Georgia’s Centers of Innovation are Making an Impact on Economic Development
When it comes to economic development Georgia is king. For the second year in a row the State of Georgia has been named the number one state to do business in by Site Selection magazine. The popular economic development magazine lists the state’s workforce training program, port access and pro business environment as assets that helped lead the state to a top ten ranking for the past ten years. Site Selection Magazine is not alone in singing the state’s praise when it comes to business attraction and retention. CNBC and Area Development have both named Georgia number one in their respective annual rankings.
Targeting Georgia’s Strategic Industry Sectors
At the heart of Georgia’s ability to run a creative and successful business attraction program are the Georgia Centers of Innovation. These centers each concentrate on one aspect of creating a diverse and strongly positioned economy through targeting specific industry sectors for growth. The various industries included in the Centers of Innovation are aerospace, agriculture, energy technology, information technology, logistics and manufacturing. Together these growth industries can help lead to a prosperous and varied economy protected against market volatility.
Taking Advantage of the Centers of Innovation
The purpose of the Centers of Innovation is to help drive economic growth and development by creating business opportunities and building key relationships within each industrial sector. Bringing together private, public and academic stakeholders allows access to unparalleled research, development, regulatory infrastructure and the tools needed to bring products and services to market. This all business needs under one roof approach that the state has taken has allowed businesses to succeed by taking advantage of opportunities that they would not have been afforded elsewhere.
Georgia Logistics Summit
Every year, the Center of Innovation for Logistics host the Georgia Logistics Summit. The event brings representatives from all around Georgia, and the U.S. to learn more about the changes, challenges, and opportunities of the ever changing logistics industry. The Georgia Logistics Summit is of huge worth for Glynn County because of the area’s unique logistics assets. The Port of Brunswick is widely known as one of the Nation’s top locations for importing roll on/roll off cargo. Brunswick and Glynn County is strategically located directly in between Savannah, Georgia and Jacksonville, Florida which creates a unique competitive advantage for distribution companies that use both ports. The logistics industry is a big deal in the Golden Isles.
What the Centers of Innovation Do
Taking a closer look at some of the Centers of Innovation it is not difficult to see why they have been so successful. The Aerospace Center of Innovation is responsible for attracting over 85,000 jobs to the state as firms such as Lockheed Martin flock to take advantage of the Georgia Department of Economic Development’s strategic and competitive planning. With the ability to connect with others within the industry from researching new technology all the way to the manufacturers that can create your product, there is no business need that goes unfilled.
The Logistics Center of Innovation provides the resources needed to get the job done. The center is always available to assist logistics firms and help foster an environment that promotes growth and drives a productive and attractive business climate. With Georgia being within 2 days of 80% of the US population, the state has become a major hub for transportation and logistics and the Center of Innovation looks to continue that growth.
The manufacturing industry employs nearly 500,000 workers within the state and is a major force in the exports market. The center makes its various resources and expertise available to the state’s manufacturing companies in order to give them an competitive advantage in the market. From the planning stages to the development of the product the Manufacturing Center of Innovation is a key partner in the growth of this important industrial sector.
Impact on Economic Development
With job creation soaring the Centers of Innovation have proven to be a huge success. The Georgia Department of Economic Development continues to support this movement and the future of the various centers is bright. With the current level of recognition throughout the world as a great place to do business, the potential to expand into new industries with their own Centers of Innovation may be too great for the state to pass up. 2015 will prove to be an interesting year as Georgia aims for a third straight year atop the economic development rankings.
