Economic ‘Gardening’ Seen as Job Growth Key

CATHERINE ZACHER, DIRECTOR OF SANTA FE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INC.
Economic gardening, not do-or-die development, brings job growth to Santa Fe under the model preferred by the Santa Fe Economic Development Inc., said the not-for-profit’s director Catherine Zacher.

By Wren Propp
Journal Staff Writer

http://www.abqjournal.com/santafe/234998north_news10-05-04.htm

("Recommended by [email protected]" Thanks to Chris Gibbons for passing this along.- Russ)

"Gardening" means tending to the needs of established businesses, giving prospective newcomers straight-forward advice and never, not ever, giving away the farm.

"We don’t bring them in with lots of money or free land," said Zacher, who has been SFEDI director for more than six years.

The corporation was initially established under the auspices of the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Development Committee in 1986, and now works in cooperation with the city and Santa Fe County.

Using an approach that brings similar businesses together into "clusters" to discuss what their particular industry needs, Zacher and a mob of dedicated volunteers have seen business owners drop their hostility toward competitors and talk opening about their concerns, fears and hopes.

Some of the clusters were identified in an economic development plan developed in 1996 and adopted by the city in 2000. Businesses in biotechnology, publishing, information technologies and "new media"— businesses involved in film and the Internet— have already met.

They’ve also produced white papers about the scope of the industries and what their needs are.

Zacher, formerly president for 13 years of the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce, said she was surprised to learn that private education and environmental technology are blossoming industries here.

"I thought I knew the business community very well… but that was an eye-opener," she said.

For example, 83 private schools and educational institutions were contacted to join a cluster. The result: SFEDI is sponsoring a large expo offering $50 booths to all private schools to give them exposure to the public.

Medical practitioners, both traditional and alternative, got together in their cluster and decided to work on making Santa Fe a destination for world travelers who are seeking both types of treatments at the same time.

While clusters will continue with financial services, environmental technologies and nonprofit organizers on the horizon, SFEDI is taking its interest in workforce development to the next level. For more than two years, SFEDI has organized monthly meetings with the public school, private schools and other interested parties to discuss the issue.

Now they’re ready to suggest hiring a workforce development liaison who can work with all entities to coordinate services, Zacher said.

"There’s so much duplication in Santa Fe, we really don’t want to do more of that," she said.

The city’s new five-year economic development plan, which was rolled out this summer, ties in with SFEDI’s new push to increase workforce development, Zacher said.

SFEDI also focuses on giving good advice to people who want to begin new business in a program called the Business Advisory Response Team, or BART, that brings at least 10 experienced business people face-to-face with the hopeful owners for a one-hour meeting. Services also include helping access resources and helping shape a business plan.

The one-hour meeting with volunteers isn’t always pleasant, Zacher said. The volunteers have had to tell some folks that their idea just won’t fly, she said.

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