Louisiana's new approach to
attracting key industries has yet to bear
fruit, but all the right pieces are in place.

W

hen a strategy doesn't turn out the way it's supposed to, it's time to try a new tack. That's what Louisiana's Chief Executive did last year in redesigning the Dept. of Economic Development (DED). After a proposal to turn the DED into a quasi-private corporation was heavily amended by the Legislature and defeated by voters, Gov. Mike Foster went back to the drawing board. Foster signed a bill in May 2001 that reorganizes the DED and puts emphasis on a new cluster approach to attracting and retaining business and industry.
      The clustering approach puts emphasizes emerging industries and technologies and encourages business at the local and state level to share ideas and information. Louisiana has hired a 14-member team to recruit specific industries. "The new approach is to send someone with the background and the experience to sit across the table from a company and talk the talk of that industry," says Secretary Don Hutchinson.
      The nine new clusters -- oil and gas; information technology; logistics and transportation; entertainment; biotechnology and biomedicine; agriculture, forestry and food products; petrochemicals; and durable goods, have been identified by Foster as crucial industries to a growing economy in Louisiana.
      The state has hired cluster heads, all experienced industry leaders, to expand and assist the industries. These group leaders will identify and target assistance from the state to promote each industry. "It's definitely not an industrial advocacy job, but a Louisiana advocacy job," says Michael Taylor, director for petrochemicals. "It's a fine line, but there is a difference."