Department of
Economic & Community Development
Bill Hagerty, Commissioner

On April 21, 2011, Governor Bill Haslam and ECD Commissioner Bill Hagerty announced the Jobs4TN plan, laying out the administration's economic development strategy. The new approach to job creation is the result of a 45-day top-to-bottom review of the department and involved interviews with more than 300 stakeholders, community leaders, and national experts as well as feedback gathered from seven roundtables across the state.

Read the Jobs4TN release here.
Read the INCITE innovation release here.
View a PowerPoint Presentation on the Jobs4TN plan here.

Four Key Strategies

Jobs4TN is the blueprint for making Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high-quality jobs, and the plan includes four key strategies:

Strategy #1

Prioritizing target clusters and existing industries: Tennessee will focus its recruitment efforts on six target clusters in which the state has a clear competitive advantage: automotive; chemicals and plastics; transportation, logistics and distribution services; business services; health care; and advanced manufacturing and energy technologies. ECD will also partner with other state agencies such as the Department of Agriculture, the Tennessee Film, Entertainment and Music Commission, and the Department of Tourism to support additional key clusters. In 2010, expansion of existing business accounted for nearly 86 percent of new jobs created in Tennessee. The state will focus on helping existing businesses expand and remain competitive through a targeted outreach program. A new "existing business toolkit" of incentives and resources will be created for Tennessee companies.

Strategy #2

Establishing regional "jobs base camps" across the state: ECD will fundamentally restructure its field staff to establish a "jobs base camp" in each of nine regions across the state. Each base camp will work with local partners to develop and/or revise a regional economic develop plan and align existing federal and state resources around that plan. ECD will select regional directors to run each "jobs base camp" over the next 30 to 45 days. A key function of these jobs base camps will be reaching out to rural counties to incorporate them into broader regional economic development strategies that leverage existing resources and maximize the assets of rural communities. A newly-created position of Assistant Commissioner of Rural Development will help lead this effort.

Strategy #3

Investing in innovation: Governor Haslam announced on May 5, 2011 a $50 million initiative designed to support innovation across the state. The goal of the program, called INCITE for its focus on innovation, commercialization, investment, technology and entrepreneurship, is to raise Tennessee's profile in innovation-based economic development and drive growth in the creation of knowledge-based jobs.

The INCITE initiative focuses on four areas:

Innovation Coordination - ECD will work with each of the nine regions to develop a strategic plan for economic development, each containing a strategy for developing innovation using the region's unique assets. The Tennessee Technology Development Corporation (TTDC) will play a key role in assisting with the development of these plans and will partner with ECD to hold an annual Governor's Conference on Innovation to share best practices.

Commercialization - ECD will launch a series of initiatives designed to help move new products and technologies from the research lab to the marketplace faster. In March 2011, Haslam announced $10 million in funding for the Memphis Research Consortium to enhance commercialization partnerships as a first step in this process. ECD will work with TTDC to identify other opportunities to enhance technology commercialization activities across the state.

Entrepreneurship - ECD will fund a new or existing business incubator in each of the state's nine economic development regions. To receive funding, business incubators will commit to meeting critical benchmarks, such as raising specific amounts of private sector capital for its tenant companies. ECD will also create a statewide incubator network to share best practices and support efforts to raise private capital. As part of this effort, a Governor's Award for Entrepreneurship will be created and awarded each year at the Governor' will target $30 million toward the creation of early stage, seed, and mezzanine capital co-investment funds. These funds will be designed to be self-sustaining and to compliment Tennessee's existing TNInvestco and Pathway Lending programs. ECD is currently in discussions with the U.S. Treasury Department to provide funding for these programs through the State Small Business Credit Initiative. ECD expects the co-investment fund to be operational by fall 2011.

Strategy #4

Reducing business regulation: Haslam has asked ECD to lead a review of federal and state business regulations. Over the coming months, ECD will work with existing Tennessee businesses, business advocacy groups and state agencies to identify federal and state laws and regulations inhibiting job growth. After performing a cost-benefit analysis of regulations identified as burdensome, ECD will present recommendations to the governor and the state's congressional delegation in Fall 2011.