In a new research brief, the Florida Chamber Foundation touts Florida as the top state in the nation for business relocations in 2023. The latest available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (2023) shows that Florida has attracted a net import of 503 businesses, four times the number imported by Texas.
BACKGROUND: The Florida Chamber Foundation uses the Florida Scorecard to update the public on its Florida 2030 Blueprint. Developed and hosted by the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the scoreboard gives stakeholders the power to measure progress progress on a statewide level and within their own communities.
- Florida Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Mark Wilson said, “The Florida 2030 Blueprint is working, and the ongoing success driven by sound policies, a pro-jobs environment, and the business community’s focus on growing Florida to the 10th largest economy by 2030 are the difference makers.”
PENSACOLA DROPS THE BALL
In October 2021, the Greater Pensacola Chamber Foundation, headed by Sara Lefevers, announced it would create the Pensacola 2030 Blueprint.
The Chamber estimated that by 2030, 24,000+ new residents would call Pensacola home, and 15,000+ new jobs would be needed to support the growth. The plan addressed steps to improve education gaps, workforce shortages, community health, affordable housing, transportation, infrastructure and access to broadband internet, as well as measurable goals such as adding 10+ new minority-owned businesses per year and increasing the per capita income to the national average of $56,200.
Lefevers explained the process: “We surveyed our members in mid-2020 and asked what areas the Chamber should advocate for and what areas need advocacy. From there, we determined the topics of our newly established issue-driven subcommittees. These subcommittees comprised experts in our community and service providers who could contribute the expertise in these areas that the chamber could not provide on our own. We obtained verified data on where our community currently ranks in these areas and were able to formulate percentages on where we need to be or could be by 2030. From there, we outlined our specific Pensacola 2030 goals.”
In January 2022, the Pensacola Chamber convened more than 100 community leaders to analyze the 2022 goals for the Pensacola 2030 Initiative.
Under Economic Growth and Sustainability:
• 10+ new minority-owned businesses per year,
• 15,482+ new jobs needed and
• Increase per capita income by 26.7% to meet the national average of $56,200 ($46,349).
Under Community Health:
• Escambia County ranked top 20 in the state for community health (#47),
• Cut youth obesity in half to < 7% and
• Clear paths to access mental health resources for 100% of our residents (#44).
Under Economic Wellbeing:
• Less than 12% of children living in poverty (23.1%),
• Cut food insecurity to under 25,000 people (46,240),
• 100% access to broadband internet (96.2%),
• Transportation, Water Quality and Wastewater rating = A (C, C+, C) and
• Less than 10% of Escambia County residents mortgage-cost burdened (47.76%).
Under Workforce:
• 100% of kindergarteners are ready for K5 (48%),
• 100% of third graders are at or above third grade (53%),
• 100% of eighth-grade students perform at or above an eighth-grade math level (50%),
• 95% high school graduation rate (86.5%) and
• Greater than 80% of workforce with employability skills (63.7%).
Under Military:
• 100% Participation in the Purple Star Program from our schools,
• Obtain funding to employ one military health liaison for all area hospitals,
• Facilitate a robust, aggregate database to track military member impact year over year,
• DOD A Ranking for education (C-),
• Improve support for the unique educational needs of military children and
• Reduce barriers for military spouses to continue their professional careers.
- Lefevers told Inweekly, “We followed the Florida Chamber’s path in setting those audacious goals, knowing that we’ll at least continue to move the needle on that. Even if we never get to 100%, whether it’s 2030, 2040, or 2050, we know we’re going to try until we get to 100%. That was kind of our mindset with those goals.”
The Chamber Foundation hired a consultant to develop a community scorecard. Lefevers said, “We will use the annual scorecard to measure our success in these areas and then also show us where we’re not and where we need to be in some of these areas. And then we’ll be reporting that out annually at our December foundation gala, which the first one will be December 2022.”
It partnered with the UWF Haas Center to create the local scorecard. The Florida Chamber would embed the scorecards for Escambia County and other Florida counties on the Pensacola Chamber Foundation’s website.
She continued, “And the goal is, with the help of the facilitator, say, ‘OK, these are the goals. These are our general tactics. What is our first 90-day plan? What are the next action steps? Who’s doing what?’ Because that will help us identify what’s not being done, where the gaps are, where maybe the chamber could step in those roles and help create those opportunities and resources—how can we, as the chamber, get the business community to support that work, build capacity, get more resources, more funding and so forth to be able to promote and move those initiatives along to get us to these goals.”
The Chamber Foundation and its partners committed to having one Plan Room in each zip code.
- The Plan Room concept provides a centralized, consistent location within the underserved pockets of the community where skill training, literacy classes, resources, education and other opportunities to meet immediate needs can be provided.
The group would convene every quarter to check on the progress and create the next 90-day plan. However, the 90-day goals and planning session didn’t last more than two quarters after Lefevers took a job with Baptist Health Care in July 2022.
- The annual scorecard is available on the Pensacola Chamber Foundation’s website, but the Pensacola 2030 link is no longer active. The Plan Rooms were never created.
SOME GOOD NEWS
Some of Pensacola’s metrics have improved without Pensacola Chamber Foundation’s help, 90-day sessions and Plan Rooms.
According to the Florida Scorecard:
- Children in Poverty decreasing – 22.1% (2030 Goal: <10%). It was 23.1% in 2022.
- Third Grade Reading improving – 53% (2030 Goal: 100%). It was 53% in 2022, so I’m not sure why it’s shown as improving.
- Open Jobs increasing – 6,232 (Scorecard doesn’t show the goal)