Businesses looking for a competitive advantage can realize their dreams through Georgia’s unique culture of private–public partnerships. The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), Georgia Chamber of Commerce and dozens of other development agencies across the state collaborate on an ongoing basis to create proactive partnerships that help guarantee the future health and strength of Georgia’s economy and the companies that fuel it. They’ve also developed innovative programs that work to accelerate industry growth, drive awareness of a pro-business environment, educate diverse workforces and reach out to business leaders. These programs have generated billions of investment dollars, thousands of new jobs and hundreds of new businesses across the state.
Georgia’s innovative Quick Start program successfully provides high-quality training services at no cost to new or expanding businesses across the state. Almost 40 years of Quick Start training has helped hundreds of thousands of Georgians succeed in their job and aided thousands of businesses throughout the state. A network of 34 technical colleges, four university programs and satellite campuses across the State help Georgia’s workers adapt and thrive in the fast paced economy of the 21st century.
Capitalizing on the momentum of the Atlanta’s 1996 Olympic success, the Georgia Allies initiative is a partnership between state government and private corporations that helps accelerate Georgia economic development efforts. By turning the individual initiatives of its members into a targeted program that aggressively promotes the state’s business development, the Georgia Allies creates a powerful voice for increasing awareness of Georgia’s pro-business climate. Annual Red Carpet Tours bring business executives from around the world to Georgia for a five-day event showcasing the regions and industries of the state. With more than 23,000 new jobs, 71 expansion projects and more than $3 billion in investments so far, the Georgia Allies initiative is helping to ensure that Georgia continues its strong growth.
The Georgia Research Alliance (GRA) is a unique nonprofit organization which brings together Georgia’s research universities, business community and state government to create opportunities to grow Georgia’s economy through scientific discovery. Since its founding in 1990, the Alliance has focused its technology-based economic development strategy in three areas: the recruitment of world-class scientific talent, the development of sophisticated research infrastructure and the commercialization of university research and development.
The GRA has recruited over 60 GRA Eminent Scholars in diverse fields including vaccine development, molecular biotechnology, crop genomics, drug discovery, medical imaging, animal health and biomedical engineering. These scholars have attracted over $460 million dollars in federal, foundation and corporate research funding; fostered dozens of centers of research excellence; helped fuel the launch of more than 150 companies, including 70 early stage companies; and created over 5500 new science and technology jobs.
Recent growth in bioscience has outpaced growth in the state as a whole. From 2001 to 2005 (latest data available):
- Number of establishments in the bioscience industry grew by an impressive 38.4% (compared to the average growth of 13.8% for all industries)
- Employment in the bioscience industry grew by 11.2% (compared to 1.6% average employment growth for all industries)
- Total wages grew by 29.9% (compared to an average 13% growth for all industries).1
- Product sales reached $7.8 billion in 2008.
1: Selig Center for Economic Growth and data from the Georgia Dept. of Labor