Table Of ContentTl^e Pioneer Valley
Plan For Progress
ECONOMIC STRATEGIES FOR THE REGION
SeDtember 1994
Digitized by the Internet Archive
2015
in
https://archive.org/details/pioneervalleyplaOOpion
The
Pioneer Valley
Plan For Progress
ECONOMIC STRATEGIES FOR THE REGION
Seotember 1994
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FROM
HERE
Preparedby thePioneerValley PlanningCommission
The Regional Plan for Progress is made possible in large
part by a grant from the U.S. Department ofCommerce -
Economic DevelopmentAdministration.
AdditionalfundingcamefromthePioneerValleyPlanningCommission
andValley2000,Inc. and itsfollowingmembers:
WestoverMetropolitan Development Corporation
GreaterSpringfield ChamberofCommerce
O'Connell EngineeringandFinancial, Inc.
UniversityofMassachusetts,Amherst
WesternMassachusetts ElectricCompany
TheStanley BeveridgeFoundation
Table of Contents
4
The Vision
5
The Trustees
7
Introduction
About the Regional Plan for Progress
TheResearchPhase • 8
TheStrategicGoals • 11
DevelopingtheStrategies • 12
AcknowledgingaChangingWorld • 14
What'sIn,What'sOut • 15
Short-term Strategies: 995 to 1997
1
MarketManagers forKey Export Industries • 18
IncreaseCapitalAvailability • 20
IncreaseSupportforSmall Businesses • 22
ExpandRegionalTourismEfforts • 24
PromoteRegional Identity • 26
RegionalEducationAlliance • 27
StreamlinetheLocalandStatePermittingandDecisionMakingProcess •29
Expand theRoleofBusinessRetentionTeams • 30
CapitalizeonOurTelecommunicationsCapabilities • 31
Mid-term Strategies: 998 to 2000
1
ConnecticutRiver2020Strategy • 34
UrbanInvestment • 36
Develop Regional Incubatorsand FosterTechnologyTransfer • 37
TurningRecyclingintoRevenue • 40
MaximizeOurAirports • 41
HigherEducation • 42
School-to-WorkTransition • 43
46
Long-term Strategies: 2001 and Onward
47
Concluding with the Power of Collaboration
49
Related Publications
The Vision
ThePlanforProgress:ARegional EconomicStrategyforthePioneerValley
Th e V s o n
i i
TheRegional PlanforProgressbringstogetherthevitaleconomicinterestsofthePioneerValleyto
build a competitiveregionalcommunitywitha world classenvironmentwhichstimulatesdevelopment
andgrowth.
The Plan for Progress Trustees
The potentialforanyplanorstrategyisonlyasstrongasthepeoplebehind it. Ingatheringtogetherthe
groupwhowouldsteertheRegional Plan forProgress,weknew theseindividualsmustreflectthe
diversityissuesofthisregion:geographic, demographicsandprivateversuspublicsectorinterests.
ThePlanforProgressTrusteeshavemetbimonthlyformonths,discussingstrategies,respondingto
ideas,sometimesarguing, alwaysreturning. TheRegionalPlan forProgressisextremelyfortunateto
havea groupofpeoplewhosededicationtothePioneerValleyRegionisunequaled.
The Trustees
RobertAbair
WesternMassachusetts ElectricCompany
JohnAbbott
MassachusettsMutualLifeInsuranceCompany
DorcaArriaga
Massachusetts MutualLifeInsuranceCompany/BrightwoodDevelopmentCorporation
Linda Barron
BelchertownSelectboard
SuzanneBeck
Northampton ChamberofCommerce
AllanBlair
WestoverMetropolitan Development Corporation
TimothyBrennan
PioneerValleyPlanningCommission
JaymieChernoff
OfficeofEconomicDevelopment, UniversityofMassachusetts
Michael Daly
BaystateHealthSystems,Inc.
JohnDoyle
O'ConnellEngineeringandFinancial, Inc.
JayDiPucchio
Franklin CountyAdministrator
DianneFullerDoherty
SmallBusiness DevelopmentCenter
JohnGallup
EconomicDevelopmentPartners
PatrickGoggins
Gogginsand Whalen Realtors
The Plan for Progress Trustees
MarcHanks
EconomicDevelopmentPartners
TheHonorableRobertMarkel
Mayor, Springfield
ThomasMayer
SpaldingSports Worldwide
GordonOakes
UniversityofMassachusettsTrustees
StevenPierce
OfficeoftheGovernor
KennethW. Plumley
OfficeoftheGovernor
Dr. WilliamRoberts
SpringBoard Technology
SueRoot
WorldAffairsCouncilofWesternMass
AndrewScibelli
SpringfieldTechnicalCommunityCollege
DavidScott
UniversityofMassachusetts
JamesShriver
GreaterSpringfieldChamberofCommerce
FranVanTreese
Hilltoivn CommunityDevelopmentCorporation
WilliamWard
J.
Hampden CountyPrivateIndustryCouncils
Ex-officio
RobertFazzi,Ph.D.
FazziAssociates
LynnGriesemer,Ed.D.
J.
DomhueInstitute, UniversityofMassachusetts
JohnR. Mullin, Ph.D.,AICP
CenterforEconomicDevelopment, UniversityofMassachusetts
Introduction
WhentheRegionalPlanforProgresswasfirstconceived, thePioneerValleyRegionwasinthemidstof
whatmanyconsidered a recession.OnlyduringtheGreatDepressionhad weexperienced morejob
lossesintheregion. Wewerehard hitbycutsinmilitaryspending,by losses in manufacturmg,reductions
inconstruction-every industrialsectorfeltthesharp pangsofthedownturn.
Today,someofusinthePioneerValleyRegionarestartingtoseeanimprovementand largereco-
nomicindicatorspointtoanationalrecovery. Butwhilewemayfeeloptimistic,weneedtolookbackon
thislastdownturnand understand its largerlessons.Atotalrestructuringofoureconomyhasoccurred
overthepasttenyears. Thewords "recession" and "depression"connoteapotentialswingbacktothe
normandwewillneverreturntothenorm.Theentirearchitectureofourregionalandworldeconomyis
changing. IfthePioneerValleyexpectstoflourisheconomically, itmustacceptthesestructuralchangesand
respondaccordingly.
CK'erahundredyearsago, thisregionexperienced anera unsurpassedineconomicprosperity.This
prosperitywasthereward ofingenuityandvision^balanced precariously,butperfectly,withotherfactors
workinginourfavor: demands fornewproducts;thenatural resourcestorun machines fortheproducts;
and thewavesofimmigrantlabortoproducetheproducts.Weheld thegoldenballuntilthesefactors
shiftedandtheeraslipped away.
Manyofthosefactorsfavoringusovera hundred yearsagoarestillpresentinthePioneerValley. We
havepocketsofingenuityandbrilliance;wehaveresourcefulnessand tenacityand wehavenew immi-
grantpopulationsmovingintothearea. Butwehavenotconnected thesefactorsand unlikeourpast,
outsideforceswillnotmoveinandcreatethesteamforoureconomicengine. Otherpartsoftheworld,
otherregionsinthisnation,areaggressivelyshapingtheirfutureand wemustdothesame.Theworld no
longeroperatesasitdid in 1745, 1845, 1945oreven 1985.ThePioneerValleyRegionmusttakeitstenacity
andapplyitnotindealingwitheachotherbutintacklingthechallengesofa globallychangingeconomy.
Ourindigenoustraitswillserveuswell ifweusethemtolookoutward.
In1993, theWeld-CellucciAdministrationpublishedChoosingtoCompete,aneconomicstrategyfor
Massachusetts.ThestrategyoutlinedcategoriesforactionandexaminedeachregionintheCommon-
wealth, includingthePioneerValley:
Thisstrategyis intendedtoserveasablueprintforhowtheMassachusettsstate
governmentcandoitsjobwell-inpartnershipwithbusiness,labor,andtheresearch
and academiccommunity-byhelpingcreateabusinessenvironmentthatisnothing
shortofthebestin thenation forbusinessgrowthand newjobcreation.
{ChoosingtoCompete, ExecutiveOfficeofEconomicAffairs, 1993)
TheRegionalPlanforProgresspicksupthisblueprintand attemptstofill insomeofthedetailonthe
pagesmarked "PioneerValleyRegion." Wehavefollowed thesamebasicpremisefoundinChoosingto
Compete: Economicdevelopmentisapartnership. Butwehavealsocustomized theprocess forthisregion
andtheRegionalPlanforProgressreflectsthisadded dimension.
Aboutthe Regional Plan for Progress
The Research Phase
BeforewebegantheRegionalPlanforProgress,weknewthattherecentrestructuringofoureconomy
wasunprecedented. AcrossthePioneerValleyRegion,variousindividualshadgraspedtheenormityof
thesechanges,buttodate,wehadnotcollaboratedonapossiblecalltoaction.Asaregion,weneededto
organizeandmoveaheadtopositionourselvesforfutureeconomicprosperity.Weneededtounderstand
thesituation inrealisticterms,inquantitativeterms.Thefirststepwastogatherinformahon.
TheStatistical ResearchandAnalysis
Researchwasconducted todeterminethecurrentcomposition,strengthsandweaknessesofthePioneer
Valley'sregionaleconomyand itsavailablephysical,humanandcapitalresources.AnEconomic
AssessmentofthePioneerValleywaspublishedinApril1994.Itconsistsofawhitepaperanalysisofthe
region'seconomicsituation,examiningitscomposition,strengthsandweaknessesand availablephysical,
humanandcapital resources.Thepaperincludesa regionalreportcardwhichcomparestheregionto
otherpartsofthenationinthemajorcategoriesofeconomiccompetition.
Anannotatedcatalogueoforganizationalresourcesforeconomicdevelopmentwasalsocompiledand
publishedatthesametime.Thiscatalogueprovidesareferencefortheregionandpresentsaninventoryof
potentialparticipantsintheRegionalPlanforProgress.Itshouldbenotedthatthiscataloguecontinuesto
evolveandexpand.
Public Participation
FortheRegional Plan forProgresstotrulyreflecttheissuesfacingtheregion,weneededcomprehensive
involvementthroughcommunityoutreachandparticipation. Forsixmonths,thePlanforProgress
Trusteescanvassed theregion.
TheEconomic Summits
ThePlan forProgressTrusteessponsored a seriesofeconomicsummitsdesigned tosolicitstrategy
suggestions,educatetheregionabouteconomictrendsandgathersupportfortheplan.
EconomicSummitOne
Thisfirstsummit,heldApril29, 1994, had approximately300registeredparhcipants. Followinga
historicallookattheregion,participantsattendedstrategysessionswitheachgroupdiscussingatopic
relatedtoelementsoftheeconomy. Manyofthesuggestionsgeneratedhavebecomeafundamentalpartof
theplan.
EconomicSummitTwo
ThesecondsummitwasheldJune16, 1994andexplored thekeyelementsofastrongeconomy,
elementswhichprovideaframeworkforthisplan. Particularemphasishasbeenplacedontheroleof
