< Previous168 SEPTEMBER 2018 SI T E S E L E C T IO NGovernor Charlie Baker, leaders from UMassLowell, national manufacturing institutesand the Massachusetts advanced manufacturing community attended the opening in July of the Fabric Discovery Center at UMassLowell. e center is an R&D facility designed to drive innovation in textile research and provide a foundation for collaboration among university researchers, students and companies. It’s also a Massachusetts Manufacturing Innovation Initiative (M I ) project — a $-million state funding program launched in that invests in emerging advanced manufacturing projects. e governor also announced $ million in new M I grants to support six additional advanced manufacturing projects located across Massachusetts. is new set of awards includes $ million to support the new ARMada initiative, which will enhance the o erings of the Fabric Discovery Center to include robotics. is new investment will make the Fabric Discovery Center in Lowell the rst center in the nation to bene t three Manufacturing Innovation Institutes in Massachusetts: the Revolutionary Fiber and Textile Manufacturing Innovation Institute, the Manufacturing Innovation Institute for Flexible Hybrid Electronics and the Robotics Manufacturing Innovation Institute. e Fabric Discovery Center is on Canal Street in Lowell, which is also home to UMass Lowell’sInnovation Hub (iHub), Medical Device Development Center and a newly opened New England Robotics Validation and Experimentation (NERVE) Center, a testbed for robotics systems used as a training center by faculty and students, but also by Massachusetts robotics companies, software developers, and manufacturers looking to test their systems. e NERVE Center will be the home for the new robotics investment from M I .Under the Manufacturing USA program, Massachusetts is convening the national e ort to develop revolutionary functional bers and textiles, and participating in regional manufacturing innovation institutes in robotics, integrated photonics, exible hybrid electronics, and biopharma manufacturing. M I awards support critical research and development infrastructure in four of these sectors, working closely with each of the national manufacturing institutes, including Next Flex ( exible-hybrid electronics), AIM Photonics (integrated photonics), ARM (robotics), and Cambridge-based AFFOA (advanced functional fabrics). by MARK ARENDmar k .ar end@ site s ele c tion.c omST A TE SPO TLIGHTMassachusetts10% of the Commonwealth’s total economic output is tied to manufacturing$26Bin manufactured goods were exported from the Commonwealth in 2016About 250,000 employees work in the manufacturing sector in Massachusetts, comprising 7.8%of the total workforce in the state.Source: Manufacturing in MassachusettsTextiles, Robotics Among Sectors t o Gain R&D Funding170 SEPTEMBER 2018 SI T E S E L E C T IO NIn August, nearly a year after unions submitted enough signatures to put repeal of a newly passed right-to-work law on a referendum, Missouri voters overwhelmingly rejected it, just as they did the first time they considered the notion 40 years ago.The vote took place just two months after Governor Mike Parson — a small business owner and third-generation farmer who owns and operates a cow-and-calf operation near Bolivar — took the oath of office after Eric Greitens’ resignation in the wake of scandal. I talked to Gov. Parson a few days after the August referendum that would have made Missouri the 28th right-to-work state.“It was a tough vote for us who supported that issue, but it was loud and clear about what the people thought,” he said of a measure that lost in 101 of the state’s 114 counties. Asked about working with unions in general, he says, “There’s always room for union jobs. Take Ford Motor Company. It’s part of their business plan. But I also must say if competition is what’s driving it, right-to-work shouldn’t be a threat ... Right now, workforce is a huge issue in trying to meet the demands out there. I was a supporter of right-to-work. I think it’s a good thing for the state of Missouri. If we do it at some point, we’re going to get to compare those two things. Other states have been very successful.”Now, he says, “It’s about moving forward. Our emphasis is on workforce and infrastructure.” Missouri business and community leaders are part of a nationwide rethink on how the high-tech and business worlds interact with education systems. He sees a “tremendous opportunity” to develop skilled workers in trades, and he sees new University of Missouri System President Dr. Mun Y. Choi already playing a big role in that.“He has really refocused that university, putting it on the cutting edge of new ideas when it comes to workforce,” Parson says. It’s part of getting the four-campus flagship system (2017 enrollment: nearly 73,000) and all the other systems out of their silos and on board with meeting skills-based workforce needs.On the RoadIn order to further connect that mission with a reset on state economic development, Missouri Department of Economic Development Director Rob Dixon and Commissioner of the Missouri Department of Education Zora Mulligan this year have convened a series of town meetings around the state, traveling some 8,000 miles.“Zora and I have a similar path,” Dixon said in recent remarks at the Southern Legislative Conference annual conference in St. Louis. “The theme is talent drives economic development.”by ADAM BRUNSadam.br uns @ site s ele c tion.c omST A TE SPO TLIGHTMissouriRetooling how education systems prepare children for the workforce is central to Gov. Mike Parson’s economic development vision.Photo by Aaron J. Scott courtesy of Community Foundation of the Ozarks, cfozarks.org172 SEPTEMBER 2018 SI T E S E L E C T IO NAmong the hard truths state leaders are examining: rural/urban tension; infrastructure that is “inadequate for a st century economy, squandering our geographic advantage,” said Dixon, and a lag in post-secondary degree and credential attainment. “Status quo is not an option,” said Mulligan. “Also, we have a pretty strong sense it’s now or never.” e two leaders have championed a crowd-sourced open call for new economic development ideas called Best in Midwest, and a related e ort called Talent for Tomorrow. More than ideas had been submitted to bestinmidwest.com by late summer, suggesting such things as focusing the Main Street Missouri program on craft beer, or providing speci c workforce training centers of excellence for disciplines such as stainless steel welding.Dixon says the idea of alternatives to four-year degrees has come up quite a bit in conversations with , Missourians. Formerly, added Mulligan, “We thought it was about collecting data, moving students from philosophy to welding, and the problem will be xed. But it’s a more complex challenge.” Moreover, she says, “As we’ve talked with Missourians around the state, each sees themselves in this problem.” e feedback isn’t just going to become “a big plan on a shelf, not going anywhere,” she says, but a living thing breathing new life into the state economy. “What is our competitive advantage?” Mulligan asked. “Boldness.”State Lines and Urban/Rural DividesMissouri has garnered its fair share of healthy projects and business-friendly policies in recent months: Dollar Tree’s -job, $ -million logistics center in Warrensburg; similar ful llment operations from Amazon and Grove Collaborative in St. Charles County outside St. Louis. Dixon cites the retention of the Sav-A-Lot headquarters in St. Louis and a new Nucor investment in Sedalia as wins that showcased deep collaboration across state and local agencies. Parson says working with Nucor on labor force and DNR issues showed that a lot of company concerns boil down to getting through the bureaucracy. Also, he says, “One thing I’m starting to learn is people want to know what it is like for their families. ey want to make sure it’s a good environment to live in, and to retain employees once they get there.” e best way to convey that message? Getting CEOs to join him at recruiting meetings. “ ere’s no better salesman than someone sitting across the table saying ‘I actually did bring my business to the state.’ ”One can’t talk Missouri economic development without also talking about Kansas.“We have historically fought tooth and nail from basketball to economic development,” Dixon says, while also noting that it’s not just a K.C. issue. “A signi cant majority of our state’s population lives on the border, from St. Louis to Cape Girardeau to the southwest area. ese are fundamental questions we have to look at, not just as tactics from the incentives process, but as an overall strategy of growth.”Parson says talking with other governors as neighbors rather than rivals can be a true win-win. “I’m not so sure we shouldn’t be reaching out to those states on professional registrations, for example,” he says, whereby doctors, nurses and teachers could walk across state lines and work without having to go through an entirely new credentialing process. “You can build relationships with things like that,” he says.Getting urban dwellers to relate to rural dwellers might be even tougher, but Parson already has made inroads, spending a day touring in Kansas City with Mayor Sly James and planning to do the same in St. Louis. Soon he’ll reverse it and have the city leaders come out to farm country. “I’m a farmer at heart, but my entire career I’ve tried to bridge that gap between urban and rural,” says Parson. “ ere are way too many things we have in common” for such a divide to continue.Eliminating silos is a major Parson theme that he brings to every cabinet meeting.“Whether it’s environmental health, the department of natural resources, revenue or K- , their instructions are to focus directly on infrastructure or workforce development, and whatever their agency can do to move those two items forward,” he say, “making sure we give the next generation the tools they need to be successful.”“Zora has a -year-old daughter. I have a nine-year-old son,” Dixon said in St. Louis. “It seems cheesy, but that’s what it’s really all about.” I’m a farmer at heart, but my entire career I’ve tried to bridge that gap between urban and rural.”— Mike Parson, Governor of MissouriI’m a farmer at heart, but my entire career I’m a farmer at heart, but my entire career I’ve tried to bridge that gap between urban I’m a farmer at heart, but my entire career 174 SEPTEMBER 2018 SI T E S E L E C T IO NHow does the Mid-Atlantic rate for attractiveness toward business? Virginia, Maryland and Delaware constitute the core of a region where you truly get what you pay for. In return for one of the country’s most highly educated workforces, businesses and their employees face considerable costs that can include high taxes and robust regulations.In July, CNBC released its authoritative annual ranking, “America’s Top States for Business,” and results for the mid-Atlantic represented a mixed bag. As in Site Selection’s annual Top State Business Climate Rankings, released last November, Virginia placed in the top , with Maryland and Delaware fi nishing outside the top . Allowing for diff ering sets of methodologies, history has shown that CNBC’s rankings often overlap with those of Site Selection. Ours is based on a blend of subjective and objective measures — percent based on a survey of corporate site selectors and percent drawn from a proprietary index of where facilities are actually being sited, Conway Analytics’ Conway Projects Database. CNBC uses metrics separated into categories and weighted on how frequently each is used as a selling point in state economic development marketing materials.Stay tuned for November’s Site Selection, when we’ll release a fresh set of state rankings. For now, here’s how the Mid-Atlantic states fared in July’s CNBC index, complete with ideas on how these states might improve.No. 4: VIRGINIANo stranger to achieving enviable rankings, Virginia was CNBC’s top state for business in , and . is year, Virginia clawed its way back into the top fi ve after fi nishing No. in the list and No. the year before. Virginia ranked No. in workforce and No. in business friendliness. For education, the state placed No. .In January, the Commonwealth replaced a famously business-friendly governor, Democratic wheeler-dealer Terry McAuliff e, with another Democrat, Ralph Northam, who quickly sought to establish his own pro-growth agenda.CNBC saluted Virginia for establishing a pilot program to slash red tape by allowing more professionals to acquire jobs without a state-issued license or certifi cation. According to a study by the Institute for Justice, Virginia has the country’s seventh most burdensome licensing laws for lower-income occupations suchbarbers, commercial painters and drywall installers.“We’re asking hard questions about why you need certain certifi cations, and we’re going to pare some of those down,” says Virginia Secretary of Commerce Brian Ball. He tells Site Selection that, “We’re constantly talking with agencies about being effi cient, streamlined, open and predictable as far by G ARY DAUGHTERSgar y.daug hter s @ site s ele c tion.c omMID A TLANTICImage: Getty Imagesas how they deal with companies coming in and doing business here. We’ve worked very hard on regulatory reform. at’s not a one-off situation. at will continue during the course of Governor Northam’s administration. Businesses, more than anything, want predictability, and that’s what we aim to provide.”Virginia’s weakest category in the CNBC ranking was cost of doing business, where it ranked No. . “On salaries, we’re pretty competitive,” says Ball, who concedes that certain parts of the state, including suburban Washington, D.C. can be “relatively more expensive. But even in that area,” says Ball, “we’re less than Silicon Valley, less than New York, less than Boston. We’re a suburban state, and with that come additional costs.”Virginia’s rate of unemployment dropped in July to . percent, the lowest in years. Despite the state’s stellar marks for workforce, that high rate of employment brings challenges.“We’ve worked really hard to come up with a workforce program that’s a turn-key recruitment program,” says Ball. “Once we identify prospects that are looking to relocate, we fi nd out what they need in the way of workforce and we provide training solutions. One thing Gov. Northam did immediately upon taking offi ce was he created a chief workforce offi cer. It’s a cabinet-level position.“We’ve got a real good sense of momentum,” says Ball. “We’re thrilled to have moved into the top fi ve. Governor Northam looks at me and he says ‘You’re not fi nished. We’re going to keep going until we’re considered the best place to do business.’ ”No. 31: MARYLANDMaryland fell six spots to No. on the list. Under Republican Gov. Larry Hogan, the state had moved up spots the prior two years, including fi ve spots in .Richard Clinch, director of the Jacob France Institute at the University of Baltimore, says that despite the drop this year, “ e view of Maryland as a place to do business has signifi cantly improved under the Hogan administration.”For Maryland, the brightest spot in the CNBC rankings was holding down the No. position for workforce. Conversely, it fi nished No. both for infrastructure and cost of doing business and ranked No. for cost of living. is year, the Jacob France Institute and the nonpartisan Maryland Public Policy Institute resurrected a quarterly study of the state’s business climate, a survey of business leaders in leading Maryland sectors such as manufacturing and professional services. e survey, last performed in during the trough of the Great Recession, reveals dramatic improvement.Clinch says that during the second quarter of this year, percent of those surveyed rated Maryland as business-friendly. at’s up from percent in the fourth quarter of . In , percent had a negative view of Maryland’s business climate; in , that’s down to percent.“What Hogan can take credit for,” says Clinch, “is that he took a look at Maryland’s nuisance taxes and has lowered them. He’s looked at regulatory issues and tried to make the state more business friendly, and he’s tried to control the growth of state spending.“Maryland,” says Clinch, “is a high-cost state, and there’s not much we can do about it. We’re highly urbanized. We have high land costs, high wages and high taxes. We’re never going to be competing on the basis of business costs.”So how does the state get better?“We have to compete on the quality of our workforce and the quality of our assets. We’re in the top fi ve states when you look at university R&D, federal R&D, patents and those kinds of things. You have Johns Hopkins, one of the largest research universities in the country. We have technology and life sciences. We have transportation assets like BWI, and urban assets in Baltimore that are remarkably underutilized.”Clinch says Hogan “has done about as much 176 SEPTEMBER 2018 S I T E SE L EC T IO NBusinesses, more than anything, want predictability, and that’s what we aim to provide.”— Brian Ball, Virginia Secretary of CommerceBusinessesNext >