The public way Amazon has carried out its process for choosing its coveted HQ2, “Has turned site selection on its head,” says Lawrence Bivins, managing director for policy and public affairs with the North Carolina Economic Development Association (NCEDA).
“It’s been a public search, which is a whole new paradigm for doing this,” Bivins said in an interview with WRAL Techwire. “We’re wondering if we’re going to see more of this or if it’s a one-off deal.” It’s certainly different from the secrecy surrounding a possible new Apple campus in the Triangle.
Raleigh-based NCEDA helps promote North Carolina and its communities as a global destination for businesses, jobs and economic investment.
The NCEDA counts more than 600 economic development professionals and their allies as members. Founded in 1966, it has members in 86 of 100 NC counties and Bivins says, “We’re working on the last 14.” It focuses on professional development for its members, lobbies the State General Assembly and other government leaders, and puts on three main events and networking luncheons each year.
Bivins, a business writer who has published in North Carolina Magazine, the former NC Chamber of Commerce monthly publication, North Carolina Business Magazine, and other publications, joined NCEDA last year.
Be ready for anything
“North Carolina has the 9th largest GDP in the country. It has a diverse and growing economy that reinvents itself practically every day. Companies, innovations and business issues come and go. Things don’t last forever. We saw that in 2000 when the dot com bubble burst and again in 2008. You can’t be complacent.”
So, in economic development, he says, “We need to be ready for anything. We need to be realistic about business cycles, the global economy. The business climate can “change on a dime and we need to be ready for both today and tomorrow.”
To that end, NCEDA continually works on professional development for its members as well as introducing them to key players in and out of state. Its fall event, for instance, “The NC Site Selectors Summit” set for Omni Grove Park Inn October 14-16 in Asheville will bring site selection professionals from across the country.
“We’ll fly in about 20 site selection pros,” says Bivins. “They’ll be a diverse cross-section of site selection consultants who specialize in different industries to build relationships, discuss what the trends are, what assets are looking for.” America relies more and more on such private consultants who will even negotiate an incentives package, he adds.
His partner, Liz Dobbins Smith, managing director-membership engagement and programs, is excellent at organizing the NCEDA conferences, which are growing steadily, Bivins says.
Liz Dobbins-Smith with Lawrence Bivins at an NCEDA event in June. NCEDA photo.
The changing world of economic development
The economic development sector is changing, Bivins says. “The professionals are younger now, a whole new generation, well educated, ambitious and service-oriented. They used to be mostly middle-aged men who had had business careers. Now there is a lot of influence from other states and fields. They’re far more mobile and always open to education.”
Right now in NC, “More and more of our members are interested in workforce development and we’re working more closely than ever with education and training professions.”
One problem the state needs to face, he says, “Is that things are going so well with unemployment so low that our industrial parks and buildings are filled and we need to pay attention to developing more.”
Another problem is that “We are a big, diverse state. We have many communities with unique needs, but also with unique resources. They can learn from each other, but in the end need to develop their own unique assets and resources.”
The urban-rural divide is another problem that the NCEDA sees as a concern. “Some parts of the state are not as well connected to the opportunities of the 21st century,” Bivins says. “Mountain communities are still struggling with broadband internet access because of the terrain, and some Eastern communities because of low population density. But we see signs of encouraging progress.”
The migration of rural populations to urban centers is another problem, although far from a new one. “It’s been happening since the industrial revolution,” says Bivins, who studied economics. “When your population is not growing prime working age groups, 18-36, losing that segment can be devastating.”
One thing helping is that there is more vertical integration in the state’s food and beverage industries. “In the past,” he says, “we grew the farm crops and sent them out of state for processing.” Now much food and beverage processing is done in-state. “The jobs are more technology oriented and require interacting with equipment, food safety standards, security, and some very 21st century facilities.”
The organization just elected new officers and directors for 2018-2019.
Mark Pope, executive director of Lenoir County Economic Development, will serve as NCEDA president. Pope has helped facilitate the arrival and expansion of numerous companies in Lenoir County, including Spirit AeroSystems, Sanderson Farms, West Pharmaceuticals and Moen.
Patricia Mitchell, PhD, an assistant professor and interim director of the MPA program at Appalachian State University, will be NCEDA’s vice president. She was assistant secretary for rural economic development at the NC Department of Commerce for three years and was director of economic development and Ashe County manager.
Randall Johnson, will serve as secretary-treasurer of the organization. Johnson is executive director of the Southeastern Regional Office of the North Carolina Biotechnology Center in Wilmington, which works to strengthen the region’s life science economy.
