This story originally appeared in The Centre County Gazette.
The Chamber of Business and Industry Centre County unveiled the new Centre County Economic Development Strategic Plan, at a luncheon on Oct. 9. The report is a “comprehensive, collaborative plan representing the county’s shared vision for economic growth, resilience and sustainability,” according to the new web platform for the plan, centrecountyforward.com.
“Today marks a significant and pivotal moment in our community,” Greg Scott, CBICC president and CEO, said during the luncheon. “The launch of this plan represents the culmination of months of collaboration among businesses of all sizes, community leaders and residents working together to build a thriving economy for Centre County. This journey has been an enormous undertaking, but one our community has embraced with the spirit of unity, and pride that truly embodies Centre County.”
THE PURPOSE
The Centre County Economic Development Strategic Plan aimed to address multiple challenges that impact the county.
Firstly, the plan noted that since 2020, Centre County has seen a population decline primarily as a result of “domestic out-migration.”
“While the county benefits from a young population, the low labor force participation rate has always challenged long-term workforce stability due to a significant student population that comes and goes,” the plan noted.
The plan also outlined the untapped potential to leverage the resources provided by the presence of Penn State University in the county and noted the challenges posed by having income disparities across different age and racial groups in the area, further noting that a high proportion of employment is in education and health care in Centre County, demonstrating the potential to diversify the area’s economic base.
The housing market was also an area of note for the plan, which aimed to address the challenges associated with providing attainable housing for new residents as industries developed in Centre County.
Lastly, the plan noted that vacant retail and office spaces and limited transit routes imposed challenges on the economic growth of the area.
CREATING THE PLAN
Since June 2023, CBICC has worked with local leaders and businesses to develop the strategic plan centered on the future of the region’s economy. Development of the plan included the formation of an Economic Development Council, which featured members from multiple industries and towns in Centre County, who met throughout the planning process to give feedback on plan drafts.
Through the council’s input, strategic actions that could be broken into four categories — business retention and expansion, targeted and emerging industries, workforce and education and built/natural environment — were developed to reflect a “shared vision” for the county’s future economic growth and sustainability.
BUSINESS RETENTION AND EXPANSION
In an effort to develop local business support, encourage entrepreneurship and innovation and also help make Centre County competitive at a statewide level, the first strategic action focused on business retention and expansion. For new businesses, the plan aims to “streamline and expand resources” to make the startup development more efficient. One of the actions taken to achieve this in the plan is the development of a concierge service to help entrepreneurs navigate the process of starting and maintaining a business in the region.
Additionally, a priority was placed on continual engagement with entrepreneurs and “high growth” companies via the development of networking events and engagement efforts to better understand local businesses’ needs.
Lastly, to achieve the goal of business retention and expansion, the plan puts forward the action of an annual survey to better understand employers’ needs to grow and development of customer relationship management systems.
TARGETED AND EMERGING INDUSTRIES
Though the plan noted the key importance of Penn State on the economic prosperity of the area — with Penn State University President Neeli Bendapudi applauding the efforts of the plan at the luncheon — it also targeted potential emerging industries to expand regional brand identity beyond the university.
“I am here today because I wanted to make sure you know that we at Penn State are truly committed to this important work and to this strategic plan,” Bendapudi said at the luncheon. “I want to state in the strongest terms no uncertainty about this that Penn State is fully and deeply committed to the realization of this particular strategic plan. We’re committed to undertaking this work in close collaboration and partnership with every single one of you here today.”
One of the industries that the plan aims to tap into is sensor technology, focusing on the support of research, development, expansion and production of the sensor technology industry.
WORKFORCE AND EDUCATION
To encourage Penn State graduates to stay in the area upon completion of their degree and attract other high-end talent to the region, the plan noted the goal of developing initiatives for networking and professional development and launching talent attraction campaigns that will help the county tap into the desired industries of expansion.
Additional data collection and distribution of labor market insights and communication between local businesses to determine barriers of talent attraction and retention are prioritized in the plan.
BUILT AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
The final strategic action of the plan focuses on the development and preservation of the region’s outdoor and tourism industries to amplify the area as a tourism and recreation destination hub. Additional efforts to develop more affordable housing units and social gathering spots in the area was highlighted as goals in the plan, as well as the development of a process to better identify and evaluate potential site development in the county.
“Going forward, each and every one of us has an opportunity to take action,” Scott said, addressing those in attendance at the luncheon. “This plan is not owned or operated by CBICC nor any single entity. It is wholly a collaborative plan, the execution of which lies with each of us.
“I encourage you to dig deeper into what you heard today. Check out the plan on our website and consider the incredible impact it stands to have on your business, your quality of life and your community.”
The full Centre County Economic Development Strategic Plan can be found at centrecountyforward.com.
