The Campbell Administration will promote an economic development agenda to:

Accelerate university research and development.

Cleveland must prepare for and attract technology based, high growth companies. Science and technology is growing in importance in new products and processes. Regional economies that are intensive in research and development will be winners in the new economy. As a region we must improve technology transfer, increase R & D performance and leverage our research programs into new business opportunities.

Our regional economy operates with a relatively low concentration of industrial research and development. If we don't build up our industrial research, we will soon be running our economy on watered gas. We need to shift these trends. In fact, we need to set the goal of doubling the size of our research-based economy over the next ten years.
This means:

• Doubling the size of our university-based research programs;
• Doubling the percentage of academic research funded by industry
• Doubling the amount of royalty revenue Cleveland colleges and universities receive from their technology
• Doubling the number of start-up companies that commercially apply university research.

On each campus in Cleveland we must adopt the latest streamlined rules for technology transfer. These rules govern the complex but vitally important process of protecting and selling a university's intellectual property.

Finally, we need to create faculty policies on each campus that aggressively support university research. University research is vital to our future, and we need to create the right incentives for those who do it.

Expand business networks and training consortia.

Cleveland already boasts some of the most important innovations in existing business networks with organizations like WIRE. We need to expand the reach of these initiatives and market them more effectively.
Cleveland grew up around its industry. Virtually every neighborhood in our city has an industrial district. More important, we need to encourage "anchor" firms in each neighborhood to get involved in these partnerships.
Industry consortia are especially important in guiding our schools with career skills training and establishing more effective school-to-career pathways. We need to encourage firms to promote workplace skills through skill based initiatives.
While we should concentrate on manufacturing, our efforts should not be limited to these businesses. Retailers throughout the city could encourage retail skills training; banks could pool their efforts to train customer service skills; and restaurants can pool their efforts to expand training for food service workers and supervisors.

Participate in a regional marketing initiative.

We need to collaborate locally, so that we can compete globally. Our first step in this direction should be to lead a regional marketing effort for Northeast Ohio.

We operate in a regional economy, and our regional economy competes in a global economy. We need to tell the stories of our most successful companies, use our corporate leaders as "ambassadors" to recruit new firms, create networks of former Clevelanders to encourage them to relocate to their hometown.
Media advertising has a role to play in regional marketing, but far more effective marketing is likely to be targeted, using the Internet and face-to-face events.

Build better networks to support entrepreneurs.

Entrepreneurs and high growth companies are another driving force of the New Economy. Entrepreneurship is also at the heart of expanding commercial and retail opportunities in our neighborhoods.
Entrepreneurship is creating and building something of value from practically nothing. The process involves a team of people with complimentary skills and talents, a team capable of shaping these opportunities. It requires a combination of creative insight, management discipline, and the sustained commitment to translate the business vision into action. It also requires the team's willingness to take calculated risks, both personal and financial.

We can influence the rate of success of small firms by working more effectively to encourage entrepreneurial companies. We can:

• Streamline government regulation by more effective use of e-government
• Teach entrepreneurial skills at all levels of our educational system
• Build local capital networks
• Coordinate existing programs more tightly
• Market entrepreneurship more effectively to inner city neighborhoods
• Capitalize on entrepreneurial opportunities these neighborhoods
• Build more incubators
• Hold business plan competitions and
• Create more micro-enterprise partnerships for very small businesses.

Expand tourism marketing and development.

Tourism in the United States continues to be a strong economic engine. Tourism is an industry that in some way benefits Cleveland with both spending and tax revenues. We are not doing enough to market Cleveland effectively, but we are also not doing enough to coordinate regional tourism marketing in Northeast Ohio. More aggressive and effective marketing will enhance the image of Cleveland as an attractive travel destination in key domestic and international markets.

Build efficient multimodal transportation systems.

Our region's transportation systems will be more efficient if we integrate different types of transportation and plan aggressively across political boundaries.
Cleveland's transportation facilities are already major assets for the promotion of economic growth. Five elements of transportation infrastructure define our advantage:

(1) a superior port
(2) extensive interstate highway and rail systems
(3) commercial air service throughout the region
(4) the capability of reaching markets across the U.S. and the world quickly, and
(5) the ability to serve domestic and international business and recreational travelers.

Since transportation is an integral component of economic development, Cleveland should focus more resources on developing and maintaining an integrated and high-quality transportation system. We need to move aggressively to build the most efficient multimodal transportation systems in the world.