Northwest Arkansas

Strategic Economic Development Plan

 

In November 2009, the Northwest Arkansas Council, which represents key regional business leaders, initiated a process to allow the regional community to identify how best to position the Northwest Arkansas region for retaining current employers, existing residents and attracting quality employers and talent. Market Street was engaged to facilitate this effort, which kicked off in March, 2010.

During the past 20 years, the Northwest Arkansas region has experienced exceptional growth and represented one of the most dynamic areas of the nation. The region’s population has more than doubled and locally-based flagship industries have grown to be among the largest in the world in their respective categories. As the region has continued to grow and develop, amenities and infrastructure have been added and Northwest Arkansas’ education and healthcare institutions are now much stronger and more competitive with other regions around the United States. However, like the rest of the nation, growth has slowed in Northwest Arkansas and it has been 10 years since any kind of regional economic development plan was undertaken. Further, while the global and national economies are enduring a very difficult period, Northwest Arkansas should be working right now to identify ways to transition and diversify the regional economy for the years ahead.

The Greater Northwest Arkansas Development Strategy is a vision for the future of the region and provides a roadmap to get there. The Strategy is based on qualitative and quantitative research and brings together all regional economic development partners.

The strategic process in Northwest Arkansas included the following five key components:

 

Competitive Assessment: This phase of the process assessed the region’s economic, demographic, and social trends; considered the quality of life and quality of place; and examined educational and workforce development resources and trends. Northwest Arkansas was benchmarked against three comparison regions, the state of Arkansas, and the nation. Key findings of this assessment include continuing in-migration (but a slowing rate of population growth), increasing diversity, a lower per capita income than competitors balanced by a low cost of living and a high quality of life, relatively lower levels of educational attainment in the adult population, and schools that are of the highest quality in the state.

 

Target Cluster Analysis: Building on the research and data analysis from the last phase, the Target Cluster Analysis used quantitative and qualitative research along with significant technical information to identify three clusters of historical importance to the region (Walmart and suppliers, food processing, and transportation and distribution) and five diversification target clusters. The diversification targets are professional services and regional offices; sustainable technologies and business processes; arts, entertainment, and tourism; university-lead technology development; and health care.

 

Marketing Review: The Marketing Review assessed and reviewed the internal and external marketing efforts of the regional partners to determine if they reflected best practice methods for increasing awareness and investment in the area.

 

Greater Northwest Arkansas Development Strategy: The Strategy represented the culmination of all research completed and presents action items geared toward addressing challenges and capitalizing on opportunities for visionary growth. Findings from each of the previous three phases were used to identify the following the core goal areas:

1. Infrastructure

2. Regional Economic Development
3. Community Vitality
4. Educational Excellence

Implementation Plan: While the Greater Northwest Arkansas Development Strategy represented “what” the region needs to do to achieve its preferred future, the Implementation Plan determined “how” that will be done. This report includes a capacity assessment, a first-year action plan, a two-five year action plan, budget, performance measures and benchmarks, and also determines which organization(s) should lead plan implementation efforts.

 

The Strategy was rolled out to Council leadership at the organization's annual meeting on August 11th, 2010 followed by an aggressively promoted public roll-out in January 2011 featuring Governor Mike Beebe and key partners. Market Street provided implementation assistance during 2010 and 2011 by facilitating work group sessions supporting the efforts of work group leaders in each of the four goal areas. To date, the Council and Work Group leaders have focused on adding staff capacity, promoting the strategy throughout the region, and have begun work on high priority projects, such as transportation needs. In April, 2011 the Council's President and CEO testified before Congress during committee hearing on transportation priorities.

 

For more information, please see the project website.