The Select CLT team attended the 2023 International Economic Development Council annual conference in Dallas, where they were able to market the Charlotte Region, gather takeaways and insights, and network with old friends and new among economic development professionals around the nation.
The team celebrated a huge win for the Charlotte Regional Business Alliance with a back-to-back third place ranking that placed the CLT Alliance as one of the top regional economic development organizations in the nation. This came from a survey from corporate executives and site selection consultants released at IEDC.
The CLT Alliance also had a great showing from Lead Principal Researcher Adrienne Hua, PhD, who got the chance to join a panel speaking on the convergence between Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) with fellow panelists, Ron Bertasi, Chonchol Gupta, and Kevin Nesburg.
The Select CLT team shared some key insights and takeaways from their time at the annual conference, touching on the transformative force of AI, government influence on economic development, and trends in the electric vehicle EV industry.
Economic Trends:
- Shared services, business process outsourcing, and back office centers are increasingly considering international markets.
- There is a continued emphasis on workforce development as the need for up-skilling and reskilling increases as office and industrial business operations advance.
- Industrial focused consultancies are adding staff to cover the workload.
- Consultants continue to be wary of EV projects, with start-up/early-stage companies citing the concern that most of these companies plan to have federal funding. There is an overarching ambiguity concerning the process and timing federal funding.
- Uncertainty continues among consultants, EDOs, and service providers about the future of business over the next 12-18 months considering market conditions.
Government:
- EDOs and their leaders are in a state of stagnation. This comes amid anticipation of economic changes while experiencing unprecedented costs and leadership transition.
- Economic development incentive programs are being defunded at all levels around the nation.
- Local governments suggest prioritizing the use of funds for transportation or infrastructure improvements.
AI:
- The AI panel was well received with complimentary messaging around the use of the technology to support economic development, site selection, data analytics and industry business functions.
- AI is transforming economic development through data analysis and predictive modeling that can help communities attract new investments.
- AI will reshape EDO approaches to economic growth.
To learn more about the Select CLT team’s efforts to build the awareness, consideration, and influence of the Charlotte Region, click here.
