News from the Tri-County Economic Forecast Conference
 

Dr. Robert Eyler, a Professor of Economics at Sonoma State University (a CEPCO collaborator) closed out the Annual Tri-Counties Economic Forecast Conference, held at Chico State's BMU Auditorium, with words regarding the global financial situation and advice for sustaining our local economic well-being.  In Dr. Eyler's opinion, global recover is under way, yet California is still a "hot mess."  Hot because it is the center of global technology innovation.  A mess because he questions whether in 5 years companies will want to be located here.  California is facing challenges to its domination in tech and innovation circles from not just China, but Oregon,

Washington and Nevada as well.  California has many start-up entrepreneurial activities, but with banks not lending as much as in years past and the unease at the state government level, it is questionable how long these start-ups can exist in California.  Dr. Eyler projects a transition into a think/start/sell economy if start-ups are not incorporated into the community and fail to receive the capital they need from financial institutions. 

 

Dr. Robert Eyler presents at the Economic Forecast Conference

While nationally and globally some recovery has been seen, on the local level in Chico we lag behind the State and the rest of the nation when it comes to unemployment.  Many local jobs are agriculture, education and government dependent, three regions hit very hard in the recession and by state budgetary difficulties.  The status of Chico as an educational center is an advantage for our area in the development of an innovation based economy.  Echoing CEPCO's talent mobilization strategy initiatives and the closer cooperation sought between local tech and innovation companies and educational institutions, Dr. Eyler believes investment in workforce development in our area is vital to economic recovery and stabilization.  We will not be getting any 5,000-10,000 job facilities, and that model of economic development he deemed "historic."  We can work to attract talented workers back to Chico who have left, and in the words of Dr. Eyler, "they need to come back as employers, not employees."  They will only do so if a talented and trainable workforce exists, and we can and must generate a pipeline to produce just that.

 

The panel takes questions from the audience (minus Christian Friedland)

This is where a buzzword from earlier in the conference, as mentioned by USDA State Director Glenda Humiston, came into focus: Community, as opposed to Economic, Development.  Dr. Eyler called for an increase in connectivity between start-ups, incoming workforce, and resources.  This should help spur genuine job-creation, something not seen in the region for quite some time.  The stock market and real estate boom of the 7-8 pre-recession years did not grow the local economy, and as is well documented, wages and median income stagnated while costs increased and job creation lagged.  Investment in workforce training and innovation will help balance the local economy.  A proactive yet realistic stance on business retention must be implemented as well.  Part of the process involves losing some business, not all home-grown start-ups will stay.  But if we can root the businesses in a sense of community, make local government a partner, and not a barrier to business, we can be adaptive to the commercialization of ideas, foster partnerships, and grow our economy as start-ups grow their businesses.  Another term for this is Economic Gardening, and the key to it, for our region, will be innovation.  CEPCO president/CEO Bob Linshcied has worked diligently to help bring the iHub regional innovation center to Chico, and Dr. Eyler sees this as a very positive first step.  We are encouraged to think regionally as well, for our economy is intrinsically connected to the surrounding region.  We are not on an island, and if we fail to think collaboratively and progressively about developing our community, to borrow Dr. Eyler's phrase: "You're going to get smoked."  CEPCO is relatively certain no one wants that, and our track record in promoting innovation and community collaboration indicates we are on the right track to shifting the way our region conceptualizes its economy for the 21^st century. 

February, 2011

 

I watched President Obama's State-of-the-Union address this past Tuesday evening. I liked the president's comments on reviving America's entrepreneurial spirit and revitalizing our cutting edge research and applied technology sectors. President Obama's admonition about our declining leadership role in science and technology and the inevitable back seat we will take to countries like India and China in these critical areas should serve as a wake-up call. Whether or not any of the president's remarks gain traction and galvanize the country as President Kennedy was able to do with his challenge to "... put a man on the moon and return him safely to the earth before the decade is out" remains to be seen.

 

Locally it is wise for us not to wait on a solution from Washington. We need to take matters into our own hands and that is exactly what we are doing. In many of my prior chairman's messages I have written about the need for collaboration between local governments, education and private enterprise in the pursuit of job creation. These communities which are sometimes ambivalent about each other in good economic times are now keenly interested in collaboration on economic development initiatives. Jennifer McCarthy, the economic development coordinator for the County of Butte introduced their plan to make Butte County business friendly at our last Board Meeting. Jennifer introduced a number of County initiatives ranging from streamlined regional permitting of development projects to the designation of a business ombudsman to help businesses find solutions to problems ranging from labor availability to capital acquisition. On the private sector front, CEPCO and the Bay-Tech Alliance, after a number of exploratory meetings, recently announced an agreement to be more collaborative and cooperative in job creation efforts. Evidence of these collaborations is Paul Hahn, CAO of Butte County and Weldon Larsen of the BayTEC Alliance joining CEPCO's Board as ex-officio members. I welcome both these leaders and look forward to working with them in the months ahead.

 

On the job creation front we had two other "wins" in the recent past. Creative Composition had a ribbon cutting to celebrate their relocating to Chico and refurbishing the old Grocery Outlet on East Park Avenue. We welcome Creative Composition and thank them for choosing to do business in Chico. Andrew Gazdecki,who won the entrepreneurial start-up business competition at this past Business Recognition Dinner recently received his first round of funding,  took his business "live," and has hired his first five employees. These are small victories but important ones. I hope to be reporting many more in the months ahead.