Aspire BusinessGuide 2023 Digital - Flipbook - Page 22
ASPIRE
ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
STRATEGIC PLAN
A strong, vibrant community and a skilled workforce make
Johnson County Indiana stand out among Midwestern
communities. By 2025, we are on track to achieve two major
growth milestones that will make us stand out even more:
The 昀椀rst is to attract and develop 50% more advanced
industries jobs. The second is to increase average annual
wages by 15% for all workers.
Our data-driven approach has helped us develop a series of
goals that will ensure our economy and communities 昀氀ourish
in the next 昀椀ve years and well into the future. In the big
picture view, these milestones will have a positive impact on
the entire community.
We believe that these assets can be used as catalysts for
further development. To capitalize this momentum, Aspire
developed a 昀椀ve-year strategic plan that identi昀椀es 昀椀ve key
development goals.
GOAL ONE: DRIVE INNOVATION TO BOOST BUSINESS
AND INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT.
We will do this by integrating a tailored approach to target
aspirational industry cluster initiatives to encourage business
attraction, retention, expansion, and startups. We will target
our business attraction efforts to Advanced Industries and
the upstream and downstream supply chain by creating a
framework for decision-making.
We are increasing functionality of incentives for high-impact
projects and adjust the incentive matrix for other important,
but lower-impact projects. We utilize technology like virtual
tours and drone video to increase our ability to promote
properties in Johnson County to site selectors and corporate
end users.
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ASPIRE JOHNSON COUNTY, IN | 2023-24 BUSINESS GUIDE
Essential to our plan is to support the expansion of
entrepreneurship programming in the local school
systems. Aspire has increased partnerships with higher
education institutions and existing employers to support
technology-based development programs oriented
toward entrepreneurial development, risk capital, and
the commercialization of research into new companies
and products. Finally, we will formalize and market a
Business Retention and Expansion program to keep the
business ecosystem in Johnson County thriving for existing
organizations in need of room to grow.
GOAL TWO: BOOST SITE DEVELOPMENT FOR CATALYST
PROJECTS.
We will achieve this goal by deploying infrastructure
including broadband, roads, water, sewer, electric, and
natural gas to strategic sites along commercial connectivity
nodes. We will develop a strategic opportunity initiative
to de昀椀ne targeted inventory for developable land and
redevelopment sites for each partner community and
throughout Johnson County. Aspire will convene developer
roundtables to showcase inventory with a marketing package
of data and maps. We will launch planning forums to help
Johnson County’s elected leaders, planning department
staff, and economic developers identify and implement best
practices in planning and development. Lastly, we will study
and implement plans for transportation and transit corridors
to ease transportation challenges, including impacts of I-69
development.