Corridor needs to embrace its assets, economic-development chiefs say

With the launch of the Iowa's Creative Corridor brand earlier this year, Business 380 invited Dee Baird, president and CEO of the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance, and Mark Nolte, interim president of the Iowa City Area Development Group, to discuss the status of cooperative economic-development efforts.

Their comments, made during a discussion with George C. Ford, Gazette business reporter, and Michael Chevy Castranova, business editor, on May 31 indicate a much closer working relationship than previously known. Here are excerpts from that conversation.

Business380: What are the geographic areas served by your respective organizations?

Baird: The Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance serves Linn, Benton and Iowa counties as well as the Amana Colonies and North Liberty in partnership with ICAD Group.

There is an economic development effort in Jones County, so when you look at the organizations that have more of a regional scope ... we're really focused on a seven-county area.

Nolte: ICAD Group serves all the communities in Johnson County, as far east as West Branch, West Liberty and Tipton, and down to Kalona in Washington County.

Business380: From the 50,000-foot view, what are the big things that need to be accomplished in the region?

Baird: We need to understand our assets, embrace them and market them at a greater level. When we talk about assets, we need to think about the fact that we have a tier-one university and a world-class community college. The combination of those higher education institutions give us assets that most regions don't have.

I think sometimes we are our own worst critics. We have to discover that we have a lot of unique assets and strengths, build up internal pride within the region, and then market them at a greater level.

Nolte: The nature of the economy is changing and the type of worker that Rockwell Collins and other employers in the region rely on is dramatically changing and will continue to change.

We are uniquely positioned with the type of learning environment that we have, including Kirkwood Community College, some of the best public schools in the nation, as well as ACT and Pearson being in the region. I don't think we take full advantage of the resources that we have here.

Business380: What are some areas where your two organizations work together? How do you decide who is going to do what?

Nolte: There are protocols in place, and the level of cooperation in the seven-county region is fantastic. The state of Iowa recognizes us as a single region under the Creative Corridor brand.

When we get a request for proposal, we send it to all the economic development groups in the region and they send information back to us. We package it as a single proposal.

There is a code of conduct, rules of engagement and memorandums of understanding setting out how we will represent the Creative Corridor and the region. The level of cooperation and collaboration between our organizations is the highest it's ever been.

Baird: Our two organizations have been doing regional marketing for more than 15 years. When we're trying to do regional marketing, we start from a point of selling the region because the numbers are greater than any individual community.

We're shifting from marketing the Technology Corridor to the Creative Corridor brand. We each bring different strengths to the table.

When you can put the two resources together and blend them, you've got a greater toolbox for economic development.

Business380: What are the areas where you would like to see additional networking?

Nolte: How we approach existing industry and work force information is really our next task. We have the willingness, and we're just trying to figure out how to do that.

I think our philosophies are more aligned than they've ever been.

Business380: Would merging the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance and ICAD Group be beneficial?

Nolte: We are non-profit groups and we're running very lean. I don't think there would be a huge cost savings to anyone.

Both organizations are operating at very high levels right now. We have so much work to do and the level of activity is the highest that we've seen in years.

Baird: Under previous leadership and structures, there was this feeling that we had to have a representative from Cedar Rapids and Iowa City when we were visiting prospects or attending conferences and trade shows. Now, we can trust that we can send a single representative to represent both ends of the Corridor.

We are smaller organizations and we need to use out assets where they can most effectively represent the region.

Business380: What role do you feel the University of Iowa should play in economic development?

Nolte: At the end of the recent Big Omaha convention ... we met a woman who is an executive on loan from Louisiana State University to her community. We brought that back, presented it to (UI President) Sally Mason and her cabinet, and said, ‘Could we have someone from the university work with ICAD Group, the Iowa City Area Chamber and the Cedar Rapids Metro Economic Alliance to be a physical bridge?'

Baird: In fairness to the university, I think President Mason and her cabinet are open to working with us. I think it's a matter of do we know who we need to go to ask them to assist us.

I think they are working on their structure to be more open to us, but the university's sheer size makes it more difficult.

Business380: In the outside world, people and companies aren't all that knowledgeable of Cedar Rapids and Iowa City, or of what the Corridor offers. How can we make the Corridor more visible?

Baird: We've had a lot of success over the last 15 years as a result of our external marketing and economic development work.

We have not done a very good job of selling our own communities and residents on the benefits of living here, being proud of where they live and why it's great place to live. If we can be successful in the next couple years getting people to tell their friends and family about the community, we will become authentic to those who visit us.

Nolte: We need to tear down some walls between various groups and get everyone working together. Maybe that means more brats-and-beer (networking events), as we're heard about in places like Austin, Texas. We need to change the culture to attract the best people.

Once that occurs, we will become known for our innovation and creativity, and we will show up on the short list of communities when businesses are looking to expand and build new facilities.