Baton Rouge, La. (January 22, 2018) – The Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) today published its 2018 strategic plan following a presentation to the Baton Rouge Press Club. The full plan may be accessed at brac.org/strategicplan.
“BRAC had a big year in 2017 through persistence of following a long-range plan,” said Adam Knapp, president and CEO of BRAC. “We are pushing ourselves and the region’s business community to set higher expectations for the Baton Rouge Area in the pursuit of excellence. Today, we are excited to share details of our 2018 strategic plan that builds on the momentum of the past two years and underscores the intersection of business development, quality of life, talent development, and market reputation in terms of regional economic development. Together, through the combination of our exceptional team at BRAC, our business community, and our parish partners, our region is poised for an even bigger year in 2018.”
BRAC will focus on four overarching priorities in 2018. These priorities have been identified as having the most potential to further the goals of the strategic plan.
- Secure transportation project funding sources
- Increase business development project leads in targeted growth sectors
- Advance measurable and visible progress on Quality of Place
- Partner with parishes and local organizations to ensure competitive, transparent local incentives that provide return on investment
BRAC launched its third five-year strategic plan, the Think Bigger campaign, in January of 2016.
Additional notable outcomes from 2017 include:
- Closed 12 projects accounting for 683 jobs, $29.7 million of annual payroll and $593 million in capital investment.
- Increased BRAC’s project pipeline through business recruitment and marketing to site consultants leading to more than 6,000 new prospective jobs and over $98 million in new payroll.
- Successfully passed legislation authorizing the transferability of the R&D tax credit for Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer companies.
- Published major regional research reports including an education report card, supply-side workforce analysis, small business access to capital examination, and economic outlook. All four reports can be viewed online at org/reports.
- Advocated successfully for approval of four new high-quality charter schools: BASIS, Inspire NOLA, IDEA Public Schools, and University Prep (UP) Elementary.
- Partnered with the East Baton Rouge City-Parish to lead the Corridor Beautification Initiative.
- Successfully placed 18 articles in national outlets featuring positive stories about the Capital Region resulting in 176 million media impressions with an ad equivalency of $696k.
- Launched the BRAC blog, org/blog, and new Life in BR content, brac.org/lifeinBR.
- Launched BRAC’s Connect program designed to connect newcomers to long-time locals, org/connect.
- Facilitated the second cohort of InternBR, a program designed to give area interns the skills necessary to bridge the gap from college to full-time employment
The full 2018 strategic plan may be downloaded here.
About the Baton Rouge Area Chamber
The Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) leads economic development in the nine-parish Baton Rouge Area, working to grow jobs and wealth and to improve the business climate and competitiveness in the region. Today, BRAC investors include more than 1,500 small businesses, mid-sized firms, large industry and entrepreneurial startups, as well as individuals and organizations that support business and economic development. In this capacity, BRAC serves as the voice of the business community, providing knowledge, access, services and advocacy. More information is available at www.brac.org.
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