Goal, Strategies and Initiatives

In today’s economy, talent, industry clusters, inclusion and connectivity provide the foundation for a true competitive advantage. During the visioning process, community members identified that "Northern Kentucky will reinvent its economy to outpace the national economy and create new wealth in the region."

Six strategies for achieving a competitive economy:

1. Develop an economic competitiveness strategy that is fully integrated with Greater Cincinnati and leverages assets on both sides of the Ohio River.
2. Focus on industry sectors with the highest growth potential for high-paying jobs.
3. Make entrepreneurship and innovation defining qualities of our region.
4. Create and implement a marketing plan centered on our region’s distinctive spirit, advantages and unique value proposition.
5. Connect our region by creating an electronic public platform (e-community) for commerce, education and communication that maximizes access and use of online opportunities and information.
6. Align our college and university programs and resources to support our overall economic competitiveness.

Latest Developments on Related Initiatives

Regional Indicators Report Line   www.regional-indicators.org
Regional Indicators Report 2012
The 2012 edition of the Regional Indicators Report, Measuring Our Economic Progress, was released on October 12th. The Regional Indicators Report is built on the premise that knowing how we stack up against our competition will guide us to greater economic prosperity. In this the second print edition of the Regional Indicators Report, Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky remain at 10th out of 12 regions overall. But, on indicators such as unemployment and educational attainment, we have tracked measurable improvements since our first report was released in 2012.
Download the report here.

Diverse by Design
Diverse by Design sets the bar on the degree of diversity and inclusion in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky and looks at the issues through a business and talent attraction lens. The research and data confirmed two things: that our region is highly homogeneous and that we have work to do to be a truly inclusive, welcoming community.

Jobs Outlook 2020
In the spirit of regional collaboration, Vision 2015 partnered with Agenda 360, The Strive Partnership, and Partners for a Competitive Workforce, to produce the Greater Cincinnati Northern Kentucky 2020 Jobs Outlook. The report offers critical information about job growth, projected wages, and educational and training requirements that will help students, education institutions, job seekers and program counselors to make informed decisions about the workforce of today and tomorrow.

Economic Competitiveness Working Group
In the Spring of 2010, the Economic Competitiveness Working Group (ECWG) was convened to bring together the most influential economic competitiveness professionals in Northern Kentucky to engage in data driven discussions that would produce actionable programs aimed at increasing our regional competitiveness. The group’s top two goals for 2011 were (a) an expanded Business Retention and Expansion (BRE) program and (b) an informatics based business accelerator. Northern Kentucky Tri-ED has taken the lead on the expanded BRE program, and has had great early success. The informatics based business accelerator grew into UpTech and is in its first year of operation. UpTech has already brought eight companies to Northern Kentucky in the first round, and looks to continue the success into 2013.

UpTech
UpTech, one of the region’s newest business accelerator’s, successfully completed year 1. The eight winners selected, GamiGen, CitiLogics, Crowdspark, InstrumentLife, MakeupHaulic, OneMorePallet, Student Designed, and Text and the City, have all been working hard to build Northern Kentucky’s next big informatics companies. The UpTech program, consisting of an in-depth education program, seed funding, research support from NKU, wrap around service mentors and a common workplace, coupled with each company’s entrepreneurial passion is a sure recipe for success.
Plans for year 2 are being developed now.

Water Technology Innovation Cluster
The Water Technology Innovation Cluster (WTIC) is a broad collaborative effort involving the USEPA, economic and community development organizations from Dayton, Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and SE Indiana, as well as regional universities, water utilities, and numerous private sector companies doing business in the water industry.  The goals are to more rapidly commercialize innovative water technologies, create jobs, and tap into the $770 Billion per year global water market.