In pursuit of a world-class status
December 18, 2009
Bernard Dagenais, Philadelphia Business Journal
The concept of being a world-class city has been around this town far longer than I have. One of the first local gatherings I attended in 2002 at the now-defunct regional economic development group Greater Philadelphia First focused on this question. I even inherited from my predecessor a beautiful old coffee-table book that proclaims the city is already world class.
The term made a return visit this year courtesy of the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia, which hosted a leadership exchange in the city to talk about the region's future. It appears the goal of achieving world-class status will be on the agenda for some time to come.
It's easy to dismiss such an effort as unfocused or undefinable. But if regional leaders want to consider Philadelphia's assets and its place on the international stage, with an eye toward improvement, that's a worthy goal.
The Economy League is undertaking its World Class Philadelphia Initiative as it celebrates its 100th anniversary. The organization already has a history of outlining strengths and weaknesses in our region that help it and hold it back. While the group hopes to sign on four to six co-chairs for the initiative, it already has enlisted Dr. Steven Altschuler, president and CEO of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, which clearly is a world class institution. Recently, Wendell Pritchett, chancellor of Rutgers University-Camden, agreed to be a co-chair.
About 150 business, government and nonprofit leaders got a taste of what's to come at a September gathering. Scenario planning will seek to identify alternative futures. This will lead to key priorities that should be maintained or improved, for the good of all the scenarios. Working groups will focus on those priorities.
A "global positioning strategy" will identify long-term goals and, if the effort is ultimately successful, the Economy League will continue to guide and adjust the working groups in the years to come.
A lot has to happen for this effort to truly matter. First up, the Economy League will need to secure money in a difficult fundraising climate to pay for the program.
Steve Wray, executive director, sees the group moving away from being primarily a research organization to a convenor. "It's about teaching an old civics organization new tricks," he said.
He envisions the process getting to specific industries and assets that are among the region's strengths - such as life sciences, higher education, trends involving efforts to make the city a leader in the green movement, and geographical advantages and disadvantages. The effort might connect people already working on key issues, creating more than the sum of the parts.
At the heart of the challenge the Economy League is undertaking is the goal of sustaining a world-class initiative over time. Organizations at the heart of big ideas have a way of losing focus.
Yet, raising the region's image in the world is something everyone who is invested in the region should care about. Anyone who owns a home here, works at a business here or pays a tax here will be affected by how the region competes on the global stage.
Will Greater Philadelphia be a draw or a dump? Its considerable assets and considerable problems make either scenario plausible. The leaders of this region, through their work and aspirations, can tip the scales.
Recent efforts to attract the summer Olympics and a current bid to bring soccer's World Cup to the city help to set the stage. They help Greater Philadelphia think big, which makes sense in the ninth-largest regional economy in the world, and thinking big is what all this world-class talk is ultimately about.
http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/stories/2009/12/21/editorial1.html