2030 ambitions set for three priority areas of the Greater MSP economy

"Almost 10 years ago, leaders in this community created GREATER MSP because we needed a way to come together as one region to tackle issues critical to our competitiveness," said Tim Welsh, GREATER MSP board chair and vice chairman, consumer and business banking for U.S. Bank "I'm excited to say it has truly become a working partnership driving major change."

In 2018, 1,000 partners crafted a bold vision for Greater MSP's future: to lead the world in inclusive economic growth by welcoming all, empowering talent and igniting innovation. The initial three ambitions reflect the collective work of dozens of partners representing different parts of the economy aligning under this singular and aspirational long-term vision. They are as follows:

By 2030, the Greater MSP region will be

• Top 5 in our peer set for job growth to ensure opportunity exists for all residents of our region. (Current rank: 9 of 12 in peer set*)
• One of the country's top 10 metros in retaining and attracting people. (Current rank: 16 of the country's 30 largest metros)
• The best place for people from every background to start and scale ventures that create wealth by solving global challenges. (Current ranks: 12 of 12 in peer set for starting new companies, 2 of 12 in peer set for sustaining companies past 5 years)

Speaking via video to meeting attendees, national thought leaders talked about the need for Greater MSP's regional leaders to focus on trends such as rapid digitation, automation, artificial intelligence and increasing diversity. "Cross sector collaboration is absolutely essential in a world that is getting even more complex," said Amy Liu, vice president and director of the Metropolitan Policy Program for The Brookings Institution. "And if people and their talents are at the center of global competitiveness, it takes a civic team—not individual organizations—to ensure that people succeed."

Peter Frosch, GREATER MSP CEO underscored this approach. "GREATER MSP is a big team of hundreds of inspired—and inspiring—people. This cross-sector partnership is innovating, growing and is now capable of doing even more," he said. "That's good news, because there's more work to do together. We need breakthrough progress in known challenges and we need to open our eyes to new challenges that are emerging quickly."

Regional ambitions in six remaining priorities will be announced in early 2020. They are: racial inclusion, skills and workforce, regional image, affordability, mobility, and environment and climate.

About GREATER MSP
GREATER MSP is the economic development partnership for the 15-county Minneapolis Saint Paul region. More than 300 leading businesses, universities, cities, counties, philanthropies and others are working together to accelerate the competitiveness of the regional economy and drive inclusive economic growth through job creation, capital investment and the execution of strategic initiatives.

* Peer set: Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Boston; Charlotte, N.C.; Chicago; Dallas; Denver; Pittsburgh; Portland; San Francisco and Seattle.

SOURCE Greater MSP