Studies/Reports

Advancing Opportunity in Central Indiana

The Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program has released new research that examines the presence of “good jobs” that provide stable employment, middle-class wages and benefits across occupations and industries in the Central Indiana region, particularly for the more than 650,000 prime-age workers in the region who do not hold a bachelor’s degree.

Importantly, the report looks not only at the good jobs that provide those advantages today, but also at “promising jobs” that provide stepping stones to the region’s middle class over time.

Brookings Institution article. [READ]

Clusters & Disruptors: Envisioning Central Indiana’s Economic Future in a Time of Change

The Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) commissioned a study by TEConomy Partners, Clusters and Disruptors: Envisioning Central Indiana’s Economic Future in a Time of Change, to better understand the forces of change that will likely drive Central Indiana’s economy for the next decade.

The “Clusters and Disruptors” report contains the following:

• In-depth quantitative and qualitative analytics to identify key advanced industry clusters for the region.
• A detailed situational assessment of these clusters and the associated regional technology-based economic development ecosystem (including benchmarking against aspirational competitors).
• Robust consideration to megatrends, convergence forces, and disruptive technologies likely to shape the regional economic landscape over the forthcoming decade.

Assessing R&D Funding Across Indiana’s Major Research Universities

BioCrossroads, in collaboration with TEConomy Partners, has released a significant follow-up study to the 2017 TEConomy Partners report, The Importance of Major Research Universities. 

The new study, Assessing R&D Funding Across Indiana’s Major Research Universities, takes a deeper look at the universities’ research and development funding to understand the differential. It also compares Indiana institutions to the top universities in the U.S.; identifies how investments made by the institutions themselves affect federal funding percentages; raises observations relating to the type and sources of R&D funding; and makes recommendations for improvements.

Rethinking Cluster Initiatives – Brookings Institution

A new report from the Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program argues that initiatives to support and grow industry clusters remain a potentially powerful strategy to jumpstart local economic growth, but only if certain market and civic fundamentals are in place.

The report, Rethinking cluster initiatives, by Ryan Donahue, Brookings fellow Joseph Parilla, and Brookings nonresident senior fellow Brad McDearman, takes a fresh look at the concept of industry clusters—groups of firms that gain a competitive advantage through local proximity and interdependence—and offers practical guidance for metropolitan leaders considering investments in cluster initiatives, drawing on five in-depth case studies.

The Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) is cited as a successful model and national case study.

Full report can be viewed at: https://www.brookings.edu/research/rethinking-cluster-initiatives/

2018 Advanced Manufacturing and Logistics Report Card for Indiana and U.S.

Indiana’s manufacturing industry is experiencing the longest expansion of employment in state history, according to the 2018 Manufacturing and Logistics Report Card released today by the Ball State Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) and Conexus Indiana.

Indiana earned “A” ratings for manufacturing and industry health, tax climate and global reach, and has maintained those “A” grades year over year since 2009, the first year of the report card. Indiana also earned an “A” in logistics industry health.

The reports can be downloaded from the CBER website at http://conexus.cberdata.org/.

BioCrossroads Releases 2017 Annual Report

2017 was an active and productive year for Indiana’s life sciences industry and BioCrossroads, including billion dollar transactions, market reports, a host of events, and continued work collaborating with industry, academic and philanthropic partners.

CICP Releases 2017 Annual Report

Nearly 20 years ago, the heads of our region’s leading companies, philanthropic foundations and universities came together to drive the formation of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP). 2017 showed that CICP’s story and the scale of our efforts only continue to grow.

Our six key talent and industry sector initiatives, AgriNovus Indiana, Ascend Indiana, BioCrossroads, Conexus Indiana, Energy Systems Network and TechPoint, are engaged in important and transformative projects all over the state.

The Importance of Research Universities

From the state’s earliest beginnings, research universities have contributed significantly to Indiana’s society and economy. Indiana University, Purdue University and the University of Notre Dame have a powerful impact on our state with a combined 1.44 million living alumni, $1.3 billion in annual research expenditures¹, and resources that touch all 92 counties. These universities are recognized among the top 150 best institutions in the world² and boast alumni and faculty that include 73 National Academies Members, 20 Nobel Prize winners, and three World Food Prize recipients. 

A new report by TEConomy Partners, The Importance of Research Universities, looked at four major functional areas of the state’s three major research universities: knowledge expansion and innovation; economic development; the enhanced capabilities of human capital; and societal well-being and quality of life.  The report provides a comprehensive look at their influence on the state and identifies areas of opportunity. The full report can be found at www.biointellex.com or read the Executive Summary here.

State of Logistics Industry – Indiana: The Crossroads of America

In its first State of the Logistics Industry Report, Conexus Indiana’s Logistics Council (CILC) is releasing Indiana: The Crossroads of America, focused on Indiana’s nationally ranked logistics industry.

• Logistics makes up 3.3 percent of Indiana Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and is responsible for efficient flow of products through Indiana to the rest of the world.
• Indiana’s logistics and transportation industry is a significant source of jobs for Hoosiers and accounts for more than 4 percent of jobs in Indiana.

The report builds on nearly a decade of work by CILC and includes data on Indiana’s infrastructure network of road, rail, waterborne and air assets and outlines Indiana’s public policy, workforce development programs and public/private partnerships that lead to exceptional leadership.

2017 Manufacturing and Logistics Report Card for Indiana and U.S.

Contrary to public perception, U.S. manufacturing and logistics industries experienced dramatic growth over the past generation, with Indiana outpacing many of its Midwestern counterparts and the nation.

U.S. manufacturing production grew 11 percent since the dot.com bust (2000-03) and the ensuing economic turbulence of the 2001 and 2007-09 recessions, according to Manufacturing and Logistics: A Generation of Volatility & Growth, released by the Ball State Center for Business and Economic Research (CBER) and Conexus Indiana.

The report also found that manufacturing production in Indiana grew 41 percent over the same period, a significant contrast to manufacturing losses in Michigan, Illinois and Ohio.

Access to the Indiana report, U.S. report and the Manufacturing and Logistics: A Generation of Volatility & Growth can be found at http://conexus.cberdata.org/ or click on the images to the right.