New Economic Action Plan Unveiled

News Release Announcing Action Plan

Advance Northeast Ohio Plan Targets Four Areas for Regional Cooperation 

AKRON (March 30, 2007) – More than 250 community leaders from across 16 counties joined together today to launch a new economic action plan for the region. Focused in four target areas, Advance Northeast Ohio is an unprecedented regional collaboration that will result in growing businesses, new jobs, educational excellence, increased opportunities for minorities and the disadvantaged and more efficient government.

Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson, Akron Mayor Don Plusquellic and Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams stood shoulder to shoulder with Ohio Lt. Governor Lee Fisher and other elected officials, business leaders and community activists to support the action plan.  Advance Northeast Ohio is a product of more than two years of work convened by the Fund for Our Economic Future, a collaboration of foundations, philanthropic organizations and individuals committed to transforming the economy of Northeast Ohio.

“The announcement of our region’s economic action plan marks the beginning of an exciting era of regional collaboration in Northeast Ohio,” said Rob Briggs, chairman of the Fund for our Economic Future. “This is a big day, and it is the result of a lot of hard work by thousands of people across Northeast Ohio. Today our region is standing together as it never has before, and that’s good news for every resident of Northeast Ohio.”

Advance Northeast Ohio grew out of the Fund’s Voices & Choices initiative, which brought together more than 20,000 people to establish the region’s economic development priorities. Those insights, coupled with work from the Federal Reserve Bank and other leading economists, and input from business, labor, government, education and civic leaders, created the plan with four action areas:

  • Business Growth and Attraction
  • Workforce Preparation and Educational Excellence
  • Growth Through Racial and Economic Inclusion
  • Government Collaboration and Efficiency

In support of the regional collaboration, Lt. Gov. Fisher said: “In a globally competitive world, we have to work together as one team.  When I say one team I mean local, state, regional.  I mean public, private, and nonprofit. It all has to be one seamless web, working together with one set of metrics, one set of goals and one set of strategies.”

More than 50 business development organizations, chambers of commerce, governments, universities and civic institutions are partners in Advance Northeast Ohio. As a partner, the organizations endorse the plan’s action areas and are committed to collaborating to implement at least one of the regional economic development initiatives called for in the plan.

The Fund will convene the partners, encourage broader regional collaborations and measure and report progress being made on the plan. Regular updates on the plan will be available via the plan’s web site, www.advancenortheastohio.org.

Advance Northeast Ohio initiatives to be launched in 2007 include:

  • A marketing campaign to promote the region to growing businesses, tourists and conventions.
  • A Minority Business Accelerator to assist mid-sized to large minority-owned enterprises to dramatically boost sales and employment.
  • A high-tech and health care jobs portal that will shine a spotlight on the approximately 5,000 available jobs in the region’s health care, technology and biosciences industries.
  • An early stage capital fundraising campaign to help address the region’s need for $375 million in seed and early-stage capital over the next five years.
  • A Pathway Innovation Project that will improve student transition from high school into higher education and/or the job market.