Ignite the Region
Our friends at the
Northwest Indiana Forum
have been maintaining a list of resources for the business and industry community during COVID-19, which can be accessed
here
.
The following piece was contributed by Heather Ennis, the Forum’s President & CEO, prior to the Coronavirus outbreak. Despite the current situation, NIRPC has remained part of the momentum for this region-wide economic initiative -- a momentum that continues even amidst the current crisis and an initiative that will continue to guide the region’s recovery when it is past.
Since its launch in the fall of 2018, implementation teams have been getting together regularly to make progress on each of the 5 pillars of the plan. Implementation steps for the 5-year plan are over 70% begun and 22% complete.
In just the Business Development & Marketing pillar, the Northwest Indiana story is being told nationwide with over 24 trips meeting with 400 companies, site selectors, brokers and developers last year alone, which helped to attract over 1300 new jobs to our region, and 20 additional trips are scheduled for 2020.
Also in the works is “Impact Labs,” a creative way to bring entrepreneurship and intrapreneurship together, which could have a game-changing impact on the creative ecosystem of Northwest Indiana. Look for more to come on this and other exciting and igniting projects.
