Presented as part of FOCUS Greater Syracuse's Citizens Academy Emerging Trends in Economic Development What it takes for strategic planning implementation success.

1. Emerging Trends in Economic
Development
Prepared for: FOCUS Greater Syracuse
Presented by: Jim Damicis, Senior Vice President
September 2018

2. Jim Damicis
Senior Vice President
• Immediate Past President, Northeastern Economic Developers
Association (NEDA)
• IEDC, Economic Development Research Program, International
Economic Development Council & Course Instructor
• Collaborator – Communities of the Future
• 25+ Years Experience in Economic and Community Development
Email: jim@camoinassociates.com
Website: www.camoinassociates.com
Twitter: @jdamicis
Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/jdamicis
Blog: www.camoinassociates.com/navigator

3. What is Economic Development?
Job stability
and creation
Planning, Organizing, and Acting to Support the Economy
Common end goals:
Tax base
stability and
growth
Diversification
of economy
and tax base
Wealth creation
and
diversification

4. Economic Development is Accomplished
Through…
Tools and techniques:
 Business retention and expansion
 Business attraction
 Global trade and foreign investment
 Workforce development
 Business technical assistance
 Innovation and entrepreneurial support
 Quality of place/place-based development
 Community development
As well as:
 Planning
 Organizing
 Implementation
 Resource Development

5. More than just goals and tools!
Economic development operates within a dynamic system of:
People Networks Organizations
Key functions: Interactions, relationships, communications, collaboration

6. Economic Development: A Holistic System
Workforce Business
Attraction,
Retention &
Expansion
Local & Regional
Economic
Development
Quality of
Place
Innovation
Entrepreneurship
Incubation
Acceleration
Real Estate
Sites
Infrastructure
& Planning
Land and Site
Development
Redevelopment
Downtown
Corridor &
District
Development
Land Use
Regs
Zoning Planning Marketing
Place-
making
Elements a Municipality can Affect

7. Automation
Loss & Creation of Jobs
Skills Gap
Fierce Competition
Incentives, Workforce, Taxes,
Transparency
Shifting Business
Culture
Adapt and Innovate
The Economic Picture Today

8. Trends Affecting Our Economic Future
Workforce.
Workforce.
WORKFORCE.
Ecosystems
Tech of
Everything
Quality of
Place
Rapid Change
and
Uncertainty

9. Workforce
Since we emerged from the
financial recession of 2008-09,
access to talent has become
the top challenge identified by
companies everywhere we
work, across all sectors.
Onondaga Community College
Short term training that leads to living wage jobs.
Trends Affecting Our Economic Future
Image Source:
http://www.sunyocc.edu/index.aspx?menu=979&collgrid=552
Phlebotomist Medical Billing
Line Cook Manufacturing

10. Workforce Trends
• Workforce is regional, not local
• Diversity – immigration – movement from problem to be dealt with to
economic opportunity
• No one answer, all of these are important:
• Service jobs
• Middle skills jobs
• High tech
• Technical and soft skills
• Lifelong blended learning – traditional as well as non-tradition higher
education – task economy
• Growth of the gig economy and independent workers
Trends Affecting Our Economic Future

11. Tech of Everything
It’s no longer only about precision and
advanced machinery. Digital technologies
and platforms are transforming every
sector - Internet of Things (IoT), data
science and analytics, virtual and
augmented reality, AI, sensors and more!
Everything is connected and
communicating.
Trends Affecting Economic Future
Technology Alliance of Central NY (TACNY) –
Mission Controllers at Pine Grove Middle School
Healthtech
Fintech
Industry 4.0 - Manutech
Supply Chain Tech

12. Technology Trends
• Smart Communities
• Gigabit demand –delivering a gig of speed is the new goal. Demand being driven by:
• Mobile consumerism, governance, etc…
• Cloud based services
• Big data
• Tele-health
• 3-D printing and related manufacturing technologies
• User content provision – uploading data, videos, audio, etc…
• Entrepreneurs and small businesses
• Demand for redundancy, reliability, and choice/competition
• Internet of things, artificial intelligence
Trends Affecting Economic Future

13. Ecosystems
Trends Affecting Economic Future
The strength of an economy
depends on not only what assets
it has, but how those assets
connect and interact internally
and externally.
• Innovation & entrepreneurship
• Building trust within networks
• Creative collisions
ESHIP Summit 2017: Ecosystem Builders 2025 Vision

14. Place
Trends Affecting Competitiveness
People want authentic, connected
environments that inspire creativity
and generate the exchange of rich
ideas that will support their own
personal and professional pursuits.
Talented people aren't looking for a
job; they are seeking an
environment that stimulates and
inspires.
Downtown Syracuse

15. Place-Based Economic Development
• Geography still maters: access to workers/talent, access to market, housing,
transportation and logistics, and digital infrastructure & culture
• High quality, diverse amenities - attract and retain workforce
• Buy local, regional sourcing, local and regional branding
• Sustainability and resiliency
Trends Affecting Competitiveness

16. Factors for Economic Development
Implementation Success
Trust
Internally and
externally
Process & Procedures
To build trust in the
process
Leadership
Adaptability and leading
through uncertainty
Communications
Open and active, across
networks
Capacity
Ability to function within
a system of networks
Adaptability
Respond and adapt to
external changes
New Funding Models
Reduce reliance on
government entities
Ongoing assessment
Continual improvement
and efficient use of funds

17. Lessons from the Field
• Don’t bite off more than you can chew! Break projects
into smaller digestible components based on your
organization’s and partners’ capacity to implement
• Understand what you can have impact over – i.e. at local
level you can impact land-use, zoning, permitting,
customer service
• Give collaboration and engagement within region,
diverse stakeholders, and the public more than lip
service – design and implement together
• Get comfortable making collective decisions without
perfect information and predictable outcomes
• Market externally AND internally

18. www.camoinassociates.com/navigator
More Economic Development Trends

19. Questions/Comments/Discussion?