Double down on your strengths and solve for your weaknesses.
Welcome to another issue of Ecosystem Builder's Edge! Today we explore the concept of Industry Clustering as a Regional Growth Strategy, drawing from my personal experiences successfully implemented such an initiative. Consider this a case study where committed government partners, a passionate and knowledgeable team, strategic planning, data-driven approaches, and a collaborative ecosystem are key elements in fostering the growth of innovative companies.
Industry Clustering as a Regional Growth Strategy
Today I'm sharing about a topic near and dear to my heart. Over the last 3 years I had the privilege of leading a team that started from ground zero with a hope and a prayer, assembled a high-performing group of passionate experts and built a collaborative regional industry clustering initiative that now supports of 175+ innovative companies in 5 industry clusters across a multi-county region.
The initiative has won the Site Selectors Guild award for the most innovative new Economic Development initiative in 2022 and the model is built on successful industry-university collaborative frameworks that have been developed in Europe and other parts of the world to accelerate economic growth and innovation.
This partnership was catalyzed between a local government and a regional economic development group tied to two powerhouse research universities. These are two of the 9 major stakeholders we've identified that contribute to a thriving innovation ecosystem!
It's built on the very important idea that all regions have strengths to leverage and gaps to fill.
Without going into specific metrics and ROI (you can read all that goodness in the annual report), suffice to say that the investment made by our local county partner was returned multiple times in additional funding from complementary sources and more than 20X in the funding received by companies supported by the initiative.
Today I'm sharing what propeled this initiative, Cenfluence, become a role model industry clustering framework and have a huge impact on the region I call home:
1) Committed local government partners investing 3 years of critical funding to stand up the tiny team, fund the foundational structure, support marketing and other key connections.
2) A team that has a combination of passion for industry clustering, ecosystem building, grant writing and knows the local startup ecosystem inside and out that is committed to addressing gaps and serving innovative companies needs above all else.
3) A systematic 3 year strategy and industry clustering framework developed over multiple iterations and deployed locally. This is the special sauce.
4) A data-driven and systems thinking approach that relies on a single source of truth database for everything related to the companies we serve. From their application, to news, wins, events, grant opportunities and KPIs and more -- this is a key driver of operationalizing and meeting the needs of customers and the companies served.
5) A collaborative ecosystem of partners willing to listen and learn about the opportunities presented with industry clustering and embrace the additional business support services offered. It's not always easy to be open to a new entrant into the region to fill a gap and foster new success without leaders in your region having a growth mindset.
If any of these elements are missing, this multifaceted approach to creating a critical mass of companies in interconnected industries can't work. I'm grateful to have been part of an initiative where these elements aligned.
I'm always open to share experiences with other ecosystem builders that want to create similar transformational initiatives in their communities, so please reach out if you'd like to learn more about how to foster industry clustering as part of your strategy.
Highlighted Events
Stay connected with upcoming events where ecosystem builders gather. ⭐ Be sure to find me and say hello if you attend SCN in Shenandoah Valley!
Weekly Reads
Engage in insightful conversations on ecosystem building from around the web this week:
Your Input Matters
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Until next time!
🌟 Keep Shining,
Amy Beaird, PhD
The Ecosystem Builders Edge
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