How does Georgia become the No. 1 state in the country for business?
That’s the question that has driven the Georgia Competitiveness Initiative from the time Gov. Nathan Deal proposed it a year ago. For a long time, this state’s business environment had no peer in the Southeast due to our ample workforce, comprehensive logistics system anchored by Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and the ports. Tax and regulatory policies, along with quality of life, made it easy for Georgia to attract and retain companies.
However, in the past few years, our competition has been catching up. It was critical to re-examine the factors that site-selection experts deem the most important to business decision-makers: the quality of business climate, education and workforce development, infrastructure, innovation, global commerce and trade, and government efficiency.
Not since the early 1990s had these factors been examined in a comprehensive way in Georgia. The initiative particularly considered the needs of industry sectors such as logistics, health care, manufacturing, technology and agriculture.
The governor and the 23-member steering committee led the way in a strategy to consult with business communities throughout the state on these important issues. Last summer, our department and the Georgia Chamber invited companies to work sessions in each of the state’s 12 economic development regions.
Turnout was phenomenal: More than 4,000 Georgians who represented companies large and small, rural and urban, gave their time to assist. It was a privilege to witness the deep interest and full engagement of the participants in these sessions. It was illuminating to hear their thoughts.
Thanks to them, the resulting report is a well-defined, statewide economic development and competitiveness strategy that offers solutions for short-term needs and proposes a long-term vision. There’s a timeline for implementation, too.
In his State of the State address, Deal addressed the No. 1 concern that arose from these sessions: Georgia’s workforce pipeline and talent. His recommendations will go a long way to assure existing and prospective companies that we are committed to success. Moreover, his proposal to relieve some significant corporate tax burdens also is welcomed by the business community.
Responding to concerns about the state’s infrastructure, the governor is proposing funding for the Savannah harbor expansion project and for water supply projects. He is absolutely correct that passing the transportation referendum is imperative to our immediate and long-range economic development. This one important step will create jobs and address almost all concerns we heard from these companies about their ability to move inventory.
In addition to statewide recommendations, the initiative process produced a host of observations about each region’s particular challenges. The final report contains many of these, and we hope each region’s leaders will use this information to produce their own economic development strategies.
What impressed me most is almost universal adoption of a statewide perspective — an awareness of our state’s challenges and assets, and a willingness to go beyond the needs of each region and look at how these issues impact the state as a whole and its ability to compete.
This kind of visionary approach is exactly what we need to accomplish our goal of keeping Georgia at the top of its game. With the governor leading the way and whole-hearted support from every corner of the state, I have no doubt that the Georgia Competitiveness Initiative has produced a plan to ensure our state’s economic growth for the next generation.
Chris Cummiskey, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, is co-chairman of the Georgia Competitiveness Initiative.
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