31
May
2005
When the Illinois Quad City Chamber of Commerce unveiled the findings of its Blueprint 2010 study last week, they had a familiar ring. The Quad Cities area doesn't have enough young professionals, the study found, there's a pervasive pessimism among residents, and the community doesn't market itself effectively to the outside world, particularly to businesses looking to re-locate.
"A lot of this information is fairly common knowledge," said John Warren, project manager with AngelouEconomics, the Austin, Texas, firm that led the study. Yet Warren and representatives of the Illinois Quad City Chamber believe this analysis will actually lead to results, unlike previous efforts.
Peter Lardner, who chaired the Unified Growth Strategy Policy Committee for the chamber of commerce, said the Blueprint 2010 initiative was necessary because although problem areas had been identified in the past, there had been little follow-through. "If we'd have done it the first time, it wouldn't be in the plan again," he said.
Yet having a plan and meeting its goals are two different things. With Blueprint 2010 focusing on the Illinois side of the Mississippi, and with the plan requiring action by a large number of separate organizations, there's certainly the significant chance that this new plan won't result in anything different from past initiatives.
Yet the Illinois emphasis makes sense because that side of the Quad Cities trails the Iowa communities in significant economic areas. And the Illinois Quad City Chamber is pledging to make sure this plan is translated into action.
Setting Goals
Rick Baker, president and CEO of the Illinois Quad City Chamber, said that his organization is working to establish measurable goals so that the community can track the effort. "We haven't set any goals yet," he said, but they will most likely look at key areas - such as the number of people ages 25 to 44 with bachelor degrees, the number of jobs, and retail sales - in 2010. Those targets will likely be set at the chamber's June meeting.
Baker added that there's some debate on the chamber's board about whether to set specific goals or whether to simply aim to improve generally in certain areas. "I tend to want it to be a little more aggressive," he said, but some board members don't want the plan to be labeled a failure if it improves certain situations, but not as much as the goals suggested.
"They're very committed to this being a plan that is implemented," Baker said. "That's one of the reasons we made a big deal out of it."
Of the three target areas, one - the internal attitude of the Quad Cities - is fairly nebulous and hard to address directly; the easiest way to affect the morale of the Quad Cities is to show resilience and improvement. Plus, the Quad Cities have "good momentum" in terms of an improving self-image, Warren said.
The external marketing of the Quad Cities is being actively addressed through the Quad City Development Group, with its recently launched "Engineered for Success" campaign designed to lure companies to the area in four target industries: financial services and information technology; food processing and packaging; logistics, distribution, and warehousing; and advanced manufacturing.
Blueprint 2010 also targets certain sectors, naming six industries designed to give the Quad Cities a more dynamic economy: defense manufacturing and operations; food processing; agricultural technologies; business services; warehousing and distribution; and industrial machinery.
If the area can lure companies in those industries, Warren said, the Quad Cities will be well-positioned to deal with any adversity.
The recent recommendations of the federal Base Realignment & Closure commission provide one example. While many people are fretting about the potential loss of more than 1,200 jobs at the Rock Island Arsenal, an economically vibrant community would be able to weather that change without much difficulty. In the process of "job churning," jobs might be lost in one area while they're gained in another, Warren said.
In other words, if the Quad Cities are successful in luring that defense-manufacturing industry here, jobs lost at the Arsenal might be replaced in the private sector. Or perhaps displaced Arsenal workers could go to an expanded Western Illinois campus, which is meant to focus on technology. The vision is that workers who lose their jobs can stay in the Quad Cities instead of chasing employment in other communities, Warren said.
Young Professionals
The most glaring weakness in the Quad Cities economy is the loss of young professionals. In a thriving community, Warren said, people age 25 to 44 with at least a bachelor's degree make up a minimum of 35 percent of the population. In the Quad Cities, that number is 21 percent.
That's critical, Warren said, because unlike in the past - when companies were looking for a community in which doing business was inexpensive - today's businesses are looking first and foremost at workforce. And a large percentage of young professionals make a community very attractive.
The Blueprint 2010 study features 41 recommendations, including 10 "high priority" suggestions. The full list of recommendations had not been made available at press time, but the 10 most important give a good sense of what the plan is striving for.
One interesting point is that the recommendation that's most vague - with no identified way of getting it accomplished - is the one targeting the biggest sore spot: the loss of young professionals. The suggestion simply re-states the problem: "Attract and retain young professionals in the Quad City region."
The other "high priority" recommendations, listed in the Blueprint 2010 Executive Summary, tend to at least suggest the action that needs to be taken to address shortcomings:
• "Support the growth of the NewVentures Center [in Davenport] and Northwest Region Entrepreneurship Center [in Rock Island]."
• "Establish the Quad City Entrepreneurs' Association to support entrepreneurial activity."
• "Establish a Center for Advanced Research & Technology (CART) to help prepare high-schools students to work in target industries identified in this plan."
• "Form the College & University Presidents' Council."
• "Ensure that area colleges and universities are able to provide degree programs that satisfy the skill and education needs of target industries."
• "Commission a study of the impending shortage of workers at major area employers due to possible retirements planned over the next five to 10 years."
• "Conduct a broadband-capacity study of the Illinois Quad Cities."
• "Form the Illinois Quad Cities Alliance (in the short term) and the Quad City Regional Alliance (in the medium term) to foster greater cooperation among Illinois Quad Cities (and ultimately Quad City communities in both Illinois and Iowa) to increase the effectiveness of economic development."
• "Agree on a brand and use the brand consistently to promote economic development."
• "Attract and retain young professionals in the Quad City region."
The plan clearly puts a premium on coordination and cooperation, the educational system meeting the needs of businesses, and a support system for entrepreneurs. "These 10 are going to get you the farthest," Warren said.
Baker said that one of the reasons the Illinois Quad City Chamber chose AngelouEconomics is that the firm has typically preferred its recommendations to be about doing things rather than making things. "They're not big, expensive recommendations," he said. "You don't have to build things. The majority of the plan is action."
There's certainly a human touch to the approach recommended by Angelou. Baker said that Illinois Quad City Chamber members can act as ambassadors for the community, supporting the marketing efforts of the Quad City Development Group with one-on-one visits. Business owners can be talking to other business owners, he said, and that might be more meaningful than having contact with a development-group or chamber staff member.
And Warren said young professionals can similarly play an ambassador role, essentially recruiting friends and acquaintances from other areas.
This primarily low-capital approach differentiates the Illinois Quad Cities from Davenport, which has in recent years emphasized the importance of expensive amenities to retain and attract young people. The loss of young talent in the Iowa Quad Cities was a major selling point for the River Renaissance proposal in 2001, which included major capital projects such as the renovation of John O'Donnell Stadium and construction of the River Music Experience, the Figge Art Museum, and the NewVentures Center.
There are two major capital elements to the Blueprint 2010 recommendations: (1) creating the Center for Advanced Research & Technology and (2) developing a one-stop shop for budding entrepreneurs, physically locating the efforts of multiple organizations (SCORE, the Small Business Development Center, and the Illinois Quad City Chamber) in one building.
Baker said the Illinois Quad City Chamber board is still working to determine how much implementing the 41 recommendations will cost.
Baker added that the Illinois Quad City Chamber board is likely to support giving significantly more money to its Young Professionals Network, an organization celebrating its third birthday.
The Challenges
Several features of the plan present major challenges to the Illinois Quad City Chamber of Commerce. Most importantly, the plan only addresses the situation in the Illinois Quad Cities, so changes implemented south of the Mississippi might not have equivalent efforts on the Iowa side. That makes having a community-wide impact difficult.
Secondly, the dozens of recommendations present logistical difficulty, as the Illinois Quad City Chamber attempts to coordinate efforts with organizations over which it has no control. For example, the Quad City Development Group presently handles business marketing for the region and in March unveiled its "Engineered for Success" branding effort. The Illinois Quad City Chamber can suggest changes to the campaign, but ultimately that decision lies with the Quad City Development Group.
Keeping the focus on the Illinois side is partly a function of the project scope. Blueprint 2010 got started with a grant to the City of East Moline and MetroLINK from the Illinois Department of Transportation. East Moline offered to share the grant, and the project grew to encompass the entire Illinois Quad Cities. Because the money came from the State of Illinois, the study's findings don't cover Iowa.
But there's also a logical reason to focus on Illinois: Statistically, it lags behind Iowa in key economic areas, such as population. That gap affects the entire Quad Cities area and needs to be addressed, Lardner said: "First things first."
For instance, while the Davenport-Rock Island-Moline Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) gained nearly 7,000 people between 1990 and 2003, the Illinois Quad Cities (Rock Island, Mercer, and Henry counties) lost more than 2,200 people. Rock Island County alone lost more than 1,000 people.
And the percentage of adults with at least a bachelor's degree is 16.3 percent in the Illinois Quad Cities, compared to 20.1 percent for the MSA overall.
"If communities on either side of the river are weak links, they're going to affect the entire" area, Warren said. "We want to be a good partner. We want to bring the numbers on our side of the river up."
As for coordination, Baker suggested the Illinois Quad City Chamber will not be taking a lead role with all the recommendations. "Big picture, it's more making sure the document stays alive," he said. While the Illinois Quad City Chamber will be in charge of implementing roughly half of the recommendations, he said, its larger role is to keep the community's and partners' focus on the recommendations and "be the conduit that reports back to the community."
A connection to Iowa initiatives is planned in the long run, Baker said. The Illinois Quad City Chamber is seeking the long-term cooperation of organizations on the Iowa side of the Mississippi and has met with Bettendorf government and chamber-of-commerce officials. Baker said the Illinois chamber is trying to schedule a meeting with DavenportOne.
"We won't sink one by one," Lardner said. "We'll sink together or thrive together."
"There's something for everyone to gain here," Warren said. "That's a powerful motivator. It's in all of our best interests."
"A lot of this information is fairly common knowledge," said John Warren, project manager with AngelouEconomics, the Austin, Texas, firm that led the study. Yet Warren and representatives of the Illinois Quad City Chamber believe this analysis will actually lead to results, unlike previous efforts.
Peter Lardner, who chaired the Unified Growth Strategy Policy Committee for the chamber of commerce, said the Blueprint 2010 initiative was necessary because although problem areas had been identified in the past, there had been little follow-through. "If we'd have done it the first time, it wouldn't be in the plan again," he said.
Yet having a plan and meeting its goals are two different things. With Blueprint 2010 focusing on the Illinois side of the Mississippi, and with the plan requiring action by a large number of separate organizations, there's certainly the significant chance that this new plan won't result in anything different from past initiatives.
Yet the Illinois emphasis makes sense because that side of the Quad Cities trails the Iowa communities in significant economic areas. And the Illinois Quad City Chamber is pledging to make sure this plan is translated into action.
Setting Goals
Rick Baker, president and CEO of the Illinois Quad City Chamber, said that his organization is working to establish measurable goals so that the community can track the effort. "We haven't set any goals yet," he said, but they will most likely look at key areas - such as the number of people ages 25 to 44 with bachelor degrees, the number of jobs, and retail sales - in 2010. Those targets will likely be set at the chamber's June meeting.
Baker added that there's some debate on the chamber's board about whether to set specific goals or whether to simply aim to improve generally in certain areas. "I tend to want it to be a little more aggressive," he said, but some board members don't want the plan to be labeled a failure if it improves certain situations, but not as much as the goals suggested.
"They're very committed to this being a plan that is implemented," Baker said. "That's one of the reasons we made a big deal out of it."
Of the three target areas, one - the internal attitude of the Quad Cities - is fairly nebulous and hard to address directly; the easiest way to affect the morale of the Quad Cities is to show resilience and improvement. Plus, the Quad Cities have "good momentum" in terms of an improving self-image, Warren said.
The external marketing of the Quad Cities is being actively addressed through the Quad City Development Group, with its recently launched "Engineered for Success" campaign designed to lure companies to the area in four target industries: financial services and information technology; food processing and packaging; logistics, distribution, and warehousing; and advanced manufacturing.
Blueprint 2010 also targets certain sectors, naming six industries designed to give the Quad Cities a more dynamic economy: defense manufacturing and operations; food processing; agricultural technologies; business services; warehousing and distribution; and industrial machinery.
If the area can lure companies in those industries, Warren said, the Quad Cities will be well-positioned to deal with any adversity.
The recent recommendations of the federal Base Realignment & Closure commission provide one example. While many people are fretting about the potential loss of more than 1,200 jobs at the Rock Island Arsenal, an economically vibrant community would be able to weather that change without much difficulty. In the process of "job churning," jobs might be lost in one area while they're gained in another, Warren said.
In other words, if the Quad Cities are successful in luring that defense-manufacturing industry here, jobs lost at the Arsenal might be replaced in the private sector. Or perhaps displaced Arsenal workers could go to an expanded Western Illinois campus, which is meant to focus on technology. The vision is that workers who lose their jobs can stay in the Quad Cities instead of chasing employment in other communities, Warren said.
Young Professionals
The most glaring weakness in the Quad Cities economy is the loss of young professionals. In a thriving community, Warren said, people age 25 to 44 with at least a bachelor's degree make up a minimum of 35 percent of the population. In the Quad Cities, that number is 21 percent.
That's critical, Warren said, because unlike in the past - when companies were looking for a community in which doing business was inexpensive - today's businesses are looking first and foremost at workforce. And a large percentage of young professionals make a community very attractive.
The Blueprint 2010 study features 41 recommendations, including 10 "high priority" suggestions. The full list of recommendations had not been made available at press time, but the 10 most important give a good sense of what the plan is striving for.
One interesting point is that the recommendation that's most vague - with no identified way of getting it accomplished - is the one targeting the biggest sore spot: the loss of young professionals. The suggestion simply re-states the problem: "Attract and retain young professionals in the Quad City region."
The other "high priority" recommendations, listed in the Blueprint 2010 Executive Summary, tend to at least suggest the action that needs to be taken to address shortcomings:
• "Support the growth of the NewVentures Center [in Davenport] and Northwest Region Entrepreneurship Center [in Rock Island]."
• "Establish the Quad City Entrepreneurs' Association to support entrepreneurial activity."
• "Establish a Center for Advanced Research & Technology (CART) to help prepare high-schools students to work in target industries identified in this plan."
• "Form the College & University Presidents' Council."
• "Ensure that area colleges and universities are able to provide degree programs that satisfy the skill and education needs of target industries."
• "Commission a study of the impending shortage of workers at major area employers due to possible retirements planned over the next five to 10 years."
• "Conduct a broadband-capacity study of the Illinois Quad Cities."
• "Form the Illinois Quad Cities Alliance (in the short term) and the Quad City Regional Alliance (in the medium term) to foster greater cooperation among Illinois Quad Cities (and ultimately Quad City communities in both Illinois and Iowa) to increase the effectiveness of economic development."
• "Agree on a brand and use the brand consistently to promote economic development."
• "Attract and retain young professionals in the Quad City region."
The plan clearly puts a premium on coordination and cooperation, the educational system meeting the needs of businesses, and a support system for entrepreneurs. "These 10 are going to get you the farthest," Warren said.
Baker said that one of the reasons the Illinois Quad City Chamber chose AngelouEconomics is that the firm has typically preferred its recommendations to be about doing things rather than making things. "They're not big, expensive recommendations," he said. "You don't have to build things. The majority of the plan is action."
There's certainly a human touch to the approach recommended by Angelou. Baker said that Illinois Quad City Chamber members can act as ambassadors for the community, supporting the marketing efforts of the Quad City Development Group with one-on-one visits. Business owners can be talking to other business owners, he said, and that might be more meaningful than having contact with a development-group or chamber staff member.
And Warren said young professionals can similarly play an ambassador role, essentially recruiting friends and acquaintances from other areas.
This primarily low-capital approach differentiates the Illinois Quad Cities from Davenport, which has in recent years emphasized the importance of expensive amenities to retain and attract young people. The loss of young talent in the Iowa Quad Cities was a major selling point for the River Renaissance proposal in 2001, which included major capital projects such as the renovation of John O'Donnell Stadium and construction of the River Music Experience, the Figge Art Museum, and the NewVentures Center.
There are two major capital elements to the Blueprint 2010 recommendations: (1) creating the Center for Advanced Research & Technology and (2) developing a one-stop shop for budding entrepreneurs, physically locating the efforts of multiple organizations (SCORE, the Small Business Development Center, and the Illinois Quad City Chamber) in one building.
Baker said the Illinois Quad City Chamber board is still working to determine how much implementing the 41 recommendations will cost.
Baker added that the Illinois Quad City Chamber board is likely to support giving significantly more money to its Young Professionals Network, an organization celebrating its third birthday.
The Challenges
Several features of the plan present major challenges to the Illinois Quad City Chamber of Commerce. Most importantly, the plan only addresses the situation in the Illinois Quad Cities, so changes implemented south of the Mississippi might not have equivalent efforts on the Iowa side. That makes having a community-wide impact difficult.
Secondly, the dozens of recommendations present logistical difficulty, as the Illinois Quad City Chamber attempts to coordinate efforts with organizations over which it has no control. For example, the Quad City Development Group presently handles business marketing for the region and in March unveiled its "Engineered for Success" branding effort. The Illinois Quad City Chamber can suggest changes to the campaign, but ultimately that decision lies with the Quad City Development Group.
Keeping the focus on the Illinois side is partly a function of the project scope. Blueprint 2010 got started with a grant to the City of East Moline and MetroLINK from the Illinois Department of Transportation. East Moline offered to share the grant, and the project grew to encompass the entire Illinois Quad Cities. Because the money came from the State of Illinois, the study's findings don't cover Iowa.
But there's also a logical reason to focus on Illinois: Statistically, it lags behind Iowa in key economic areas, such as population. That gap affects the entire Quad Cities area and needs to be addressed, Lardner said: "First things first."
For instance, while the Davenport-Rock Island-Moline Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) gained nearly 7,000 people between 1990 and 2003, the Illinois Quad Cities (Rock Island, Mercer, and Henry counties) lost more than 2,200 people. Rock Island County alone lost more than 1,000 people.
And the percentage of adults with at least a bachelor's degree is 16.3 percent in the Illinois Quad Cities, compared to 20.1 percent for the MSA overall.
"If communities on either side of the river are weak links, they're going to affect the entire" area, Warren said. "We want to be a good partner. We want to bring the numbers on our side of the river up."
As for coordination, Baker suggested the Illinois Quad City Chamber will not be taking a lead role with all the recommendations. "Big picture, it's more making sure the document stays alive," he said. While the Illinois Quad City Chamber will be in charge of implementing roughly half of the recommendations, he said, its larger role is to keep the community's and partners' focus on the recommendations and "be the conduit that reports back to the community."
A connection to Iowa initiatives is planned in the long run, Baker said. The Illinois Quad City Chamber is seeking the long-term cooperation of organizations on the Iowa side of the Mississippi and has met with Bettendorf government and chamber-of-commerce officials. Baker said the Illinois chamber is trying to schedule a meeting with DavenportOne.
"We won't sink one by one," Lardner said. "We'll sink together or thrive together."
"There's something for everyone to gain here," Warren said. "That's a powerful motivator. It's in all of our best interests."
