> Competitive Realities
> Stakeholder Input Process
> Target Business Review
> Economic Development Marketing
Assessment
> "Taking it to the Next Level" Opportunity
Austin Strategy
> Implementation Plan
Competitive Realities
It is essential that the process of developing a strategy is based
on a clear, honest assessment of current trends and competitive
concerns. Therefore, the first stage of Market Street’s
work for Greater Austin will be a Competitive Realities report. This
document will utilize official local, state, and national data
sources comparing Greater Austin to state and national averages
to conclusively analyze the key indicators illustrating what has
happened in the region’s economy and demographics in the
past two decades, and in the recent past. These data sources
will also be leveraged to assess Greater Austin’s competitiveness
in four key categories: education and workforce development; infrastructure;
business costs and capacity; and quality of life. Greater Austin
will be compared to the metro areas of Denver, Colorado,
Nashville, Tennessee, Phoenix, Arizona and Raleigh-Durham,
North Carolina to provide an understanding of Greater
Austin’s competitive position relative to regions that compete
against it for jobs and residents.
The following categories will comprise the principal sections
of the report:
I. Demographic Snapshot
- Population change;
- Migration patterns;
- Age distribution;
- Teenage pregnancy rates;
- Racial and ethnic composition;
- Commuting patterns;
- Educational attainment levels; and
- Poverty rates.
II. Economic Snapshot
- Employment change;
- Top employers;
- Recent layoffs and announced openings;
- Labor force participation rates and unemployment rates;
- Per capita income;
- Employment by business sector (including location quotient
analysis);
- Average annual payroll by business sector;
- Establishments by business sector;
- Establishments by number of employees; and
- Non-employer, or self-employed individuals, by business sector.
III. Education and Workforce Development Analysis
- Educational attainment levels;
- K-12 enrollment trends;
- High school drop out and graduation rates;
- Per pupil expenditures;
- Student/teacher ratios;
- Standardized test scores;
- Inventory and assessment of available higher education programs;
- Two and four-year institution graduates by degree program;
and
- Available workforce development programming.
IV. Infrastructure Analysis
- Accessibility and condition of road transportation system;
- Comprehensiveness of public transportation system;
- Capacity and accessibility of air transportation;
- Rail transportation network;
- Technology assets, including high speed internet access;
- Innovation measures, including patent activity and academic
research funding; and
- Access to business capital.
Business Costs, Capacity and Climate Analysis
- Availability of buildings, sites, and business parks for commercial
and industrial use;
- Ease/difficulty of development regulations/processes;
- Labor cost assessment based on average annual pay by business
sector;
- Costs of utility services;
- Average fuel prices;
- Local and state tax rates affecting business operations;
- Brief assessment of local tax revenues and fiscal capacity;
- Assessment of available local and state incentive programs;
and
- Available support for entrepreneurs and small business owners.
V. Quality of Life Analysis
- Cost-of-living estimates;
- Affordability of housing;
- Availability of health care services;
- Measures of infant, child, and adult welfare and health;
- Crime rates;
- Recreational, cultural, arts, and entertainment amenities;
- Air and water quality, and other measures of environmental
health; and
- Civic engagement.
VI. Community Indices
The Southern Growth Policies Board has recently developed a Community
Index based on social capital (voter turnout, leadership diversity),
quality of life (health care, housing affordability, crime, the
arts), economy (income, unemployment rates) and education (educational
attainment levels) which Market Street will also use to
analyze Greater Austin’s competitive position.
Key findings
from the Competitive Realities report will
determine the priority focus areas to address in the development
of the strategic plan itself.
|
