Cluster strategy advances
By Lynn Wolstenholme
County economic staff and committee members June 19 tentatively considered which industry clusters to focus on in their new strategy for attracting businesses, but they shied away from locking the county into one approach so early.
“I don't want to micro-manage,” said Supervisor Lori Waters (R-Broad Run), chair of the Board of Supervisors' Economic Development Committee.
The county has been moving toward a “cluster marketing” strategy for drawing prospective new businesses to set up shop here. Clusters are groups of businesses and organizations that relate in any way to a certain industry, which can thus produce a good working relationship. In the cluster marketing approach, the county will try to attract new businesses by pointing out how they can work with the companies already here.
Committee members had asked the Department of Economic Development to come to Thursday's meeting with an idea of which clusters it would focus on first. The DED obliged, suggesting a focus on two of the five original cluster options.
“Two big areas that would work well are information communication and technology, and defense and federal contracting,” said Larry Rosenstrauch, director of the DED. “We are positioned well with great strength and emerging strength [in both these areas].”
The DED, with $340,000 appropriated funds during the latest county budget process, has suggested hiring two full-time positions to focus on these industries.
Rosenstrauch also suggested moving forward with a separate international cluster, having a part-time person for that position.
However, committee members rethought the idea of requiring such a narrow focus so early in the process.
The committee decided to forward the issue to the Board of Supervisors to consider at its July 15 meeting, and suggested that the board leave the specifics up to the DED to decide as it goes.
“I’m more ready to say, 'Let them decide which cluster [to focus on],'” said board Chairman Scott York (at-large).
Lina Hashem contributed to this article.