Business leaders: airport, ‘shovel-ready’ sites top economic priorities
At the Columbia Chamber of Commerce annual retreat on April 21, local business leaders, university administrators and elected officials were asked to rank local economic development priorities. At the top of the list, in a tie vote: industrial land development and improvements in the airport’s service and infrastructure.
Third on the list, the personal preferences of the retreat participants, was working with the University of Missouri to develop science-based businesses and attract high-tech entrepreneurs.
“Economic Development that Makes Sense for Columbia and Boone County” was the focus of the 2008 retreat, held at the Missouri State High School Activities Association building on Keene Street. The retreat was expanded this year to include elected officials and other special guests along with the board members, committee chairs, advisers and staff.
The survey took place at the end of the event, after speakers such as Greg Steinhoff, director of the Missouri Department of Economic
Development and a former Columbia business operator, noted some of the strengths and weaknesses of the city’s attractiveness to potential industries.
Columbia lacks “shovel-ready sites,” or industrial land ready to be developed, with infrastructure in place, and needs to provide incentives to attract industry. The difficulty in getting into and out of Columbia by air “is a problem,” he added.
Steinhoff also said there is “a huge potential” for economic growth that is based on businesses that evolve from research at MU.
The university is ranked high in research funding but low in technology transfer, he pointed out. A significant percentage of patents based on research at MU is purchased by companies outside the state, and the amount of venture capital is low compared with the national average, he said.
“Potential jobs are going elsewhere,” Steinhoff said.
MU Provost Brian Foster discussed how the university and the local community can collaborate to foster economic vitality, and Steve Wyatt, University of Missouri Extension’s business development program director, pointed out efforts being made to commercialize university research.
Don Laird, president of the Columbia Chamber of Commerce, said the local link with MU “is stronger and it will get even better.” ϖ
Chamber partners with AmerenUE for business program
The Columbia Chamber of Commerce is partnering with AmerenUE on a new program to assist area employers.
Through the program, Columbia Chamber of Commerce representatives will visit local businesses to seek input on key issues affecting local companies and to learn how the community can proactively assist companies in pursuing growth opportunities or addressing economic challenges.
AmerenUE has made available Synchronist, a business visitation model, and the e-Synchronist software, which provides a business analysis tool across industry sectors.
“This partnership is a good fit for the chamber and AmerenUE,” said Chamber of Commerce President Don Laird. “The Synchronist system will allow us to use existing data and information gathered from our visits to put a substantive program in place quickly to help our members respond to the challenges they face.”
Mike Kearney, manager of economic development for Ameren Services, said the Synchronist program offers a structured approach to identifying business needs and helps communities create business support programs designed to address those needs.
“Synchronist is a software program that we purchased on behalf of our entire service territory to help bring a coordinated and disciplined approach to community-based business visitation efforts,” Kearney said. “Synchronist’s predictive information is very impressive, and it is a great tool for comparing local information to national-trend data.”
Kristi Ray, executive vice president for the Columbia Chamber of Commerce, will lead the efforts for business visits and managing the Synchronist system. Ray said the individual company information gathered will be kept confidential and only aggregate information will be made available to chamber members and the public. Ray added that she has been making introductory visits, but she plans to start using e-Synchronist as soon as possible.