Hartford Business Journal

14 HARTFORDBUSINESS.COM | SEPTEMBER 2, 2024 Connecticut Business & Industry Association President and CEO Chris DiPentima will unveil the CBIA Foundation's new long-term economic roadmap for the state during the group's Sept. 4 "The Connecticut Economy" event at the Hartford Marriott. Growth Oriented CBIA think tank set to unveil long-term economic roadmap for CT dollars into the process and the plan. The consulting firm's research efforts spanned eight months. To define Connecticut's current competi- tive conditions, the firm examined the state's positioning within four cate- gories: business climate, workforce, infrastructure and innovation. In tandem with this effort, the CBIA Foundation hosted more than 30 forums across the state soliciting ideas from a diverse group of stake- holders, including business, nonprofit, education and community leaders along with state lawmakers and administration officials. DiPentima says it was also important not to reinvent the wheel or ignore previous studies that contain valuable information, from the Commission on Fiscal Stability and Economic Growth of 2018 through the Connecticut CREATES report produced by Boston Consulting in 2021. "The challenge was some of them were legislatively convened," he notes. "And then when the people were done with those studies, everyone left the room and no one owned updating them, implementing them." CBIA's effort, he says, will incorpo- rate many of their recommendations, chief among them, the creation of a Secretary of Commerce role at the cabinet level, first suggested by Ned Lamont's transition team. All the report's recommendations are organized around three pillars, business climate, workforce and quality of life. "It's a multiyear process," says DiPentima. "It's almost 40 recom- By Harriet Jones Hartford Business Journal Contributor A new think tank effort launched last year by the Connecticut Business & Industry Associa- tion will reveal its long-term economic roadmap for the state on Sept. 4. The CBIA Foundation, a 501(c) (3) formed by the state's largest business organization, has been working with a consultant to formu- late the strategic economic action plan with the aims of boosting the state's competitiveness, retaining and attracting investment and talent, fostering innovation and expanding career pathway opportunities. And although the CBIA has been an economic advocacy organization for all of its 200-year history, CBIA Pres- ident and CEO Chris DiPentima sees this effort as fundamentally different. "This is beyond election cycles," he said. "It's not just the next legislative session. It's not just the next admin- istration or who the next governor or elected policymakers will be." He also says the foundation aims to showcase a broader range of voices. "It's way more collaborative than I think any longer-term plan CBIA has taken on before," he said. "It tran- scends membership, it transcends the business community." To that end, the foundation itself brings to the table not just CBIA membership, but also the teachers union (Connecticut Education Associa- tion) and Dalio Education, a grant foun- dation that engages with public school communities and provides funding to several nonprofits. Companies like Electric Boat, Yale New Haven Health, CohnReznick and the Haynes Group have donated to the foundation and have a representative on the board. As to the timing, DiPentima believes this is a good moment, with the state's fiscal house in better shape, to think long term. "With the fiscal guardrails, a record rainy day budget, paying down our pension liabilities, we're at a point where we can make investments in Connecticut," he said. Among the other factors that make this an opportune moment to launch the roadmap is the admin- istration's willingness to partner beyond government. "In my mind — and I've lived here for 53 years in Connecticut — it's never been stronger," he said. "The government is really trying to work with the private sector, the busi- ness community, the nonprofits, the teachers." Secretary of Commerce role The foundation brought in Economic Leadership LLC, a consulting group based in North Carolina, to do a comprehensive survey on which to build the roadmap. Economic Lead- ership has worked with more than 30 state chambers of commerce across the country to develop similar stra- tegic economic action plans. Although it won't reveal the fee paid to the consultants, the CBIA confirmed the Foundation has invested hundreds of thousands of CONTRIBUTED PHOTO

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