biking trails that connect. It means finding a regional brand that captures the essence of RiverLands.
Galena/Jo Daviess County Convention & Visitors Bureau
Chicago metropolitan area, but has residential and commercial real estate costs that are substantially less. The region boasts an architecture built for the industrial age, but one that can be re-born with an authenticity, character, and charm that many service firms find attractive. Business service firms and their employees find a broad, attractive spectrum of colleges and universities to support new initiatives and training requirements. Roundtable respondents point to the region’s increasing recognition as a high-quality place to live as a critical asset in attracting the creative class often associated with business services. A lively and developing arts scene is regarded as an important element in that quality of place.
Innovation and Entrepreneurship The four opportunities above all hold significant potential to boost the economic future for RiverLands. However, the region probably will need to do more. Today, agriculture and manufacturing still loom large in the RiverLands economy, and leaders recognize that globalization and consolidation could weaken their overall impact in the period ahead, strategic fine-tuning notwithstanding. And there is the ever-present undercurrent of concern heard in all corners of RiverLands: the region is suffering a critical brain drain.
A key to this overall strategy will be supporting the emergence of business services as a defined business cluster. Manufacturing has deep ties and networks in the region. Business services is a much more recent arrival. Thus, programs that can both broaden and deepen the network of such firms will be important. Who will act as the “cluster coach” is not yet evident, but this role is one that deserves serious attention.
In the face of these challenges, it appears wise for the region to consider a fifth opportunity that transcends all the other strategies:
Tourism Tourism is an emerging opportunity for RiverLands. Towns like Galena offer tangible signs that tourism is a part of the region’s economy, but leaders recognize that the potential is not fully developed. In particular, it is obvious that many RiverLands scenic amenities have not yet been connected within an overall tourism strategy. This is a prime example where the partnership that this Project aims to achieve may pay notable dividends.
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invigorating efforts in innovation and entrepreneurship. Private and public leaders in RiverLands understand that economies move forward through a never-ending process of what the famous economist Schumpeter called “creative destruction.” To put it another way, the Region has witnessed some of the destruction of its industrial past, and now wants to emphasize its creative future. Leaders in the region clearly see renewable energy as one promising direction for greater innovation. RiverLands has the requisite strengths to undertake this strategy, but will need concerted action to succeed. First, the region has a lot of wealth. Part of this takes the form of farmland, but another important part is the locally owned businesses that have accumulated wealth over many decades of success. New ways must be found to invest this wealth in a new generation of businesses that can create new economic opportunities, in industries that cannot be fully anticipated at this time. Second, the region has an excellent cluster of colleges and universities. These include private colleges, community colleges, and public universities. Very few regions the size of RiverLands can lay claim to this impressive cluster. The key is collaboration—first among themselves and then between them and the private sector. Finally, the region has a strong entrepreneurial spirit, one that is evident in its successful farms and businesses. Nevertheless, one legacy of an industrial past is the general perception that recruiting another large firm solves most economic problems. More and more of RiverLands’ economic future probably depends on successfully growing a strong base of local entrepreneurs. Tending this new garden will require care, attention, and new approaches to economic success.
These new approaches are already under way throughout the region. Business service firms like IBM suggest new seeds are sprouting from the buildings that once housed a very different economy. The collaboration required to build new industries has already been reaching across the region’s river boundaries, with manufacturers in Dubuque turning to the University of Wisconsin-Platteville for support. This budding spirit of partnership is coming at the right time. Virtually all of the region’s best economic opportunities will be built only through region-wide partnership. Moving deeper into specialty niches in advanced manufacturing will require a strong manufacturing cluster in the region, and a vibrant network of public and private expertise. Creating regionally-branded foods will draw on the agricultural bounty of the entire region. Stoking the new flames of business services will require a coordinate approach to quality of place, deeper business networks, and exploiting the full range of higher educational institutions. Seizing the full potential of the RiverLands scenic vistas will similarly require drawing on all the firms and talents that ultimately define quality of place.
Conclusions RiverLands is a vibrant region that is bound first by its scenic wonders—many rivers run through it. The changing tide of global markets, however, has created an even stronger sense of economic destiny. The Region has long depended on agriculture and manufacturing for its economic well-being. Advancing technology, global competition, and consolidation of farms and factories have made it clear that new approaches will be necessary to succeed in the future.
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Above all, building sustained growth and improving incomes in the region will probably require significant efforts to foster innovation and grow more entrepreneurs. The good news is that the region has both financial and human wealth to accomplish its goals. Doing it, though, probably requires the best possible levels of partnership between public and private leaders from all corners of RiverLands. 11
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About the Center The Center for Regional Competitiveness (CRC) is the coach expressly created to help regions pull together the pieces of a winning strategy. The Center was formed at the University of Missouri in the fall of 2006 to provide the tools and analytics regions need to successfully compete in the global economy. The Center’s vision grew out of recognition among experts that many, if not most, regions are ill-prepared for the global economic race. The Center is one of the nation’s premier regional economic strategy organizations. Our approach is to balance world class regional analytics with dialogue within the region to both strengthen regional partnerships and to reveal critical economic assets.
Center for Regional Competitiveness Mark Drabenstott, Director Sean Moore, Research Analyst Anna Ojanen, Research Analyst University of Missouri
mark@rupri.org sean@rupri.org anna@rupri.org 12
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