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Action plans for Buffalo Niagara’s target industry sectors
September 29, 2009

Last week, the Partnership completed action agendas for five target industry sectors which specify goals that we will strive for and initiatives we will undertake over the course of the next 12 months for advanced manufacturing, agribusiness, life sciences, logistics and professional services. For our members in and serving these industries, the agendas will serve as benchmarks for our efforts on their behalf.

We have created these agendas to establish tangible, deliverable actions the Partnership will undertake to grow each of the five industry sectors and report progress back to our members. Moreover, while it is our job to engage in advocacy, business development and business-to-business connections for these industries, we also want to make sure we do not duplicate the efforts of other industry-related groups. Instead, we are committed to forming strategic alliances with them; for example, the Partnership’s co-sponsorship of this week’s Border Trade Alliance conference, “Our Borders: Our Future” and our recent advocacy effort opposing trucking restrictions in the Finger Lakes region in conjunction with the NYS Farm Bureau and other agribusiness and logistics industry groups. This commitment to conscious collaboration is nothing new – it is simply being formalized to create a network of stakeholders in each industry sector to ensure the various needs of the employers in it are being met effectively and efficiently.

While these agendas were put together by Partnership staff, that work was based entirely on the input from our members in each of the industry sectors. So, the agenda items – indeed, even the concept of these agendas, themselves – are a direct result of inputs from our Employer Outreach Program, so thanks to all of our members – small employers and large –  who provided that valuable input.

So, how does our target industry sector work benefit our regional economic development efforts – in other words, why this specific focus on these industries? Each of the five targeted industries, for one reason or another, offers the Buffalo Niagara region an opportunity for substantial business growth – it could be our location on the CanAm border; generations of skilled, competent workers; or our region being within 500 miles from 55% of the U.S. population and 62% of Canada’s. Job creation/retention and new private sector investment in these industries give us the best chance to spur additional economic development opportunity throughout the region. Taking advantage of our region’s strengths in order to put people to work in larger quantities multiplies the personal investments those people will make, and this grows the overall regional economy.

While each industry sector offers unique opportunities, each also comes with unique challenges. That is why we have specifically assigned staff, responsible for steering the implementation of the action agendas, keeping members informed of what’s happening in the industries, and reaching out to their employers for input. Here are those staff contacts:

Advanced Manufacturing: Sarah Ham
Agribusiness: Craig Turner
Life Sciences: Renee Filip
Logistics: Craig Turner
Professional Services/Back Office: Renee Filip

As in the creation of the Partnership’s industry-specific action agendas, regional business growth overall needs your input, involvement and support for us to be successful. So, I urge you to follow our monthly industry e-newsletters, be aware of calls-to-action that impact your business, and check the Partnership blog for up-to-the-minute updates.

Andrew J. Rudnick