Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/833859
2017 | Doing Business in Connecticut 5 Our Founding Partners As the largest statewide business organization in the country, CBIA is proud of our 202-year partnership with the thousands of small and large companies that call Connecticut home. We are honored to advocate for our members before the state legisla- ture and regulatory agencies. Our work includes serving as a key source of data and analysis to guide policymakers in assessing the economic impact of legislation on state budgets, taxes, business costs, healthcare, education, the environment, and other key areas. CBIA comprises a vast array of dynamic, growing companies represent- ing industries from biopharma, aerospace, and advanced manufacturing to insurance, digital media, and financial services. Those companies are an integral part of the social and economic fabric of our state, paying high wages, providing excellent benefits, and supporting charitable causes in their communities. They also represent the best in their industries, making our state a world leader in innovation, research and development, and productivity. Bloomberg's 2016 U.S. State Innovation Index ranks Connecticut the 7th most innovative state in the country, based on six metrics, including worker productivity, R&D intensity, and patent activity. Why have so many successful, cutting-edge companies chosen Con- necticut? It's simple: The state's superior quality of life, highly educated workforce, strategic location between New York and Boston, and top-quality education system and institutions of higher learning make it one of the most desirable locations in the world for employers and employees alike. The 2017 U.S. News & World Report Best States index ranks Connecticut in the top 10 for education (4), educational attainment (3), college readiness (3), healthcare access (4), public safety (8), low property crime (7) and violent crime (6) rates, low poverty rate (6), gender equality (2), and household income (5). To be sure, Connecticut has its challenges, but by working together, we're overcoming them and making our state a great location for employers to operate a successful business and employees to live, raise their families, and advance their careers. We encourage companies and entrepreneurs from across the country and around the world to come see what Connecticut has to offer. – Joe Brennan, President and CEO Connecticut Business & Industry Association Connecticut has a well-deserved reputation for offering a dynamic quality of life. Our state combines unique historic and cultural attractions with ample entertainment, unparalleled natural beauty and seasonal diversity. And it offers all of this alongside best-in-nation human services including, of course, healthcare. ECHN is proud to be a healthcare leader for the people of eastern Connecticut, and it's a responsibility we've taken very seriously for a very long time. Our two acute care hospitals, Manchester Memorial and Rockville General, and our Visiting Nurse and Health Services of CT organizations have been providing care for residents for nearly 100 years. In addition, our diverse and ever-growing healthcare network protects and improves the well-being of families and individuals in a variety of ways. To continue this mission, we continuously assess, plan and implement programs and services that address the emerging needs of our community. For example, ECHN recently opened the only inpatient unit in the state that is dedicated solely to treating eating disor- ders. There's simply nothing like it, not just in eastern Connecticut, but in the whole tri-state area. In addition to our stroke-certified hospitals and our full-service cancer care program, we also launched the ECHN Center for Weight Loss, offering the latest bariatric surgical procedures and weight management education to help improve the lives, and often save the lives, of those struggling with obesity. ECHN will continue to serve individuals and families with the compre- hensive and progressive services they need today, while constantly looking to the future and investing in the future of healthcare. – Michael Collins, Interim CEO Eastern Connecticut Health Network ECHN: Eastern Connecticut Health Network CBIA: Connecticut Business and Industry Association SPONSOR MESSAGES For innovative start-ups and established industry leaders alike, the University of Connecticut means one thing above all: opportunity. Since our founding in 1881, UConn has been at the forefront of teaching, research, industry partner- ship, and training the next generation of pioneers and innovators across fields ranging from health care to engineering to bioscience. That commitment to helping drive our state's economy is part of the reason why UConn accounts for roughly $400 million a year in research-related economic activity alone, supporting more than 2,000 cutting-edge jobs. That's only part of the roughly $3.4 billion we generate for our state's economy every year, and it's only the beginning. Over the last decade, UConn has begun the transformation from be- ing a nationally-ranked research university to one of the top destinations in higher education for scholars, researchers, and industry alliances. With new initiatives like NextGen Connecticut and Bioscience Connecticut already bearing fruit in the form of research, discoveries, new businesses, and job growth, UConn is poised to become one of the top players in creating and sustaining a 21st Century economy in our state and region. We are correspondingly proud of our partnership with the Doing Busi- ness In Connecticut initiative, which spotlights our state's vital entrepre- neurial spirit. With cross-sector collaborations like this one, Connecticut is well-positioned to ensure our success in the years and decades to come. – Susan Herbst, President, University of Connecticut UConn: University of Connecticut