TAKING THE LEAD

• About 75 percent of all job growth from economic development is generated from existing companies. The Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County will assist expansion efforts through a quantifiable program that first identifies organizations in our targeted industries, small and large, and then helps those companies develop and implement expansion strategies.

MEASUREMENTS & OUTCOMES

• The Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County will work with small and large companies to help them most efficiently meet expansion needs of today and in the future, while limiting the decline of local jobs due to employer downsizing.
  
  
• Your HREGI investment will allow the Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County to help existing companies in the area create an additional 2,600 jobs annually for a total of 13,000 over the next five years.
  
  
• Your HREGI investment will allow the Chamber to help new and existing companies contribute capital investment of $200 million per year, for a total of $1 billion over the next five years.

Recruit targeted businesses and work to diversify our economic base

TAKING THE LEAD

• The Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County will lead the community’s targeted industry recruitment program based on an economic development study conducted that looked forward 10 years to determine which targeted industries would provide the best opportunities for future economic growth. This plan is the blueprint for the Chamber to focus its business recruitment efforts.

MEASUREMENTS & OUTCOMES

• The industries identifi ed with the most growth potential were in the following business areas: aerospace and defense; distribution and logistics; life sciences and biotechnology; advanced manufacturing; and offi ce and administrative operations. Consequently, it is expected that successful recruitment in these areas will create thousands of new jobs and expansion opportunities over the next years in those and other professional and support businesses locally.
  
  
• Your HREGI investment will allow the Chamber to ensure the Huntsville Metro leads other Southeast metros in employment growth for professional, scientifi c and technical workers over the next fi ve years while having a goal to annually announce at least 400 primary jobs from new companies, for a total of 2,000 over the next five years.

Support efforts to ensure there is adequate quality and quantity of workforce to meet employer needs

TAKING THE LEAD

• Successful economic development is not possible without a skilled workforce pool to meet current and future workforce needs for targeted industries. For continued growth in those industries, it is imperative that the Chamber lead the community’s effort to recruit and attract workforce candidates from across the Southeast and the nation. It is equally important that the Chamber continue to work with the local educational system, including K-12, local universities, colleges and two-year colleges, to ensure that their programs meet current and future workforce requirements for sustained and successful workforce development.

MEASUREMENTS & OUTCOMES

• Your HREGI investment will allow the Chamber to support local companies through the attraction of viable workforce candidates with the skill sets to meet the needs of local businesses and employers in our targeted industries.
  
  
• Your HREGI investment will allow the Chamber to lead the business community’s collective workforce recruitment efforts regionally and nationally through a coordinated campaign.
  
  
• The investment will allow the Chamber to ensure that local employment continues to increase at an average of at least 3.7 percent per year, for a total of 18.5 percent over the next five years.

Enhance the community’s image

TAKING THE LEAD

• The importance of a strong national image enhancement campaign is as great as at any other time in our community’s history. Showcasing the Huntsville area as one of the nation’s premier high-tech communities is critical to our community’s future economic growth. Image plays a vital role in whether companies, employees and their families consider relocation opportunities to Huntsville. A national survey of presidents/ CEOs conducted in 2007 illustrated that while awareness of Huntsville’s standing as a high-tech community has improved nationally over the previous 10 years, there remains significant image perception challenges related to Alabama and the South.

MEASUREMENTS & OUTCOMES

• Your HREGI investment will allow the Chamber to continue marketing and promoting the community’s image regionally and nationally. The Chamber will annually develop and implement a short-term and long-term image marketing campaign through strategic editorial outreach to targeted national publications over the next five years.
  
  
• Your investment will allow the Chamber over the next five years to conduct internal and external communications and targeted image campaigns utilizing web-based, video, social media and other mass media efforts designed to benefit existing industries while attracting the attention of new industries and potential workforce candidates.

Be accountable to our investors

TAKING THE LEAD

• An essential part of HREGI’s comprehensive strategy is the Chamber’s accountability to investors using specific economic growth performance measurements, and effective relationship management with investors. Likewise, it is equally vital that the Chamber continue to work with local, state, regional and federal economic development allies to enhance the community’s marketing and recruitment while creating more effective political advocacy.

MEASUREMENTS & OUTCOMES

• The Chamber sets up accountability reviews annually, and will continue to do so over the next five years, to review objective, quantifiable performance measures.
  
  
• Your HREGI investment will also allow the Chamber to utilize multiple communications tools and platforms to keep all investors informed on the numerous activities, programs and goals of the Chamber.
  
  
• Your investment will allow the Chamber to annually assess Huntsville/Madison County’s economic growth using relevant performance criteria as compared with peer communities, and proactively communicate this information to HREGI investors.

Develop the community’s capacity for new and sustained economic growth

TAKING THE LEAD

• Necessary components of a community wellprepared for economic development include physical infrastructure, a ready workforce, responsive local government, a meaningful economic development plan and sustained funding for marketing. As the lead economic development organization for the Huntsville/Madison County community, it is the Chamber’s responsibility to provide influence in the preparation of our community by working closely with other area leaders.

MEASUREMENTS & OUTCOMES

• Your HREGI investment will enable the Chamber to lead the Huntsville/Madison County’s effort to develop the infrastructure priorities to keep the area poised for growth by coordinating with local, state, regional and federal elected officials and economic development allies.
  
  
• That investment allows the Chamber to work with those officials to direct the development of the community’s State Agenda, created annually to detail the community’s infrastructure needs. With that investment, the Chamber will continue leading this community’s infrastructure priority agenda development and subsequently submitting the report annually to State legislators.

Grow the community’s defense, space and life sciences industries and assets

TAKING THE LEAD

• The Chamber, working with Team Redstone and other government, industry and community leaders, will direct the development of the community’s Federal Agenda, created annually to protect and increase the national funding of many key federal programs and needs critical to the Huntsville/Madison County local economy.

MEASUREMENTS & OUTCOMES

• Your HREGI investment will allow the Chamber to continue leading this community’s business and infrastructure priority agenda development and subsequently submitting the report to the Federal delegation. This critical task annually ensures that the Federal delegation has the correct information, funding requests and priorities to protect and increase financial support for the defense, space and life sciences industries.
  
  
• Your HREGI investment will also allow the Chamber to position Redstone Arsenal, including the U.S. Army and NASA, as a federal technology campus that has the capacity to attract additional commands, federal agencies and programs, keeping Redstone at the forefront of the nation’s leading federal technology centers. Likewise, the Chamber will be able to position the HudsonAlpha Institute as a center of excellence for genomics research. The Chamber will subsequently lead recruitment efforts to attract more federal agencies, programs, companies and skilled workforce to the region in defense, space and life sciences.

Identify issues that may limit our economic development and coordinate with community organizations to eliminate those issues

TAKING THE LEAD

• The Chamber will lead discussions with local, state and federal government representatives to educate them on the strengths and the needs of our community. This communication is pivotal to ensure the community can adequately meet the demands of a fast-growing community today and in the near future. Likewise, the Chamber will lead this community’s efforts to support the improvements to the local K-12 school systems relating to future growth.

MEASUREMENTS & OUTCOMES

• Your HREGI investment will allow the Chamber to host several events each year over the next five years designed to communicate and get feedback from local, state and federal government representatives designed to showcase the community’s strengths and communicate the Huntsville/Madison County area’s needs.
  
  
• The Chamber has formed an education committee that will annually identify, monitor and report to school officials and stakeholder groups throughout the Huntsville/Madison County community on the characteristics associated with firstclass school systems to help the school systems improve to best support the Chamber’s economic and workforce development and recruitment objectives.