Work is underway on a Pennsylvania economic development strategy

KUTZTOWN — Business advisers with Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers  heard from Rick Siger, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development during the organization’s recent annual Fall Consultant Symposium.

Siger kicked off the two-day professional development event on Oct. 11 at Kutztown University.

In his remarks to attendees, Siger said the currently rapidly evolving global landscape  requires Pennsylvania to focus on economic competitiveness.

“We’re clear-eyed about where Pennsylvania stands in the national and global competitive business landscape,” he said. “And although we have incredible assets for business growth, we also know that right now other states are ahead of us.”

He added that the administration of Gov. Josh Shapiro is committed to the development of a new, long-term economic development strategy.

“It has been almost 20 years — 18½ years — since Pennsylvania took a step back at the state level and said, ‘We need to develop a strategy for the future,’” he said in his remarks.

That planning is a focus for Siger, as his department works on the development of an economic development plan for Pennsylvania that he says will be completed by the end of this year.

“Our goal is to develop a plan not just for a particular administration, but that people can focus on as sort of a north star for years to come,” he said, adding that other states do this type of planning every four years or so. “We have to shoot high, be ambitious and set big goals.”

To that end, Siger said a working group of staff from DCED, the governor’s office and other agencies has been meeting. In addition, Siger has been throughout Pennsylvania talking with businesses and organizations like the PASBDC to get their input.

“We’re trying to engage as many of the folks around Pennsylvania — to ask your opinion, what’s working, what’s not, how can we help assist businesses help realize these goals.”

At this point, he said, the strategy has been narrowed to five main categories:

Government at the speed of business

Siger said Pennsylvania needs an economic delivery system that is excellent and can compete with other states in terms of speed and incentives.

Siger said there are 196 DCED programs on the books, but in the last two years, only 88 had been used or applied for.

“We’re looking at them — what works and what doesn’t work,” he said.

The goal is to make the process of relocating or expanding in Pennsylvania simpler and more efficient, making it easier for businesses to navigate multiple agencies within government.

Strengthening PA’s regions and diverse communities

“Every region and community matters,” Siger said. “What works in one area may not work in another. We need to respect that, we need to own that, and deliver a strategy that is responsive.”

One idea under consideration is a regional challenge grant that empowers regions to come up with economic development initiatives with grants awarded.

Grow priority industry sectors

Siger said Pennsylvania needs to focus on the areas of strength it has — areas like life sciences, agribusiness, manufacturing, technology, robotics and energy.

“We are not necessarily seeing in all areas the kind of growth activity we would like to see,” he said.

Siger stressed to the group that the areas of strength have adaptability across Pennsylvania.

“It’s not that we’re going to double down in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia on tech,” he  said.

Expand the innovation ecosystem

Siger said Pennsylvania has some of the top research universities in the nation. Recent reports, he said, show that R&D hasn’t translated to startups.

“We do not see the commercial benefit of that R&D at the same rate you would expect against competitive states,” he said. “There is tons of R&D, lots of ideas not necessarily translating into commercialization or company attraction.

“We’re going to try to come up with ideas and take this problem head on, to take one of our greatest opportunities — this excellence in research — and result in growth and positive quality of life issues for Pennsylvanians.”

Develop, retain and attract Pennsylvania talent

Siger said the No. 1 issue for many employers is access to a skilled workforce.

“We have to help these companies attract top talent, we have to develop interventions that help us keep Pennsylvanians here and attract people to the workforce and develop skills interventions to help upskill or grow members of the workforce,” he said.

This is one area, he said, where the issue goes beyond DCED, and has to be a whole government plan.

The next steps

Developing the plan is a collaboration between the government, engaging stakeholders and developing a deep understanding of the economic landscape.

Siger said the feedback his department is receiving will help shape the strategy.

Following the meeting, Siger visited the PASBDC offices for a ribbon cutting to mark the relocation of the PASBCD’s offices into the university’s newly renovated de Francesco building.

The Pennsylvania Small Business Development Centers network is a provider of no-cost business consulting services, educational training and business resources for business owners and entrepreneurs. It consists of 15 centers and 34 outreach locations across Pennsylvania. The Fall Consultant Symposium is an annual professional development event for the organization’s business advisers.