Strategy. (n) a plan of action or policy designed to achieve a major or overall aim.

For the first time in almost 20 years, Pennsylvania is creating a comprehensive plan to guide the Commonwealth’s economic growth, designed to make Pennsylvania a leader in innovation and economic development.

On Tuesday, Gov. Josh Shapiro and Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED) Secretary Rick Siger will announce a 10-year strategy to create economic opportunity for all Pennsylvanians.

“For too long, Pennsylvania’s neighboring states have invested and focused on economic development while our Commonwealth has lacked a targeted game plan and serious investment,” said Shapiro. “With this plan, for the first time in nearly two decades, Pennsylvania has a serious economic development strategy that brings together our private and public sectors, our highly skilled workers, and our world-class universities. We’re ready to work together to grow our economy, create jobs, foster innovation and economic opportunity, and build vibrant communities – because when we work together, Pennsylvania Gets It Done.”

With more than 23 Fortune 500 companies and over 1 million small businesses in the Commonwealth, Pennsylvania has a strong foundation for a new economic development strategy. But, as Shapiro mentions, there are challenges that must be  addressed to compete and succeed globally.

His plan sets forth five goals for the Commonwealth to:

• Invest in our economic growth to compete, and prioritize economic development investments that capitalize on Pennsylvania’s strengths and result in real opportunities for our businesses, communities, and residents.
• Continue to make government work at the speed of business, and ensure all companies find an attractive business environment where they can innovate, thrive, and get responses from government on a reasonable timeline.
• Open doors of opportunity for all Pennsylvanians, and increase pathways to the workforce that enable every Pennsylvanian to secure a family-sustaining job and have a meaningful career.
• Innovate to win, because innovators become entrepreneurs and new discoveries enable our people and companies to succeed.
• Build vibrant and resilient regions, where every community flourishes, we focus on each region’s diverse strengths, and localities can provide for the needs of all residents and businesses.

The governor’s fiscal year 2024-25 budget calls for significant investments, directly tied back to the 10-year strategy. His budget address will issue a strong call to action for partners across all sectors to join in with their support. Some of these investments include:

• A major investment in site development to bring more commercial and industrial sites online and ensure companies have options for attractive business environments where they can thrive in Pennsylvania. Last fall, the Shapiro Administration launched a new pilot program called PA SITES to provide $10 million in grant funding to conduct site assessments and prepare them for remediation. The demand for this investment is clearly there because in response, DCED received 102 applications requesting more than $236 million in funding.
• $2 million for ‘Career Connect’, an investment that will connect employers with talented workers, help create thousands of internships, keep young people in our Commonwealth, and enable every Pennsylvanian to secure a family-sustaining job.
• Significant new innovation funding that provides support for start-ups and entrepreneurs, and an additional $10 million for the Agriculture Innovation Program to support innovation in our agricultural industry.
• $3.5 million to launch the new Pennsylvania Regional Challenge, which will incentivize regional growth, build vibrant and resilient regions, and support communities by investing funds into the development of comprehensive strategies to propel entire regions forward.
• $25 million for the Main Street Matters program, to support small businesses and commercial corridors that are the backbone of communities across our Commonwealth. This new program will build upon and modernize the Keystone Communities program.

“If we are going to be competitive in attracting new businesses and helping Pennsylvania businesses grow, then we need to invest in economic development,” said Shapiro. “Over the last five years Ohio, New York, and New Jersey all committed far more resources to economic development than Pennsylvania. Ohio, for example, has one-and-a-half million fewer people than Pennsylvania, but they’ve provided at least seven times more economic incentives to encourage businesses to relocate and grow there. We need to catch up, and I hope my colleagues in the General Assembly will work with me to make that happen.”

The goal of competing in the global marketplace means that the Administration will focus its resources in the following five key industry sectors: Agriculture, Energy, Life Sciences, Manufacturing, and Robotics and Technology.

“To compete nationally and globally, Pennsylvania must make aggressive investments in economic development,” said DCED Secretary Siger. “Our competition has long been committed to investing in sustaining growth, jobs, and innovation — and those efforts have allowed them to surpass Pennsylvania for far too long. But we’re no longer accepting the status quo and hiding from these challenges. Today, we issue a strong call to action to partners across the Commonwealth to join us in supporting the need for significant investments in Pennsylvania’s economic success.”