By Andy Owens
aowens@scbiznews.com
Published July 29, 2010

Traffic congestion and pockets of crime are ongoing challenges the region must tackle to stay competitive for business and industry, according to a Regional Economic Scorecard presented this morning.

The Charleston Regional Development Alliance presented results of a recent research project, which analyzed the Charleston region in comparison with similarly sized areas in the mid-Atlantic, to more than 200 business and community leaders attending the Charleston Regional Business Journal’s Power Breakfast today at the Lockwood Marriott.

Read the executive summary and the full report online.

“Research is huge. It’s a way to know how you stack up against the competition,” said David Ginn, president and CEO of the Charleston Regional Development Alliance, in introducing the report. “You need to understand the facts, where you are at a point in time.”

David Ginn, president and CEO of the Charleston Regional Development Alliance, and Mary Graham, senior vice president of public policy for the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, speak at Thursday's Power Breakfast. (Photo/Kim McManus)

The study, conducted by Clemson University’s Center for Economic Development and the Center for Business Research at the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce, compared data from five years before the recession in five areas: economic performance, human capital, innovative activity, entrepreneurial environment and quality of place.

Ginn said the CRDA is using the study to determine where the market is performing and has launched a long-term strategic plan that uses the research as a baseline for improvement. He said the scorecard could become an annual project; the strategic plan will be unveiled in March.

“There is some risk in this,” Ginn said about making the report public. “I would say the risk in not doing this is you’re not going to get better on a sustainable basis.”

Findings
David Hughes, an economist with Clemson’s Department of Applied Economics and Statistics, which performed the research and analysis for the CRDA, said the growing applied sciences and health care infrastructure in the region is likely to improve its poor showings in the Entrepreneurship Index and Innovative Activity Index.

Hughes said the number of patents per worker was relatively low in the region as a measure of innovation, but improving that takes time.

“Patents are just the first step,” he said. “It’s a longer period of maturation. Growing firms that come out of that process takes awhile.”

Ginn noted specific efforts, such as the SCRA MUSC Innovation Center’s creation, the Hollings Cancer Center’s designation by the National Institutes of Health, and the Clemson University Restoration Institute’s announcement of a wind turbine drivetrain testing facility.

“That hasn’t even been built yet, but it’s already attracting companies,” Ginn said. “I don’t think it’s overly optimistic to think this Innovative Index can improve in a relatively short amount of time.”

Graham

Hughes

The study noted a slight increase in Charleston’s Human Capital Index and Quality of Place Index.

“You are very successful in being a magnet for talent,” Hughes said, adding that part of that is reflective of the technical education system.

Mary Graham, senior vice president of public policy for the chamber, said the region suffers because there is a gap between what workers are paid and what it costs to live in Charleston.

“We’re doing well with employment rates, but earnings aren’t keeping up,” she said.

Hughes said crime pulled Charleston’s Livability Index below the national average. He said the problem is well-understood by anyone who lives here — pockets of crime are interspersed throughout the region.

“The business community needs to think about what you can do to lift up those kinds of places,” he said, adding that such change will not happen suddenly. “Maybe you can move that needle and begin to work on these kinds of issues.”

Hughes said place-based strategies that help people and businesses in depressed areas have helped alleviate crime issues in other regions. He emphasized that the Charleston region’s strong towns and cities are relatively safe but that the data showed it as a challenge.

He also said that the high percentage of time spent in traffic is an increasing problem for economic development and that a regional solution could alleviate some of those problems.