Local Opinion: New look for local economic development

In honor of Economic Development Week, May 9–13, I wanted to share with the community the changes in economic development in Pima County. One of these changes was my recent appointment to the position of director of the Department of Economic Development for this wonderful organization. I am quite humbled to serve in the position, am truly jubilant to get to work for such an expansive and progressive group of people, and to serve the public in this new capacity.

Not only am I excited to join a team that includes long-time Deputy Director Patrick Cavanaugh, but also to announce the addition of Kelle Maslyn as our new assistant director for strategic affairs within our department. The combination of our fresh outlooks on economic development, coupled with Cavanaugh’s institutional expertise and extensive knowledge of the business community, makes for a team that will be a force to be reckoned with.

We have several important items we want to accomplish right out of the gate. First, we will undergo the first truly collaborative process to create a new Economic Development Strategic Plan.

This plan will be a combination internal/external engagement of staff, our Board of Supervisors, private and public stakeholders, other economic development agencies, and more, to identify a comprehensive path forward for Economic Development in Pima County. This will include identifying new (and reaffirming old) industry sectors to focus for attraction and retention/expansion purposes, as well as identifying regional collaboration efforts, strategic infrastructure development opportunities, foreign direct investment opportunities, resource conservation thresholds, and many other important elements.

Most importantly, this planning process will yield an implementation plan with metrics to measure our effectiveness in these areas.

I also plan to revive and refresh our image as an economic development department. We have currently updated our website to be more user-friendly and include appropriate and up-to-date information. We will be taking it one step further by building out a new economic development page, complete with new user interface, data tools, mapping capabilities, and more. This will allow Pima County to be at the forefront of information for site selectors, for the business community, and for the public.

As part of this effort, we have a new social media presence on LinkedIn, and we will refresh our marketing materials, making them more aesthetically pleasing, more informative, and readily available to those who seek them. We will also explore new technology to enhance in-person and virtual site visits, and how we share information among partners.

These efforts are just one small part of what our department will be doing. We will continue to find new ways to engage with our regional collaborators to find comprehensive and cooperative ways in which to attract new business, while continuing to support existing businesses.

We will have better and more frequent communication among organizations across Pima County, including Sun Corridor Inc., City of Tucson Economic Initiatives, Marana, Oro Valley, and Sahuarita, our chambers of commerce, educational partners, and more. We will also maintain active communication at the state level, including with our representatives at the state Legislature, as well as our peers at the Arizona Commerce Authority.

We will also be taking a closer look at our involvement with the incubation and growth of small businesses related to our identified industry priorities, and partner with appropriate groups to facilitate development of these businesses and their technology.

All in all, I am hopeful and excited to move the needle forward for Pima County in so many ways. I am heartened by the team I have around me, the leadership we have in the County Administration Office and our Board of Supervisors, and the partnerships we will forge with our colleagues across the region. Better things are yet to come!