cedar valley | Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber

Responses to a recent, detailed survey of 70 Cedar Valley businesses and community leaders presented strong indications that the Cedar Valley economy has held its own during the downturn of the past several years. The survey was conducted by Convergent Nonprofit Solutions, on behalf of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber.

Survey respondents indicated that the recent favorable business results are attributed to strong manufacturing and agriculture sectors, particularly John Deere’s strong performance and demand for components and services in the U.S. and globally, low unemployment in the Waterloo-Cedar Falls MSA, and overall business expansion in the Cedar Valley economic area.

Additionally, survey respondents reported an increasing scarcity of available workforce possessing the technical and other industrial skills in demand. Respondents indicated continuing reliance on economic development and educational leaders to address the tightening constraint to growth.

In addition to gathering economic and workforce information during the survey, an outline of proposed development strategies was presented for review. Those businesses interviewed reinforced the three strategic goals of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber.

Develop and strengthen a technology and innovation-based economy;
Act as the recognized catalyst and focal point of effective regional action on economic and community issues of importance to Cedar Valley businesses and institutions;
Increase the effectiveness and impact of Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber organizations.

The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber works to increase wealth and economic vitality through collaborative economic and community development throughout The Cedar Valley economic area.

The Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber has been conducting a marketing analysis through interviews with investors. The purpose is to seek input on implementing economic and community development programming to grow existing businesses, develop a strategic communications initiative to increase the profile of the Cedar Valley nationally and internationally, establish a higher profile in local state and federal government relations, and attract significant investment in tightly targeted business segments. The first phase report will be presented to the Alliance & Chamber Board on November 1^st. Additional information will be reported at subsequent meetings.

The board will adopt a performance measurement system including a balanced scorecard to measure the organization’s progress on goals and priorities. It will also implement a dashboard of economic and socio-economic indicators to measure the relative vitality of the regional economy.

“The best way for the Alliance & Chamber to build its services is to learn more about the market opportunities and challenges faced by our regional manufacturers, services, and institutions. This intelligence, when combined with objective target industry analysis data, permits the Alliance & Chamber team to get our marketing and service delivery plan correct,” said Steve Dust, CEO of the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber.

“The scorecard and dashboard tools are emerging as most effective to communicate the organizations progress toward goals while reporting on our impact and the condition of The Cedar Valley economy,” Dust concluded.

For more information contact the Greater Cedar Valley Alliance & Chamber office at 232-1156 or email info@cedarvalleyalliance.com.

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