Our Plan

The Research

The research behind the Elevate Greater Akron plan was conducted by outside consultants in order to ensure the process and content were impartial and neutral. The consultants not only collected extensive market research but also conducted interviews to gain a more personalized view into the operations of our regional economy.

Click here to read the full EGA research report.

Elevate Greater Akron 2.0

Every two years, the Elevate Greater Akron plan undergoes an evaluation of its accomplishments and a reflection of what changes need to be made. Launched in January 2021, Elevate Greater Akron 2.0 encompasses the same five strategies as the initial plan, adjusted to meet the needs of the current economy. The core partners will continue to focus on key initiatives that drive the strategic goals forward.

Click here to read the Elevate Greater Akron 2.0 Strategic Plan

The Findings

Our research yielded eight key findings that drive the recommended strategies in the plan. The key findings from the initial report include:

The Akron regional economy is neither distressed nor dynamic

In a Midwest region defined by persistent economic distress, Akron’s economy over the past decade is best described as being in stasis. But Akron’s relative stability has enabled it to avoid reckoning with the fact that the regional economy is threatened by a lack of dynamism. Today, Akron does not have an obvious catalyst to shift its economic trajectory and position the region to compete in the future.

Akron faces strong headwinds

The structure of the economy is changing in ways that make it more difficult for Akron and other small metro areas to grow new firms and industries. Innovation is increasingly concentrated in a few “elite” metro areas with abundant talent. Startup rates are in a decades-long decline. The manufacturing sector is struggling. Middle-wage job opportunities continue to shrink. These growing market headwinds are threatening the assets that have allowed Akron to “coast” in recent years.

Traditional economic development approaches are proving incapable of effectively confronting these headwinds.

The traditional economic development model does not align with what matters in today’s economy. Economic development organizations (EDOs) are either “doubling down” on outdated approaches (sales-oriented, incentives-driven, and increasingly expensive attempts to attract businesses), or shifting to a more balanced approach focused on drivers of development, such as skills, entrepreneurship, and innovation. But adaptation brings its own challenges, such as the difficulty of regional collaboration when different EDOs adopt different strategies and compete for limited resources.

The Akron region’s economic development system is outdated and fragmented.

There are several potentially transformative, but overlooked, economic development opportunities in Akron.

The region has not made smart, concerted, and sustained investments in several areas that could propel the regional economy onto a new trajectory. One key area of latent potential includes young, high-growth, high tech firms. (Akron has had 42 firms in the Inc. 5000 over the past five years, placing it in the top 40% of mid-sized metro areas for its concentration of such firms per million residents.) Another area of untapped potential is scale-up and mid-sized firms, which are often overlooked despite creating most new U.S. jobs. A third is coordinated effort to develop and grow a polymers or advanced materials cluster, which could become a successful and unique cluster effort 3 that could give the region a toehold in a new set of growing, adjacent markets.

The Akron region lacks the workforce skills to fulfill demand for good jobs in increasingly digitized and mid-tech occupations.

Reflecting an accelerated version of a broad national trend, Akron has experienced an extraordinarily rapid shift to a digital economy. From 2002 to 2016, the growth in the level of digital skills required for the average job was greater in Akron than 95 of the 100 largest U.S. metro areas. The region’s workforce development system has struggled to keep pace. The resulting digital skills shortage threatens Akron in two ways. First, it limits Akron’s ability to support the growth of its existing traded sector firms, which, regardless of industry, need workers with mid-level digital skills. Second, it will make it difficult for Akron to capitalize on the opportunity to attract operations that provide “mid-tech” support functions for the IT industry (such as database administration, information security, and computer programming).

Much of Akron, particularly its black population, is excluded from economic opportunity – which represents a major threat to growth and competitiveness.

Amidst a general decline in economic opportunity, Akron’s black population is experiencing particularly troubling economic outcomes. Of the 100 largest U.S. metro areas from 2005 to 2015, Akron ranked among the 10 worst metro areas for the decline in the black employment rate, and the five worst for the decline in black earnings. Akron’s economy cannot succeed if this population – 31 percent of the city’s residents and 12 percent of the region’s – is not succeeding.

Anemic growth in Akron’s downtown and other job hubs hinders the economic development potential of the entire region.

Akron’s new downtown plan and several other civic efforts have generated momentum, but this could be stifled due to the fact that Akron lacks an organization to drive the plan, secure resources, and gain stronger corporate involvement. In addition to sustaining progress on downtown, the region needs to reverse a broader trend of job sprawl. According to the Fund for Our Economic Future, 13 of the region’s 20 largest “job hubs” lost traded sector jobs from 2002 to 2015, even as overall jobs in the region remained stable.

Click here to read the full EGA research report.

The Strategies

The eight key findings were shaped into five strategies that make up Elevate Greater Akron. These strategies are focused on doubling down on what we know works. They were designed to create an economy where everyone can participate and prosper, while also leveraging our assets to drive growth and competitiveness for companies at all sizes and stages. Read more about each strategy below.

Opportunity
Akron

An intentional focus on the
Black population, to ensure they
are positioned to engage in,
and share in the benefits of,
the regional economy.

Learn More

Spark
Akron

Position Greater Akron to be an entrepreneurial hub by strengthening the existing pieces of the ecosystem, identifying and filling ecosystem gaps, and ensuring entrepreneurs are equipped with resources they need to grow.

Learn More

New Business Retention
and Expansion

Support the recovery and growth of businesses through a comprehensive approach that includes targeted outreach, resources to assist businesses coming for help, and focused strategy around site selection to ensure optimal opportunity.

Learn More

Refocus on
Downtown Akron

Prioritize downtown revitalization and development to support the growth of a vibrant business and residential community.

Learn More

LEAD
Greater Akron

Provide support, visibility, and accountability for the activities and initiatives of Elevate Greater Akron.

Learn More

Opportunity
Akron

An intentional focus on the Black population, to ensure they are positioned to engage in, and share in the benefits of, the regional economy.

Learn More

Spark
Akron

Position Greater Akron to be an entrepreneurial hub by strengthening the existing pieces of the ecosystem, identifying, and filling ecosystem gaps, and ensuring entrepreneurs are equipped with the resources they need to grow.

Learn More

New Business Retention
and Expansion

Support the recovery and growth of businesses through a comprehensive approach that includes targeted outreach, resources to assist businesses coming for help, and focused strategy around site selection to ensure optimal opportunity.

Learn More

Refocus on Downtown Akron

Prioritize downtown revitalization and development to support the growth of a vibrant business and residential community

Learn More

LEAD Greater Akron

Provide support, visibility, and accountability for the activities and initiatives of Elevate Greater Akron.

Learn More

Our Plan

TheResearch

TheFindings

TheStrategies

The Research

Click here to read the full EGA research report.

Elevate Greater Akron 2.0

Click here to read the Elevate Greater Akron 2.0 Strategic Plan

The Findings

Click here to read the full EGA research report.

The Strategies

An intentional focus on theBlack population, to ensure theyare positioned to engage in,and share in the benefits of,the regional economy.

Position Greater Akron to be an entrepreneurial hub by strengthening the existing pieces of the ecosystem, identifying and filling ecosystem gaps, and ensuring entrepreneurs are equipped with resources they need to grow.

Support the recovery and growth of businesses through a comprehensive approach that includes targeted outreach, resources to assist businesses coming for help, and focused strategy around site selection to ensure optimal opportunity.

Prioritize downtown revitalization and development to support the growth of a vibrant business and residential community.

Provide support, visibility, and accountability for the activities and initiatives of Elevate Greater Akron.

An intentional focus on the Black population, to ensure they are positioned to engage in, and share in the benefits of, the regional economy.

Position Greater Akron to be an entrepreneurial hub by strengthening the existing pieces of the ecosystem, identifying, and filling ecosystem gaps, and ensuring entrepreneurs are equipped with the resources they need to grow.

Support the recovery and growth of businesses through a comprehensive approach that includes targeted outreach, resources to assist businesses coming for help, and focused strategy around site selection to ensure optimal opportunity.

Prioritize downtown revitalization and development to support the growth of a vibrant business and residential community

Provide support, visibility, and accountability for the activities and initiatives of Elevate Greater Akron.

The
Research

The
Findings

The
Strategies

An intentional focus on the
Black population, to ensure they
are positioned to engage in,
and share in the benefits of,
the regional economy.