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The city of Indianapolis, my hometown, has a diverse economy. There are communities within the city with strong industrial economy and there are also communities that are reliant on agriculture. Indianapolis is very much still in the Globalization 1.0 phase (Blakely & Leigh, 2017). The city sustains itself primarily by manufacturing goods and growing crops. So what is the way forward for Indianapolis?

The way forward for the city of Indianapolis is a joint project by the Brookings Institution and JPMorgan Chase called the Global Cities Initiative or GCI. The Global Cities Initiative was created in 2012 and implemented in Indianapolis in 2013 with the goal of “helping metropolitan leaders advance and grow their regional economies by strengthening international connections and competiveness on key economic indicators such as advanced manufacturing, exports, foreign direct investment, and traded sectors” (“Metro Indianapolis Global Trade and Investment Strategy,” 2016). In other words, the Global Cities Initiative will help the city of Indianapolis move forward through Globalization 2.0 and to Globalization 3.0 (Blakely & Leigh, 2017).

There were attempts prior to the Global City Initiative to help advance the City’s economy. Efforts were made in the tourism, and hospitality fields with various degrees of success. However, they were not successful enough to surmount the destruction to the City’s economy caused by loss of over 50,000 industrial jobs over the last 25 years (“Metro Indianapolis Global Trade and Investment Strategy,” 2016). As a result, the City has seen a rise in “lower-wage service sector jobs” which in turn has decreased the real incomes down from the industrial days (“Metro Indianapolis Global Trade and Investment Strategy,” 2016). The decrease in real income has been one of the many factors that sparked the Global Cities Initiative.

There is still hope for Indianapolis! The Global City Initiative has identified, through market assessment, economic factors the City must sustain and or improve in order to have a competitive and growing economy. The first factor Indianapolis must sustain is its location as a logistical hub. Indianapolis is the ideal location for logistical operations. According to the Accelerate Indy, a website by the Indy Chamber, Indianapolis is ideal because it is centrally located in the Eastern Time zone and is close in proximity to major manufacturing facilities (“Metro Indianapolis Global Trade and Investment Strategy,” 2016). Additionally, one of four dollars in the City’s economy comes from its advanced industries with pharmaceuticals (“Metro Indianapolis Global Trade and Investment Strategy,” 2016). Advanced industries in Indianapolis are critical to the City’s economy and at the very least, must be sustained. One factor that the City must improve on is the amount of companies that are involved in the global economy. Currently, there are a handful of companies involved in the global economy in Indianapolis. These companies are typically large entities like Eli Lilly and Company, Roche Diagnostics, Rolls-Royce and Allison Transmission (“Metro Indianapolis Global Trade and Investment Strategy,” 2016). These entities account for 40% of total export volume and half of the cities export-related jobs (“Metro Indianapolis Global Trade and Investment Strategy,” 2016). With Indianapolis being a great logistical hub location, the city should improve or encourage more companies to participate in the global economy via exporting goods. Lastly, the city of Indianapolis lacks a skilled workforce to adequately meet the demands of global industries and also does not know how to attract global talent (“Metro Indianapolis Global Trade and Investment Strategy,” 2016). The shift from companies to individuals, in this case, is important because it is the underlining idea in Globalization 3.0 (Blakely & Leigh, 2017). This is one of the main ways the City’s economy will stay competitive for years to come. According to the Accelerate Indy, “talent development, retention, and attraction are recurring, overarching challenges that threaten the Indianapolis region’s economic vitality (“Metro Indianapolis Global Trade and Investment Strategy,” 2016). Indianapolis boasts a dismal ranking of “39th out of the top 100 in percentage of adult population with a college degree and the 29th in growth of college-educated population since 1970” (“Metro Indianapolis Global Trade and Investment Strategy,” 2016). It is obvious to see that the talent is not being produced by the city. Additionally, Indiana loses 33-49% of engineering, biological science, and computer and information sciences in-state graduates (“Metro Indianapolis Global Trade and Investment Strategy,” 2016). The State/City needs to solve the retention problem in order for Indianapolis’ economy to transition.

Fortunately, the Global City Initiative and Local government has a five step strategy with multiple tactics in each step to remedy the issues. The primary tactic in each step will be discussed. Step one is to accelerate global life science and advanced industry innovation. The first step has been initiated by the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership and BioCrossroads with the goal of appealing to globally-focused employers and investors (“Metro Indianapolis Global Trade and Investment Strategy,” 2016). Step two is to capitalize on the crossroads or in other words find the transportation barriers faced by exporters and engage in dialogue with global supply chains (“Metro Indianapolis Global Trade and Investment Strategy,” 2016). Step three is to capture mid-market potential to gain major global impact. The Indy chamber has been tasked with conducting an analysis of current mid-market firms to create a simple plan for the City’s development (“Metro Indianapolis Global Trade and Investment Strategy,” 2016). Step four is recruiting global talent. The City plans to directly recruit from colleges in the State. Finally, the last step is to have a global mindset. The City has already establish diplomatic/economic relationships with foreign States Mexico, Japan, and China.

References

Blakely, E. J., & Leigh, N. G. (2017). Planning local economic development theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.

Metro Indianapolis Global Trade and Investment Strategy. (2018, July 20). Retrieved from https://indychamber.com/accelerate-indy