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Table of Contents
Section 1: Executive Summary .3 Section 2: Regional Assessment of Existing Conditions and Economic Opportunities....4 Section 3: Economic Development Vision for the Region..5 Section 4: Goals and Outcomes for Regional Plan.6 Section 5: High-Level Strategies for Regional Plan....8 Section 6: Criteria to Identify Priority Transformative Projects11

Preface
This outline should be considered a draft document of the Capital Region Economic Development Council Strategic Plan. Additional information from stakeholders will be included in the final plan once all the data has been gathered. Further iterations of this plan will be made public during the November 3, 2011 Council meeting and the November 14, 2011 deadline.

Section 1: Executive Summary

One region formed by eight counties, New York's Capital Region is a leader in technological innovation, a talented and educated workforce, beauty in arts and nature, and both the desire and the means to establish itself as the capital of commerce. This plan is driven by a compelling vision of a Capital Region Economic Ecosystem, emphasizing local collaboration, global competitiveness, and economic vibrancy. In the executive summary, the Capital Region Economic Development Council (CREDC) will provide a clear and concise summary of key points of the plan. Our goal here is to engage the reviewer to read the plan further as we will tell the story of the Capital Region providing a look at where we've been, where we are today ... and more importantly where we're going as the region becomes the first destination for business, international investment, and world-class talent.

Section 2: Regional Assessment of Existing Conditions and Economic Opportunities

Arguably one of the greatest assets of the region is its geographic diversity. It is centered on the confluence of the Hudson and Mohawk rivers, running roughly from the eastern portion of the Catskill Mountains in Greene County northward to the southern portion of the Adirondacks in Warren County, from the bucolic pastures of Columbia County north to the farms of Washington County. The Hudson and Mohawk Rivers connect the villages, towns, and cities on its banks, including our state's capitol and its suburbs. This geographic diversity brings concomitant challenges. A survey of the assets of the region reveals strength and potential. From shirt collars and buttons to canals and bridges, the Capital Region has been home to industry and innovation throughout its history. This continues today with its leadership in nanotechnology, biotechnology, information technology, advanced materials, clean technology, and creative approaches to a sustainable future. We have deep roots in knowledge, expertise, invention, and understanding. Great minds, prepared for the future, continue to emerge from a diverse set of institutes of higher learning. The plan will provide a clear and concise summary of the regions additional assets, including our infrastructure, agribusiness, abundant waterways and waterfronts, the impact of tourism on our economy, and our employment matrix.

Section 3: Economic Development Vision for the Region

Locally collaborative. Globally competitive. Economically vibrant. The Capital Region is in the heartland of the Empire State, an area blessed by environmental beauty, cultural richness, and a tradition of extraordinary human endeavor. Our vision is to foster a cohesive regional economic ecosystem in which the private sector, academia, and government work in harmony to stimulate economic growth ... making the region a destination of choice for business, international investment, and world-class talent.

Section 4: Goals and Outcomes for Regional Plan

Locally collaborative, globally competitive, and an economically vibrant ecosystem ... a destination of choice for business. The CREDC will build on the region's distinctive strengths in technological innovation, world-class businesses and institutions of higher education, strong schools and an educated workforce, a bountiful and productive natural environment, and a diverse population and communities to:
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2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7.

Build and foster an innovation ecosystem that launches and grows new businesses, nurtures existing businesses to grow and become more competitive, attracts businesses from outside the region, and builds on and leverages existing public and private investments to expand and diversify the economic base. Collaborate regionally in order to compete and succeed globally. Create the best-educated workforce across the economic spectrum and close existing gaps. Revitalize our urban centers and sustain our rural assets and working landscapes. Build smart, 21st Century infrastructure accessible throughout the entire region. Capitalize on and strengthen the natural environment, history, and culture as a beacon and an anchor. Create and celebrate a distinct and comprehensive regional identity.

The region has the potential to become a destination of choice, drawing in talent, investment, and businesses, as the fruits of our new initiatives become more visible to outsiders and as the climate for business, in terms of policies and available infrastructure, becomes more appealing. Specific outcomes that the plan will achieve, by regional asset, include: Build & Foster an Innovation Ecosystem: Encouraging collaboration and stimulating economic growth and positioning the Capital Region as a destination of choice for business, international investment, and world-class talent. Recommendations to improve the business climate more and make doing business in the region simpler, more predictable, more consistent, and timely. The Council will endorse projects across geographical boundaries that are transformative in nature and align with the goals of the five-year strategic plan.

Prepare, Attract & Retain Talent: Increased cooperation and collaboration between the area's elementary and secondary educational systems, higher education institutions, businesses, and industry clusters in job training and workforce development to close any gaps and create a 21st Century talent pipeline. Diversity of Communities: Urban, Suburban, Rural: We will revitalize our urban centers to preserve and enhance business areas and improve the urban living environment to attract people back to the cities. Our urban centers are ideally suited to pilot innovative programs in all sectors. Increased collaboration among farmers (food suppliers), distribution channels, restaurants, and stores to promote "grown in region" produce and products.

Natural Environment: Forests, Water, Mountains, Agriculture:

Increased awareness within the region and the state among consumers and businesses about the natural beauty and recreational opportunities that are available.

World-Class Corporate Consortia and Educational Institutions: GE, GLOBALFOUNDRIES, IBM, SEMATECH, Rensselaer, and CNSE: Encourage collaboration and stimulate economic growth and position the Capital Region as a destination of choice for business, international investment, and world-class talent. The region will have built a solid brand that embraces the region's natural beauty, culture, and technological innovation.

Arts, Culture, and Tourism: Increased collaboration and coordination among regional tourist bureaus in promotion and information exchange. Collaborative programs that will cross-market complementing arts, culture, and tourism.

Smart, 21st Century Infrastructure: Improved basic infrastructure to support economic development and a vibrant business climate. Increased access to broadband connectivity and improvements made to existing infrastructure. Improvements to access waterways that would positively impact economic development through travel, tourism, and recreation. Air service aligned more closely with needs of business.

Capacity to Sustainably Expand: While the Capital Region will be a destination of choice for new businesses, we will provide the necessary assistance to existing businesses and manufacturing firms that are considering expansion to retain them in the region.

Section 5: High-Level Strategies for Regional Plan

A new paradigm of economic development ... how do we get there? In support of our vision and goals, we will build upon our key regional assets to implement the following strategies to transform our regional economy into the first destination for business, international investment, and world class talent in New York: Strategy 1: Build and Foster an Innovation Ecosystem: From nanotechnology and chip wafer technology to biotechnology and energy efficient and renewable energy technologies, the Capital Region has become synonymous with the high-tech industries of the future. Working in partnership across the eight counties of the Capital Region Economic Development Council that dedication ... and success ... will flourish in the years to come. As part of this strategy, we will leverage the state's existing investment in transformational projects such as GLOBALFOUNDRIES, the Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) at the University at Albany, the Computational Center for Nanotechnology Innovations (CCNI) at Rensselaer, the many New York State designated Centers of Excellence, and GE to both attract new business and grow existing ones. The CREDC will support collaborative research alliances and connectivity between the leaders in our core strength areas of biotechnology, nanotechnology, green technology, information technology and Web science, and advanced materials to improve efficiencies and abilities of institutions within our region and to pursue interdisciplinary research opportunities to attract additional state, federal, and private funding to our region. The Council will identify and create access to capital to attract new businesses and ideas and grow existing businesses by helping them become more competitive and productive. To accomplish this, well foster financial institution collaboration on funding for new ventures for new and existing enterprises. Strategy 2: Prepare, Attract, and Retain Talent: Home to a population of 1.1 million and a workforce of 560,000, human capital is perhaps the Capital Region's most significant asset. Our highly educated workforce is supported by 22 universities standing ready to enhance skills and provide preparation for future generations. From 2000 to 2005, the Capital Region outperformed all other upstate regions in terms of both population (+2.8%) and workforce (+.81%) growth. The region is also ranked first among upstate metros in retention of educated 18-34 year olds, (second in the state following New York City). Furthermore, th the Capital Region is ranked the 11 "smartest region in the country" in a recent Bizjournals study. We have the innovative technology companies and the workforce to carry out their goals. What we need is to continue to develop collaborations between education and industry to ensure continued growth and success. The CREDC will also develop opportunities for collaboration among the region's school districts, colleges and universities, businesses, and job training and workforce development organizations to create comprehensive plans, programs, and pilot projects to prepare, attract, and retain the 21st Century talent pipeline. Strategy 3: Leverage All Educational Resources: As part of this strategy, we will look to increase cooperation between the area's high schools, vocational centers, colleges, and industries in job training and workforce development to close any gaps and create a 21st Century talent pipeline. The plan will develop mechanisms to achieve coherence in how all sectors (universities, technical and vocational training institutions, job placement services, business enterprises) network with each other to understand and respond to current and emerging needs.

We will create and market the Centers of Excellence that exist in our education systems regionally, without a duplication of effort, highlighting unique and highly effective programs (such as New Visions and TEC-SMART) that need to be better promoted across the entire Capital Region. We will also leverage opportunities that exist and raise awareness of the educational resources in each area of the region; this could potentially be addressed at the guidance counselor level or with higher education outreach to K-12 programs. Strategy 4: Connect Business with Regional Workforce: No matter the industry, businesses need a well-trained workforce to succeed. And, for the entire region to succeed as the capital of commerce, businesses must unite to clearly articulate their needs. The Council will encourage large and small business to drive workforce development locally by sharing workforce needs with the workforce development organizations in place at the local and state levels. Industry wide training initiatives with private and public cooperation, utilizing labor and educational facilities, will train both the existing and emerging workforce in new technologies. In addition, the Council will aim to effectively market the workforce opportunities that are, or will be available, to job seekers locally, as well as outside of the region. Strategy 5: Build Smart, 21st Century Infrastructure: Public utilities including transportation, water, sanitary sewer, and storm sewer facilities are a vital foundation for economic growth. Interstate highways, county and local roads, and a well-developed public bus transit system connect the Capital Region's communities with one another. Interstate highways (i.e., I-87, I-88, & I-90) provide connections in all directions to other metropolitan areas in New York State, Massachusetts, and Canada, as do commercial and passenger rail services. The deep-water Port of Albany on the Hudson River provides a connection with New York City and the Atlantic Ocean, and the Champlain and Erie barge canals provide connections to the St. Lawrence Seaway and Buffalo. Finally, the Albany International Airport provides connections to all major U.S. cities, as well as international connections. The Council will advance strategies aimed at building and integrating a smart, 21st Century infrastructure throughout our region through the use of more efficient and environmentally friendlier options for managing our transportation systems, our energy systems, and our broadband communications systems. The crucial technological ingredients include low-cost sensors and clever software for analytics and visualization, as well as computing firepower. Our region has expertise in all these areas. Strategy 6: Strengthen our Natural Environment & Historic and Cultural Resources as Community Anchors & Beacons by Supporting and Building on the Diversity of Our Communities - Rural, Urban, and Suburban: Our regions natural environment is as diverse as its people. From the eastern Catskills to the southern Adirondacks and to the farms throughout our region, the regions natural world attracts visitors and supports local economies. Protecting and enhancing our natural environment goes hand-in-hand with sustainable economic activity. Our region serves as a great economic asset both in encouraging tourism and being a great place to work and live. Four of the region's eight counties (Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga, and Schenectady) host urban centers and a generally more dense level of development, with higher levels of infrastructure for transportation, water and wastewater, energy, telecommunications, and higher education. The remaining four counties, Warren and Washington in the north, and Columbia and Greene in the south, have lower levels of population density, fewer and smaller urban cores, and more limited infrastructure. The Capital Region is home to both those who enjoy the hustle and bustle of city-life or the quiet solitude of country-life. From a rural perspective, we will encourage the funding of existing and new programs to support and preserve our working landscapes and the use of arable land for agriculture and food production. We will encourage programs that foster collaboration among farmers and other sectors to grow agribusiness. As part of our plan we will look to revitalize our urban centers to preserve and enhance business areas,

improve the urban living environment, and attract people back to the cities. Our urban centers are ideally suited to pilot innovative programs in all sectors. Growth for growth's sake is a recipe for disaster. We will sustainably grow our suburban communities incorporating smart growth principles and preserving their existing community character. We will encourage the increased collaboration among the regions tourism, cultural, and arts organizations to identify efficiencies in program delivery and complimentary programming and marketing. Strategy 7: Celebrate our Regional Identity: Market the Strengths and Successes! As part of the strategic plan, we will develop collective and collaborative mechanisms to raise the profile of the assets and quality of life in the region. By developing a regional identity that defines the value proposition of the region and raises the profile of the assets in the region we can leverage the Capital Region's success and make it a destination of choice.

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Section 6: Criteria to Identify Priority Transformative Projects

In addition to Consolidated Funding Application Endorsement Standards, all projects received by the Capital Region Economic Development Council will be evaluated based on their ability to satisfy criteria in six core areas: 1. Regional advancement a. Advances regional identity b. Promotes NYS SMART Growth criteria for public infrastructure: to advance projects for the use, maintenance, or improvement of existing infrastructure; to advance projects located in municipal centers; to advance projects in developed areas or areas designated for concentrated development in a municipally approved comprehensive land use plan, local waterfront revitalization plan, and/or brownfield opportunity area plan; to protect, preserve and enhance the state's resources, including agricultural land, forests, surface and groundwater, air quality, recreation and open space, scenic areas, and significant historic and archeological resources; to foster mixed land uses and compact development, downtown revitalization, brownfield redevelopment, the enhancement of beauty in public spaces, the diversity and affordability of housing in proximity to places of employment, recreation and commercial development and the integration of all income and age groups; to provide mobility through transportation choices including improved public transportation and reduced automobile dependency; to coordinate between state and local government and inter-municipal and regional planning; to participate in community based planning and collaboration; to ensure predictability in building and land use codes; and to promote sustainability by strengthening existing and creating new communities which reduce greenhouse gas emissions and do not compromise the needs of future generations, by among other means encouraging broad based public involvement in developing and implementing a community plan and ensuring the governance structure is adequate to sustain its implementation. c. Promotes or strengthens industry clusters in strategic areas that can confer competitive advantage and lasting impact d. Establishes the region as a destination and attracts visitors, enterprises, and/or resources e. Is aligned with regional economic development and/or planning strategies f. Addresses emergency need such as mass layoff situations, closure/consolidation of businesses, or natural disasters 2. Collaboration/Leverage a. Exhibits regional/inter-municipal cooperation and coordination b. Encourages inter/intra-industry collaboration c. Establishes or enhances public/private partnerships d. Promotes the use and diffusion of technology and/or posits a new model to leverage technologies and financial resources across sectors and counties e. Leverages existing regional assets or anchors, takes advantage of economic development opportunities or addresses issues impeding economic growth f. Leverages recent investments in publicly funded infrastructure 3. Project Readiness/Organizational Capacity a. Project construction or implementation timeframe is clearly defined b. Proponents have site control for the project/initiative c. Financing for the project has been identified and is secured/in the process of being

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secured Meets local and state permitting, licensing and approval requirements Proponents have capacity to bring project/initiative to fruition and relevant organizational experience f. Key project personnel have required qualifications and experience 4. Economic Impact/Return on Investment a. Project will attract private investment b. Project will maximize return on taxpayer/private/shareholder investment c. Project increases international transactions and supports global competitiveness d. Project targets/invests resources in those areas of the region most in need e. Project contemplates sustained investment beyond the implementation period f. Project enhances or creates career opportunities - within any workforce stratum or industry sector g. Project retains or creates high-skilled jobs h. Project supports job creation/retention that benefits the unemployed or underemployed i. Project broadens skills for incumbent workers and provides new skills or entrepreneurial training for laid off workers 5. Community/Inclusiveness a. Is consistent with community goals and has evidence of support within the community b. Promotes local economic development projects or improves economic development capacity at the local level c. Maintains or enhances quality of life issues and/or enhances community revitalization efforts d. Promotes inclusiveness" and supports social diversity 6. Project Sustainability/Evaluation a. Ability to demonstrate sustainability beyond implementation phase b. Methods of evaluating outcomes and project performance clearly defined. Examples of potential performance indicators may include: creation or retention of sustained jobs increase in labor productivity attraction of new investment creation of intellectual property increase in existing or creation of new exports increase in tax base/taxable assessments improved private sector performance d. e.

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