Plan of Action

Programs and Projected Five-Year Budget

Grow and Retain Existing Business - $1.2 million

Existing business represents more than 80 percent of the growth of the area economy. The ICAD Group will assist at least 30 existing companies with local expansion projects. We will focus time and resources on growing our area’s strongest industry sectors. The ICAD Group will utilize survey tools designed to identify business vitality, growth, risk and satisfaction.

• Conduct annual Synchronist Business Information System® (existing industry interviews) with primary businesses in the Iowa City area to assist with growth and workforce development.
• Develop business reports and executive summaries using aggregated Synchronist® data and communicate to elected officials, business and community leaders information about the area’s business environment, and methods and strategies to maintain the region’s competitive edge.
• Prepare an economic impact analysis for each local business expansion project and connect the business with available resources as necessary.
• Visit each year the out-of-state headquarters of at least 15 local businesses to meet with decision-makers regarding their Iowa City area operations.
• Establish an emerging market company consortium and develop specific strategies to serve this growing sector of our area economy.
• Collaborate with area healthcare businesses and educational service providers to develop and implement business development and workforce business service strategies to grow these strongest sectors of our area economy.

Expand Business Recruitment Efforts -- $1 million

The ICAD Group will diversify the area’s growing economy through synergistic and strategic industry attraction. Our target-defined efforts will attract at least 12 new companies to the area. These new businesses are projected to generate more than $250 million in capital investment.

• Provide prospect inquiries a 24-48-hour response-time to demonstrate our ability to quickly service business needs. We will utilize our client-specific prospect packet system to keep the Iowa City area top-of-mind.
• Communicate with targeted industries and site location consultants via postcard announcements about major business projects that demonstrate continuous improvement and innovation and quality of life issues that confirm our area’s economic vitality and livability.
• Maintain and update the ICAD Group and Technology Corridor Web sites and test the utility and use ease with targeted site location consultants and economic development partners. Nearly two-thirds of all site location projects begin via an Internet search for community and facility data.
• Use the Location One Information System™ to maintain a Web-based building, site and community data. Our site includes industrial and office park data and area aerial photos.
• Conduct on-going site-location consultant and targeted-prospect visits along with Priority One, regional utility partners and the Iowa Department of Economic Development. Site-location consultants provide lead services for more than 35 percent of business expansion and relocation projects. Therefore, it’s critically important to build and maintain strong relationships.
• Conduct an on-going public relations campaign in targeted markets with our Technology Corridor partners. Business executives obtain a majority of information about a community and region from dialogue with peers, national magazines and trade publications. 
• Develop progressive marketing initiatives to communicate to targeted audiences the positive attributes and relevant assets the Iowa City area offers business and workers.

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Strengthen Workforce Business Services - $850,000

The No. 1 issue facing Iowa City area businesses is the ability to attract and retain a quality workforce. We will intensify our efforts to attract a highly-skilled workforce to the Corridor. The ICAD Group will help area businesses create and retain more than 2,880 basic sector jobs that pay above the national average wage. The ICAD Group efforts focus on short-term workforce business services, including career and job fairs, wage and benefit surveys, employee recruitment and local and regional Web sites.

• Complete every 12- to 18-months a regional benefit survey of businesses and provide data to existing and prospective companies. Benefit information is critical as a large percentage of business operating costs are associated with employee benefits.
• Complete every 12- to 18-months a regional laborshed analysis of workforce and communicate the size and availability of our area workforce to existing and prospective companies.
• Partner with Kirkwood Community College and other educational institutions to update the Skills 2006 report, and revise and implement regional recommendations to maintain our innovative edge in workforce business services.
• Produce, update and communicate specific demographic profiles about our metropolitan area to companies considering an expansion or location in a given market.
• Develop, publish and distribute an annual regional employment directory to provide data to more than 8,000 individuals interested in career opportunities in our region.
• Develop, produce and provide area companies employee recruitment materials to attract professional and technical workers to the area. The difficulty for many employers isn’t attracting potential employees , it’s convincing them our area is a great place to live and enjoy life.
• Market CorridorCareers.com to the next generation of workers through our partnership with Priority One and Gazette Communications; and develop a partnership with the Iowa City Press-Citizen to market CareerBuilder.com Web site to local businesses. Today, the Internet is the No. 1 resource jobseekers use to search for a great career and company.
• Produce and distribute direct-mail marketing postcards to targeted Iowa university and college alumni to entice graduates back to the region. Our greatest pool of potential workers are those who have experienced the area, but who no longer live in state.
• Co-organize and sponsor an annual Corridor Career Fair to connect interested jobseekers with businesses seeking highly-skilled and productive workers.
• Continue leadership roles with the Professional and Technical Diversity Network (PTDN) and The Workplace Learning Connection (TWLC). Partner with regional organizations to update and create multi-cultural resource communication tools to meet demands for a diverse workforce.
• Engage University of Iowa and private college leadership to communicate to thousands of college students and graduates the numerous business, career and quality of life opportunities available in the Iowa City area.
• Communicate the comprehensive workforce business services that the ICAD Group and our partners have available for existing and prospective businesses to address their workforce needs.

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Create Communications and Cultivate Collaboration and Partnerships - $550,000

Effective economies operate regionally. The ICAD Group will build and maintain regional partnerships and cooperative agreements essential to serve local, regional and state development interests. Communication is the key to encourage and foster these important relationships, and to distribute essential information. Communicating the attributes of the region will raise awareness of the entire area and our competitive advantages.

• Utilize ICAD Board members to conduct on-going relationship and appreciation programs with investors.
• Produce an annual Activity Report and host an annual meeting to communicate progress and opportunities to investors and the public.
• Produce bi-monthly newsletters and/or e-news to keep investors and partners informed about accomplishments and plans.
• Host quarterly umerous Advisory Council breakfasts throughout the year to communicate topics of interest and receive guidance from our top investors.
• Publish an annual Investor Relations Report to communicate campaign progress and investor support.
• Provide analysis of industry-specific trends and communicate information via news releases, news conferences, newsletters and general public relations to keep investors, communities and others informed about development activity.
• Maintain and enhance the ICAD Group Web site as a central information and communication tool for investors, media and public.
• Host three meetings each year with small community investors to ensure their interests are met by the organization.
• Maintain a lead role in the development of the Cedar Rapids|Iowa City Technology Corridor™ and continue efforts with Area Chambers to continue guiding our interests on a regional platform.
• Meet each year with the Iowa Department of Economic Development (IDED) leadership and major area utility companies to share programming and develop additional opportunities for collaboration.
• Meet each year with public sector investors to communicate activities and receive input.
• Actively engage the University of Iowa to develop an on-going collaboration in the areas of technology transfer, targeted business relationships and workforce business services, and strengthen working relationships with university communities around the nation.

Support Entrepreneurial Development - $150,000 

Some of the Iowa City area’s major corporations began as entrepreneurial start-ups including ACT, Breakthrough to Literacy, Buckle Down Publishing, Integrated DNA Technologies and the former National Computer Systems (now Pearson Educational Services). As a business development organization,  ICAD Group will support our regional partners and foster entrepreneurial initiatives and help underwrite the costs associated with these joint efforts.

• Work in conjunction with area partners, including the Iowa City Area Chamber of Commerce, Small Business Development Center, the University of Iowa, John Pappajohn Entrepreneurial Center, Entrepreneurial Development Center and others to ensure seamless services for new enterprises. The ICAD Group will work with these and all other appropriate agencies and organizations to create business-friendly incubators for start-up companies.