Background

Northeast Indiana is known as a region that has collaborated across city and county lines for many years. Organizations like the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, Regional Chamber of Northeast Indiana, and Northeast Indiana Regional Development Authority have made great strides and set the tone, working to leverage investments and achieve shared goals regardless of real or perceived boundaries.

So, what brought about the creation of the Northeast Indiana Strategic Development Commission (NEISCD) and what do they aim to do that others have not? The answers lie in the commission’s 21-page plan. But to understand the origins of NEISDC, one must look back a few years in time.

The Mayors and Commissioners Caucus of Northeast Indiana was founded in 2012 under the banner of the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership, which then consisted of 10 member counties. It later expanded to include the current 11 counties that make up Northeast Indiana (NEI). Matters of discussion among the mayors and commissioners led to a realization that while many organizations were working on various pieces of a puzzle, there was no comprehensive strategy for the region to advance.

The idea was moved forward by like-minded leaders and elected officials who realized an opportunity existed. Their advocacy led to, in 2021, the Indiana Legislature passing a bill that created the NEISDC and tasked it to develop a framework to determine how to move forward. The Legislature said they liked the idea, defined the commission, set operating guidelines, and established a fund, but gave the commission no funding.

The Plan

In the year that followed the establishment of the NEISDC, the commission began fundraising and hired a national consultant to gather input from hundreds of voices across the region. This was accomplished through meetings, focus groups, and surveys, and resulted in a framework titled Northeast Indiana 5-Year Plan (2023-2028). The plan is described as a representation of input from all sectors and every aspect of the region.

Throughout the development of the plan, intentional effort was put into ensuring the outcome would not be a “Fort Wayne-centric” plan, rather one that represented the entire region. Input from educators across the region was also considered key to success.

The plan is aimed at achieving these three big goals for Northeast Indiana:

1. Expand the regional labor pool by positioning Northeast Indiana as a premier location to live in the Midwest.
2. Strengthen the existing quantity and quality of the regional labor force.
3. Meet growing residential demand by optimizing land use, building out infrastructure, and increasing density.

Goals to raise the population, raise wages, and develop more adults with the credentials and degrees necessary to attract and fill high paying jobs are not new. But the opportunity to leverage $30,000,000 to execute on specific strategies identified is new.

Funding

In 2023, the Indiana Legislature allocated, within its biennial budget, $15M in fiscal years 2024 and 2025 to begin executing the strategies of the 5-Year Plan. Funding was approved based on the promise by the NEISDC to create outcomes that double the return on investment over the next five years.

What’s next

With funding now a reality, the NEISDC is getting to work, looking to create a maximum return on investment for each community, the region, and Indiana. The work they are doing is considered by some to be a “beta,” a model that could be repeated in other regions and the state if successful.

Among the strategies that may be tackled first are those that address the lack of affordable childcare, the development of a housing pool that could help pre-fund homes in rural communities, and new workforce development initiatives with K-12 institutions.

The plan outlines thirteen specific goals that fall under three strategic priorities:

• Talent Attraction & Retention
  • Establish a funding pool to create incentives.
  • Dedicate funding to launch new marketing campaigns targeted at young professionals.
  • Allocate funding to enhance organizational capacity to focus on talent attraction.
  • Fund the cultivation and expansion of amenities in town centers.
  • Provide support to for business success planning.
• Talent Development
  • Optimize alignment of programs with industry needs.
  • Enhance collaborations between industry and K-12 school systems.
  • Encourage flow of labor into highest-need occupations through initiatives and incentives.
  • Improve up-skilling and re-skilling initiatives.
• Housing
  • Expand financing models to close development gaps and incentivize new construction.
  • Use innovative financing mechanisms to assist first-time homebuyers.
  • Foster a pro-growth culture across the region.
  • Engage major employers in cultivating solutions.

Northeast Indiana stands to see some significant progress made, especially in light of countless other projects that other organizations are simultaneously working to complete, work that stands to be boosted and supported by the work of NEISDC in some cases. Coupled with a second round of READI funds, many are excited to see what lies ahead as the region continues to thrive and grow.

To learn more about the NEISDC and the Northeast Indiana 5-Year Plan, visit www.neisdc.org or explore the resources below.