Building for 2012

December 31st will mark the end of 2011, and personally marks six months since I moved to Buffalo to join the Partnership. In the last six moths, I've seen our Business Development, Events, Government Affairs, Membership, Special Projects, and Workforce Development teams work to fix the issues that hold Buffalo Niagara employers back and find solutions to proactively build for a more prosperous future.

I've fielded lots of calls from lots of people asking me what we do for our members, how all of our activities fit together, and what our plans are for the future. Today, I want to talk about six key projects that will guide our organization in 2012:

• Great Lakes Metro Chamber Coalition Agenda: Our alliance with peer organizations from the 12-state Great Lakes area, focusing on federal transportation and infrastructure funding, border reform, and economic investment in the Great Lakes themselves.

These initiatives are of even greater significance here in Buffalo Niagara, and in 2012, we will grow our involvement in this coalition to aggressively seek federal support for our local needs.

More information about our relationship with GLMCC is available here.

• WNY Regional Economic Development Council Plan: “A Vision For A Prosperous Western New York”, was built by public and private stakeholders (including plenty of Partnership staffers and board members) from across our region and won more than $100 million in state funding.

Building on our success, we will continue to ensure the inclusion of projects with true economic development potential- those most likely to grow private sector investment and employment. We will also seek support for meaningful projects (like the Niagara Experience Center) that were not funded in 2011.

Review 2011’s plan here.

• Accelerate Upstate Action Agenda: The Partnership’s plan to grow the Upstate economy, developed with the input of more than 250 Upstate stakeholders in a summer 2011 summit.

We will build on the success of the Accelerate Upstate summit by collaborating with old and new partners across the state to adapt and build Upstate’s economy of the future.

Check out the AU Action Agenda.

• Unshackle Upstate: Our alliance with peer organizations across Upstate New York that seeks to hold elected officials accountable for minimizing the cost of doing business in our state.

Building on 2011’s achievement of a hard property tax cap, UU’s top goal for 2012 is mandate relief.

Learn more about Unshackle Upstate.

• Buffalo Niagara Regional Agenda: An annual prioritization of projects and policy changes needing state and federal support we produce with our local government partners in Erie and Niagara Counties.

UB 2020 topped our Regional Agenda for several years; given its final passage, the top priority now becomes renovation to the US Peace Bridge Plaza.

Read the full 2012 Buffalo NiagaraRegional Agenda.

• Buffalo Building Reuse Project (BBRP):A Partnership-led, private-sector study of conditions in downtown Buffalo and recommendations to spur private investment in the future.

The BBRP recommendations will be released to Mayor Brown in a few days. There will be plenty to read in the next few weeks

These six initiatives cover varying geographies, but all involve embracing a reasonable approach to fix what ails our economy and building upon our region’s existing strengths. At their core, they include:

- Anything and everything CanAm
- Leveraging our location as a transportation, distribution, and warehousing logistics hub
- Preservation of and access to our fresh water
- Building upon our existing access to affordable, reliable, and clean energy
- Recruiting, developing, and retaining talent (which includes immigration)
- Reforming government policies, procedures, and attitudes
- Identifying additional sources of business financing- especially for early stage companies

Much has been done, and there’s plenty left to do.

Enjoy your holidays. We'll see you in 2012!