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UNC Center for Competitive Economies (C 3 E)

UNC Center for Competitive Economies (C 3 E). Chatham County: Economic Development Strategic Plan Jason Jolley, Senior Research Director Adjunct Assistant Professor. The Carolina Center for Competitive Economies (C3E). Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise. Project Background.

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UNC Center for Competitive Economies (C 3 E)

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  1. UNC Center for Competitive Economies (C3E) Chatham County: Economic Development Strategic Plan Jason Jolley, Senior Research Director Adjunct Assistant Professor The Carolina Center for Competitive Economies (C3E) Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise

  2. Project Background • Three incoming Chatham County commissioners approached C3E to gain a better understanding of the local economy. • A part of our public service mission, C3E conducted four workshops with incoming commissioners and community leaders, concluding with a SWOT analysis. • On April 1, 2007 the Chatham County Board of Commissioner contracted with the UNC Center for Competitive Economies to create an economic development strategic plan for Chatham County. • The Chatham County Economic Development Corporation was charged with facilitating the planning effort.

  3. Task One: Community Engagement • Task Two: Economic Development Scan • Task Three: Comprehensive Workforce Inventory • Task Four: Targeted Industry Cluster Characterization • Task Five: Existing Industry Needs/Opportunities Assessment • Task Six: Comparable Communities Assessment • Task Seven: Economic Development Vision Plan • Task Eight: Economic Development Organization Optimization

  4. Our Objectives: • To construct a community supported economic development plan. • To redefine Chatham’s competitive position within the RTP/Triad regions • To identify existing industry/business needs and opportunities. • To accurately inventory Chatham’s labor force. • To refocus industrial development on high value companies paying higher wages The Carolina Center for Competitive Economies (C3E) Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise

  5. Economic Development Deliverables • Expansion prospects from among existing Chatham County companies; • RTP area growth companies targeted for location of production activities and company-level descriptions of the Piedmont Triad and RTRP industry clusters most appropriate for Chatham County; • Specific company prospects outside of North Carolina for targeting; • Market-articulated infrastructure needs and priorities list; • Entrepreneurial economy assessment; • Workforce asset inventory; and • Recommendation of strategic economic development organization and management restructuring. The Carolina Center for Competitive Economies (C3E) Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise

  6. Community Engagement Blending the diverse community preferences of Chatham County citizens with an objective assessment of the County’s economic development options

  7. Community Engagement • Blending economic analysis with community values: • Five community meetings were held to kick-start the planning effort. • Two-day economic summit was held at the planning mid-point. • Five person working group of the EDC Board. • 20 person Economic Development Strategic Planning Task Force. • Two final community meetings to present plan • Presentation to joint meeting of County, Towns, and EDC Boards.

  8. Community Engagement • Over 1600 volunteer hours from the citizens of Chatham County formed the backbone of this project and provided community oriented context to our research in developing this strategic plan.

  9. Chatham County’s Challenges Chatham County… • is becoming a bedroom community of the Triangle region and residents commute outside the county to work. • jobs are concentrated in low skilled, low wage industries. • is experiencing a growing wage gap between the wages of Chatham County jobs and the NC average. • leaks a large percentage of its retail sales and sales tax to neighboring counties. • has geographic, cultural, and economic divide between eastern (Pittsboro) and western (Siler City) Chatham. The County’s historic ad hoc economic development and planning approaches were insufficient to address these challenges.

  10. The Carolina Center for Competitive Economies (C3E) Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise

  11. Chatham’s Low Wage Structure

  12. Chatham wages as a percentage of US and NC average

  13. The Carolina Center for Competitive Economies (C3E) Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise

  14. Source: US Dept. of Agriculture, Economic Research Service

  15. Retail Sales Leakage(2004-2005 in millions)

  16. Retail Sales • Approximately 64 cents of every retail dollar spent by Chatham County residents is spent outside the county. • Results in about $7.7 million in lost local sales tax revenue. The Carolina Center for Competitive Economies (C3E) Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise

  17. Organization of Recommendations • Economic Development Focus Areas • Attraction, Retention, Entrepreneurship • Quality of Place • Infrastructure • Economic Development Reorganization

  18. Attraction Retention Entrepreneurship 1) Economic Development Focus Areas Focus areas are not mutually exclusive

  19. 21 potential clusters ED Strategy Task Force preferences for growth potential, wages, & employment prospects narrowed list to six targeted clusters Seventh cluster, renewable energy, emerged from citizen preferences. Architectural and engineering services Technical and research services Basic health services Pharmaceuticals Information services Higher education and hospitals Renewable energy Attraction

  20. Triangle: Attraction Clusters

  21. Triad: Attraction Clusters

  22. Chatham: Attraction Clusters

  23. Targeted “Growth Companies” Many of the firms in these targeted clusters that favor Chatham are younger, locally-based “growth companies” Single locations and small headquarters not subsidiaries/branch plants but independently owned, entrepreneurial firms. Smaller but growing modest scale, between 25 to 50 employees, in facilities from 25,000 to 40,000 square feet Higher value added firms poised for expansion, posting high revenues per employee ratios, particularly given their modest facility scale

  24. Production Location for RTP/Triad Companies • Chatham County is not receiving its share of RTP/Triad relocations. • Chatham County’s manufacturing heritage and strong community college training programs make it an ideal location for production facilities. • Chatham offers a competitive advantage in cost and labor relative to other “non-core” RTP counties. Actively market the County’s Central Carolina Business Campus in Siler City and other suitable properties for location of production facilities identified in the targeted industry cluster analysis.

  25. Mid-tech Research Park • Prior Center studies demonstrated the potential for a mid-tech research park in the southern RTP region. Chatham was among the counties identified in this study. • A multi-county collaborative agreement is in place for the Northern RTP region (Kerr-Tar Hub). • Such companies may desire a closer proximity to the RTP market than the Central Carolina Business Campus in Siler City can provide. Northeast Chatham has the existing workforce to support such a park. Explore the development of an RTP branded mid-tech park to attract footloose, mid-tech companies desiring location in the RTP region.

  26. Vision for the Future Chatham County’s strategic location between the Triad and Research Triangle regions positions it as the preferred location for emerging-growth companies.

  27. How to you get there? • Move away from ad hoc economic development and planning. Adopt a policy-driven approach to addressing these problems. • Recast the EDC as a credible, apolitical advocate for and facilitator of economic development. • Adopt and implement the economic development strategic plan.

  28. Benefits of University Engagement

  29. C3E Research Team Brent Lane, Principal Investigator Jason Jolley, Co-Principal Investigator Lukas Brun, Senior Research Associate/MPA Student Research Team: Sara Abdoulayi, Planning/MBA Caroline Cunningham, Planning LeRae Davis, Planning Lindsey Davis, MPA Allan Freyer, OEBD Alison Gillette, Planning Erin Gray, Undergraduate Mari Howe, Planning Will Lambe, SOG Nora Lenahan, Planning Ben Mauk, OEBD Tina Prevatte, Planning/MBA Eugene Watkins, MBA Jared Wiener, Planning The Carolina Center for Competitive Economies (C3E) Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise

  30. Academic & Professional Outcomes Master’s Projects: Lukas Brun (Public Administration ’09): “Including Stakeholders Preferences in Cluster Analysis” LeRae Davis (Planning ‘08): "Beyond Fiscal Impact: Economic Benefits of Residential Development" Mari's Howe (Planning ‘08): "A High Road Community Economic Development Strategy for Rural Communities: A Case Study of Sustainable Agriculture in Chatham County, North Carolina“ Research Papers in Progress: “Economic Development Planning in Bedroom Communities”(revise and resubmit), Popular Government. “Incorporating Community Values into Industry Cluster Analysis” (in progress) “Defining a Renewable Energy Cluster” (in progress) Career Opportunities: Mari Howe (DCRP ’08) hired as new Research and Innovation Manager for Chatham County Economic Development Corporation The Carolina Center for Competitive Economies (C3E) Kenan Institute for Private Enterprise

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