BRING IT! Baton Rouge sets road map for regional economic development through 2026
Baton Rouge, LA (March 16, 2022) – The Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) today released BRING IT! Baton Rouge, the organization’s new five-year, regional strategic plan, developed in partnership with the regional business community and Ernst & Young to accelerate economic opportunity in the Baton Rouge Area, for everyone. An executive summary of the BRING IT! Baton Rouge plan is available at brac.org/bringit.
“BRING IT! embodies, both in brand and in substance, the energy that we have heard from the regional business community in knowing that this region has unbelievable potential, and a renewed commitment of leadership to drive serious, measurable progress,” said Adam Knapp, president and CEO of BRAC.
The BRING IT! Baton Rouge plan is founded in the belief that the regional business community is ready to tackle challenges head-on, together, to accelerate growth. Four interconnected goals of equal importance guide the work. Each goal is organized around achieving a big outcome by the end of 2026 through a series of core priorities.
- Bolster our Talent Pipeline
- Big Outcome: Increase the region’s young professional population by 5%
- Core Priorities:
- Build a seamless talent pipeline
- Keep college grads
- Elevate skillsets
- Bring talent to BR
- Diversify our Industry Base and Job Opportunities
- Big Outcome: Grow 500 new jobs in the emerging sectors of life sciences, software, renewable energy, and water
- Core Priorities:
- Level up entrepreneurs and existing businesses
- Grow emerging industry sectors
- Shift business attraction into hyperdrive
- Create a More Inclusive Economy
- Big Outcome: Attract $100M of private investment into disinvested communities
- Core Priorities:
- Accelerate minority and women-owned businesses
- Drive investment into neighborhoods in need
- Boost diversity and inclusion in the workplace
- Enhance our Region’s Livability
- Big Outcome: Boost positive perceptions of the Baton Rouge Area by 20%
- Core Priorities:
- Upgrade our infrastructure
- Beautify BR
- Rally BR pride
To further the goals of BRING IT! Baton Rouge in 2022, BRAC will pursue the following tactics:
- Establish BR Works as the region’s premier jobs portal
- Partner with Forum 225 on young professional talent retention
- Create career opportunities for K-12 students through the Talent Action Collaborative
- Roll out BRAC’s small business services suite
- Build a hyper-targeted strategy to grow the life sciences sector
- Catalyze growth within emerging sectors
- Launch a minority business accelerator
- Increase minority-owned small business vendors in procurement partnership
- Lay the groundwork for a for-profit redevelopment fund
- Pioneer road artery cleanup initiative
- Unite stakeholders and secure funding for new MS River bridge and connectors
- Advocate for key policy priorities that advance the BRING IT! strategy
BRING IT! Baton Rouge is funded by 184 Campaign Investors, businesses that have committed to funding the organization at or above $5,000 annually through 2026. These funders have collectively committed more than $3.3M for each of the five years of the BRING IT! campaign. Businesses interested in joining BRAC and supporting the BRING IT! campaign may contact BRAC Senior Vice President of Investor Development Emilia Gilbert Henry at emi@brac.org.
About the Baton Rouge Area Chamber
The Baton Rouge Area Chamber (BRAC) is an aggressively ambitious regional economic development organization with a bias for action. BRAC seeks to push Baton Rouge beyond the status quo, unleash its potential, and support a vibrant business community that believes the finish line does not exist. BRAC seeks to accelerate economic opportunity in the Baton Rouge Area, for everyone, through BRING IT! Baton Rouge, its five-year, regional strategic plan. Learn more about BRAC at brac.org.
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