Economic Development Action Plan

Challenge

The San Joaquin Valley has struggled with an under-performing economy for several decades. Studies have been published in recent years that provide basic understanding of and baseline information on the economic development challenge in the Valley. The key findings from several of these major reports include:

• The San Joaquin Valley has been consistently plagued with high levels of unemployment for more than 25 years, even during peak agricultural seasons
• Job growth has been respectable in the San Joaquin Valley since 1990. However, unemployment levels have remained high and per capita income remains the lowest in the state. Per capita income in every Metropolitan Statistical Area in the region is lower than in Appalachia.
• Agriculture is arguably the most innovation-driven industry in the region—adopting and integrating technologies, developing new products and adding increased value to products. However, agriculture cannot serve as stand-alone driver of the regional economy.
• Improving the economic vitality of the San Joaquin Valley requires the development of outward-oriented sectors that compete on innovation and serve sophisticated markets.
• Recent growth of the San Joaquin Valley economy appears to be based on increased population and cost-driven growth. Such activity can provide a platform for future growth but will not, ultimately, improve standards of living in the region.
• Shifting from “population” and “cost-driven” growth to innovation-driven and valued-added growth will require investments in the “complete business climate.”
• The San Joaquin Valley is made up of two distinct components: rural and metropolitan.

Indicators

• Increase in per capita income and median household income
• Decrease in unemployment rate
• Decrease in percentage of families below the poverty line
• Increase in agricultural production and crop values
• Increase in job growth in target industries
• Increase in new business startups
• Increase in success rate of new businesses that receive direct services
• Increase in venture capital investments
• Increase in issuance and licensing of patents
• Increase in tourism spending

 Goals and Objectives

Goal 1: Facilitate investments in infrastructure and incentives that support the economic vitality of the region.

Objective A: Establish a regional financing authority for infrastructure, including water and sewer infrastructure.

Objective B: Establish a regionwide incentive zone.

Objective C: Develop and resource a region-wide organization for marketing the region.

Goal 2: Align regionwide economic development efforts in support of target industry clusters: (1) agribusiness, including food processing, agricultural technology, and biotechnology; (2) manufacturing; (3) supply chain management and logistics; (5) health and medical care; and (5) renewable energy.

Objective A: Create regionwide networks of industry clusters to facilitate expansion of target clusters.

Goal 3: Create a dynamic, entrepreneur-producing economic climate in the San Joaquin Valley.

Objective A: Create the “entrepreneurship opportunity fund” to support entrepreneurship development through incubators, risk capital and small business support programs.

Goal 4: Accelerate the deployment and adoption of renewable and clean energy in the San Joaquin Valley.

Objective A: Establish a regional energy office (joint recommendation with the Energy Work Group).

Objective B: Work with state officials to remove administrative barriers to clean energy deployment (join recommendation with the Energy Work Group).

Goal 5: Promote the San Joaquin Valley as a tourist destination.