Cleveland Innovation Project’s vision for region’s future focuses on key sectors to reach economic, inclusion goals by 2030

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The Cleveland Innovation Project on Wednesday revealed its plan to create a more robust and inclusive economy in Cleveland. The plan focuses on developing technology and talent in three key sectors. (Photo by John Petkovic, The Plain Dealer)The Plain Dealer

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Earlier this year, the Cleveland Innovation Project was in the final stages of devising its recommendations to transform the city into a Midwest hub for innovation when the coronavirus ground the economy to a halt.

Five partner organizations and a steering committee had been considering the region’s next “big bet” on technology for more than a year and a half before the pandemic upended the world as we knew it. Although the coronavirus didn’t alter the overall focus of the effort, the architects realized they needed to rethink some key goals to fit a post-pandemic version of Northeast Ohio.

They realized, for example, that they needed to put a greater emphasis on ensuring every home in Greater Cleveland has access to the high-speed internet that’s been essential to our lives as we work and take classes from home. And massive unemployment has created a higher need for career training in digital and technology sectors, project leader Baiju Shah said.

“It’s a dynamic process with this project,” Shah said during a recent meeting with cleveland.com editors and reporters. “It’s constantly re-evaluating the strategies and adapting, to ensure that we are achieving the outcomes we’ve set forth as a group.”

Those last-minute alterations resulted in the vision the Cleveland Innovation Project unveiled Wednesday during the Greater Cleveland Partnership’s annual meeting. It focuses on investing in technology and talent in three sectors – smart manufacturing, health innovation and water technologies – to reach economic and inclusion goals by 2030.

The project involves four key initiatives, including boosting digital and STEM talent in the region and achieving digital equity. Currently, nearly one out of every five Greater Cleveland homes does not have access to high-speed broadband, Shah said.

“You’re leaving an entire segment of the community behind from the technology opportunities that are present – for working, for living and for learning - if they’re not able to participate because they don’t have [internet] connections in their own homes,” Shah said.

The plan also puts an emphasis on developing a pipeline of private capital to start and scale businesses, and developing “innovation zones” like the Health-Tech Corridor and Opportunity Corridor.

The project is the latest in a series of efforts designed to create a more robust and inclusive economy in Cleveland, which holds the ignominious distinction of being the most impoverished large city in the nation, according to the results of the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2020 American Community Survey.

But leaders from the five partners involved in the Cleveland Innovation Project -- the GCP, the Cleveland Foundation, Fund For Our Economic Future, JumpStart and TeamNEO -- said they are confident it will improve the region’s economic vitality.

“The foundation is as strong as I’ve ever seen in our community for a major economic development effort,” GCP President and CEO Joe Roman said.

The initiatives are merely a starting point; it’s up to business leaders, investors and other local stakeholders to put it into action.

Although the project calls for significant capital investments at a time when the coronavirus has wreaked havoc on the economy, Roman said he is confident investors will step up to turn the plan into a reality.

The economic upheaval has in some ways created a greater sense of urgency to invest in Cleveland’s future, he said.

“I think people realize how important it is, now more than ever, to change some of the economic metrics of our region,” Roman said.

Focusing on key sectors and identifying goals

The project’s steering committee, comprised of corporate and civic leaders, considered input from more than 150 area stakeholders as they crafted the plan. They considered a range of innovation opportunities for the region, and ultimately identified three sectors they believe offer the best combination of strengths, potential and readiness for growth:

  • Smart manufacturing: Cleveland has a long history as a large and diverse manufacturing hub. The plan is to focus on emerging technologies like robotics, automation and artificial intelligence.
  • Health innovation: The city is already a hub for health care thanks to the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals and MetroHealth. The idea is to invest more in the development and delivery of telehealth and community health care; turn Cleveland into a global center for research on pathogens and infectious disease; reduce health disparities; and promote wellness.
  • Water technologies: There are more than 300 companies in Greater Cleveland focused on the treatment, management and flow of water. The goal is to make Cleveland a global center for next-general-solutions for a precious resource.

The project also outlines a series of goals the partners hope the achieve by 2030. They include broad economic benchmarks such as more than $2 billion in investments in increased targeted research, more than $4 billion in capital investments in tech companies and more than 20,000 new tech jobs.

But those goals also include commitments to a more-inclusive economy. At least 25% of new tech jobs should be held by Black or Latino individuals and at least 50% should be held by women, the goals say. Furthermore, at least 25% of the companies that receive capital investments should have Black or Latino executives, and 50% should have female executives, the goals say.

Leaders from the five partners on the project acknowledged during a meeting with cleveland.com editors and reporters that they are still working to develop a plan to reach those equity goals. But Bethia Burke, the president of Fund For Our Economic Future, said creating an inclusive economy is critical to the overall project.

“In 2030, if we don’t achieve our equity goals, this was not successful,” Burke said.

Some of the partners have already focused on equity in the region through previously announced initiatives. The GCP, for example, announced last year that it was creating a $50 million fund to spur private real-estate investments in some of Cuyahoga County’s most impoverished neighborhoods.

Shah said the project plans to keep its commitment to those goals by conducting periodic progress evaluations throughout the next 10 years. They plan to adjust their strategy if they’re not on track to reach those goals by 2030, he said.

“Having it on the scorecard, reporting on it regularly, forces the discussion with regularity, rather than just at the end of the 10 years," Shah said.

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