What’s the 411?
Elected officials bring passion and purpose to their positions, and economic development is an increasingly important part of their duties. Whether a town council, a local school board or a statewide office, governing bodies work to protect, change or evolve policies that are affected by growth and development. Our elected leaders arrive at their positions from all walks of life, so it is our responsibility as economic development professionals to provide the framework they need to make informed decisions.
To provide such a framework, the Mid-Ohio Development Exchange (a group comprised of local economic developers), the Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission and One Columbus are holding the first ED411 session this Friday at The Ohio Union. Leaders from across our 11-county region will join together to network, discuss and debate economic development issues. Kudos to all who have worked to put this together, and thank you to participating elected officials for their time and willingness to learn and share their thoughts.
The Columbus Region is an incredible place to practice economic development. There are existing and emerging growth opportunities to work on, and constant challenges as our economy evolves. The best thing, however, is the support of community and state leaders who value sound economic development. We look forward to Friday and hope that ED411 will continue as an annual event.
One Columbus Updates
- Congrats to the IBM team on the announcement of the IBM Client Center for Advanced Analytics, a first-of-its-kind facility that will perform important work and create hundreds of jobs. The announcement is also generating buzz about Columbus far and wide, receiving coverage in publications like Forbes, The New York Times and Ad Age, among others. Thank you to all of our private partners, the City of Columbus, Franklin County, and JobsOhio for all of their work on this project.
- Our team joined the Ohio Farm Bureau for their annual meeting (omelets and all) to discuss economic development in the Region and the State of Ohio. The agricultural community is vital to Ohio’s economy. Ohio’s $105.2 billion agriculture and food sectors comprise approximately 11.7 percent of Ohio’s total output, 10.7 percent of total GSP and 14 percent of total employment. Our thanks to our partners in the agricultural community for their collaboration and important contributions.
Ohio is emerging as one of the top states for job growth in the U.S., currently ranked fourth in the nation. Building off this success, JobsOhio has launched a multifaceted campaign to help spread the news about people and businesses thriving in Ohio. Check it out and share your own story at ThriveInOhio.com.