The RCGA works to retain and expand existing business as well as attract new business to the region.
By David Darnell
The RCGA focuses on stimulating sustainable growth and expanding the region’s economic opportunity. As the RCGA’s economic development arm, the Greater St. Louis Economic Development Council and the economic development staff at the RCGA implement programs that will help the RCGA and the region fulfill this vital goal.
Campaign for a Greater St. Louis
Created by the Greater St. Louis Economic Development Council and the RCGA, the original Campaign for a Greater St. Louis raised $12 million in cash commitments from more than 200 investors to support programs and initiatives to improve St. Louis’ business development. The ultimate goal was to create 100,000 net new jobs by the end of the year 2000. Through the close of the third quarter 1999, the RCGA’s programs together with the efforts of our economic development partners helped to create more than 90,000 net new jobs putting the region 15 percent ahead of this projected target.
We now have the opportunity to build upon this success — to sustain this momentum. The new $15 million, five-year campaign will continue to pursue economic development in the traditional sense, to attract and retain employees. The goal is to accelerate the region’s rate of job growth.
Greater St. Louis economic development network
The Greater St. Louis Economic Development Network is a collaborative group of more than 60 regional economic development professionals representing county and local jurisdictions, working toward the common goal of greater economic growth for metropolitan St. Louis. Members of the Network have agreed to follow a code of ethics that commits them to market the region as a region, putting the benefits of attracting a business to greater St. Louis before their desire to bring them to a specific community. The Network, with support resources of the RCGA, is implementing the Greater St. Louis Economic Development Council’s Strategic Plan.
Business Development
The number one mission of the RCGA’s economic development continues to be retaining the region’s existing businesses and helping them expand. Existing companies are vital to the region because an estimated 67,000 new jobs, or two-thirds of the Campaign’s 100,000 net new jobs goal, are expected to be created by the growth of existing companies. To reach the remainder of the goal, economic development must also continue to focus its efforts on attracting new or relocated jobs into the St. Louis region. In these cases, the RCGA acts as a “neutral civic broker” to assemble competitive economic development packages for prospects on behalf of the entire region.
Marketing Efforts
The RCGA works to market the St. Louis region nationally and internationally to companies in a position to invest in the region. A focused marketing program targets those industries and operations for which the St. Louis region provides business operating advantages. The RCGA focuses its marketing efforts on several key clusters including life science, high-performance manufacturing, information technology, distribution, corporate headquarters and financial services. Through a variety of marketing tactics, the RCGA is helping to generate excitement and interest in operating a facility in the St. Louis region. Components of the comprehensive marketing effort include research, direct mail, telemarketing and national and local advertising. In a major recruitment effort, Economic Development staff travels around the country to several target geographic regions hosting prospects and consultants at various venues. As an example, the RCGA teams up with the St. Louis Symphony in New York City to host a group of New York-based prospects and consultants at Carnegie Hall. The RCGA also travels to other cities such as Atlanta, to host prospects when the Cardinals play in other national league cities.
Each year, the RCGA hosts the Gateway Site Selection Conference in an effort to provide prospects and active consultants a low-pressure look at the advantages of operating a business and living in the St. Louis region. Participants meet in St. Louis for a three-day blitz of the region including a helicopter tour, regional briefing and Cardinal baseball game.
The RCGA also takes on a rigorous national media relations program to increase St. Louis’ visibility to the national and international press. For instance, the RCGA takes an active role in promoting the region during special events, including Pope John Paul II’s journey to the Gateway City, the 16th International Botanical Congress and the National Governors Association Conference. The St. Louis region was recognized in several national publications in 1999 including:
- Forbes, which wrote a feature article touting St. Louis as an “entrepreneurial powerhouse”
- Upstart Magazine, which touted St. Louis as a hotbed for savvy entrepreneurs and high-tech start-ups
- Industry Week, which ranked St. Louis 10th out of 315 regions as a world-class community for manufacturing
- Computerworld magazine, which ranked St. Louis No. 9 as a region for its wealth of high-tech jobs
- Outlook magazine, which ranked St. Louis among the best cities for expansion and relocation
- Esquire magazine, which named St. Louis as a “Red-Hot Center of Genius,” citing Washington University and Monsanto as unique assets.
- The Wall Street Journal, which featured Missouri’s historic preservation tax credit program as a national model.
Work Force Development
The key to economic development competitiveness today is work force development. The region must have a talented work force to attract new business and encourage existing business to grow.
The St. Louis Labor Council, the University Extension of the University of Missouri and the RCGA have developed a unique alliance to implement the ACT’s Work Keys System in the St. Louis region. WorkABLE St. Louis (Work Keys Alliance of Business, Labor and Education) is designed to enhance the economic development competitiveness of the St. Louis region by helping to prepare a skilled work force today and into the 21st century.
The Alliance is producing benefits for St. Louis regional organizations. First, Work Keys can reduce costs associated with poor hiring decisions. Productivity can also be increased by matching applicants and employers with jobs based on their skills and the skill levels required for those jobs. In addition, Work Keys provides “a common language” for communication between employers and educators.
A School-to-Work grant provided partial funding to hire a Work Keys Administrator, profile 25 high-growth, high-demand occupations, and equip a curriculum resource room for area Work Keys partners. ACT selected WorkABLE St. Louis to participate in ACT’s beta study to check the validity of a computer version of the Work Keys assessment. This opportunity provided secondary and post-secondary institutions, businesses, community-based organizations, and employment and training agencies to expose their populations to the Work Keys Systems at no charge. Nearly 12,000 tests were administrated and more than 3,400 individuals were assessed.
The RCGA has been involved in many other education-oriented projects this past year. Efforts ranged from hosting a spectacular Business After Hours to support and promote School/Business Partnerships, to hosting Career Education Workshops for local schools, to supporting several region-wide grants to foster collaboration between education and employment and training entities. The Workforce Development Department works hard to build Education to Careers transition capacity.
Campaign Scorecard
There has been substantial progress on other goals of the Campaign for a Greater St. Louis. Since January 1995:
- Unemployment has dropped from an average of 5.9 percent to 3.6 annual average percent
- Real wages have continued to rise since 1995 while during the previous five years (1990-1994), they fell
- Infrastructure construction increased 64% from $404 million per year to $664 million per year.
- Annual net regional new job growth is 2.5 times greater today than it was before the Campaign.
