Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Economic Development Strategy

The Sioux Falls area has made some significant progress in becoming more of a destination of choice for firms and individuals. Sioux Falls is consistently ranked by Forbes and Inc. magazines as one of the nation’s best cities for business. At the same time, there was a clear need to fully assess Sioux Falls’ opportunities and challenges, and funnel the community’s energy into a process that would focus on creating a holistic strategy for the future.

As part of a comprehensive effort to continue to expand the competitiveness and livability for businesses and individuals, Forward Sioux Falls, City of Sioux Falls, Minnehaha and Lincoln Counties, the Sioux Falls area Community Foundation, and the Sioux Empire United Way embarked on a process to enhance economic development activities and programs in the Sioux Falls area. The five components of this project were:

The Competitive Assessment report presented a breadth of research that demonstrated the Sioux Falls Area’s competitive position to accommodate “visionary” growth and development. A combination of factors that determine a community’s strengths as a place to live, work, and do business were assessed, including indicators related to education and workforce development, infrastructure and land use, business costs, and quality of life. This report helped to develop a shared understanding of Sioux Falls’ challenges and opportunities among project stakeholders.

To gather the perspectives of community members and project stakeholders several avenues were utilized including individual interviews, focus groups, and an online survey. Information was gathered about various aspects of the Sioux Falls Area’s current competitiveness and quality of life, as well as information related to stakeholders’ visions for its future development. Highlights from this process were incorporated into the Community Assessment and informed the Economic Development Strategy.

Building on the extensive research and data analysis from the Competitive Assessment, the Target Business Analysis blended quantitative and qualitative research on competitive business sectors and niches in the Sioux Falls Area, including significant data on location quotients, economic base analysis, and industry by occupation employment. This comprehensive analysis provided a serious new look at the utilization of target sectors and provide a key component of the overall strategy to be developed. The final product detailed a list of clearly-defined targets:

• Medical Services and Research Science
• Corporate and Data Services; Niches: Information Assurance, Customer-Care Services, Regional Headquarters

• Renewable Energy Technology; Niches: Biofuels and Wind Energy, Smart-Grid Technology

• Warehousing and Distribution
• Opportunity Areas: Hospitality and Tourism, Food Processing, Geographic Imaging

The Marketing Analysis focused on a thorough review and assessment of the Sioux Falls Development Foundation and Sioux Falls Area Chamber of Commerce’s marketing efforts to determine if they reflected best-practice methods for increasing awareness and investment in the area. Current internal and external marketing program tools were reviewed, including the implementing organization’s website, advertising and collateral materials, inbound and outbound marketing events, public relations, trade shows, site selection professional visits, and branding and identity efforts.

The Economic Development Strategy represented the culmination of all research completed and presents action items geared toward addressing challenges and capitalizing on opportunities for visionary growth. The Strategy served as a tool to unify the Sioux Falls Area’s public and private leadership behind a consensus blueprint for the community’s future. The “Five in Five” approach to the Strategy identified five priority goal areas for the region over the next five years:

• Workforce Pipeline
• Innovation and Entrepreneurship
• Quality Growth
• Visitors and Events
• Marketing

While the Strategy represents “what” the Sioux Falls Area needs to do to achieve its preferred future, the Implementation Plan determined “how” that would be done. This report included a capacity assessment, a first-year action plan, a five year action plan, and identification of which organizations should lead plan implementation efforts.

At the end of this months-long effort, the Sioux Falls area had an achievable roadmap to guide the community’s path to short- and long-term growth. Currently, the community is ramping up the implementation of the plan, a process guided by an Implementation Committee and Work Groups comprised of dozens of key local stakeholders.

For more information, please see the project website, www.futuresiouxfalls.com.