RETHINKING CLUSTER INITIATIVES CASE STUDY CENTRAL INDIANA CENTRAL INDIANA CORPORATE PARTNERSHIP Joseph Parilla July 2018 HIGHLIGHTS GEOGRAPHY The Central Indiana Corporate Partnership (CICP) is located in the state of Indiana (population 6.7 million people), and is headquartered in the Indianapolis region (population 2 million people). CLUSTER TYPE CICP defines clusters based on linkages between industries but also their joint reliance on technologies and talent; clusters include life sciences, technology, advanced manufacturing/ logistics, agbiosciences, and energy technology. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE CICP has developed six talent and industry sector initiatives that focus on a combination of interventions, including talent development; technology development; capital provision; district/ infrastructure development; and research, information provision, and education. CICP operates as a CEO-led holding company that houses six distinct initiatives, which each have their own mission, board, resources, and partnership networks. CICP operates as a (c)(3) and (c)(6) organization, with some for-profit organizational structures within the CICP umbrella. RESOURCES AND KEY ASSETS Key organizational resources include a prestigious board of 65 members, all executives at companies, educational institutions, and philanthropies; unique levels of catalytic funding from Lilly Endowment Inc.; and a highly competent staff that have launched transformative initiatives that attract significant resources and attention from the private sector (e.g., 16 Tech innovation district, Indiana Biosciences Research Institute, etc.). BROOKINGS METROPOLITAN POLICY PROGRAM 2 BACKGROUND t the turn of the 21st century, Indiana These major civic wins focused the region’s Afound itself in a moment of transition. business and political leadership on the Economically, the state had relied upon necessary next step: a fundamental agriculture in the 19th century and transformation of the region’s economy towards manufacturing in the 20th century to supply innovation-based economic growth. Drawing large numbers of good-paying jobs, drawing on the recommendations of a task force put on a combination of plentiful land, a strong together by Clay Robbins, the chairman, labor pool, and the ingenuity of entrepreneurs, president and CEO of the Lilly Endowment such as James Allison, Clessie Cummins, Inc.—one of the nation’s largest philanthropic and Eli Lilly. It was clear that agriculture and foundations, separate from the pharmaceutical manufacturing would remain important sources giant Eli Lilly and Company, but organized by of jobs (although at a smaller base), exports, members of the Lilly family in the 1930s—and and economic growth, but maintaining their local business leaders Larry O’Connor and competitiveness would require the adoption Sallie Rowland, Central Indiana’s corporate of new technologies. In addition to building on leaders recommended forming an invitation- these historic strengths, it was clear that Indiana only CEO group to guide the region’s economic would need to develop new specializations. Life development. The Central Indiana Corporate sciences represented the state’s clearest bridge Partnership (CICP) was founded in 1999 “to from the 20th to the 21st century, but how transform the economy of Indiana in order to would Indiana be positioned to take advantage create a more sustainable prosperity and quality of emerging platforms such as information of life for our citizens and future generations.” technology? As CICP President and CEO David Johnson In other words, the state and region’s foothold recalls, the organization’s original intent was to in the modern economy was far from certain. be an extremely rigorous advisor and advocate, In their book The New Localism, Bruce Katz drawing on the best thinking in the private, and Jeremy Nowak write that Indianapolis philanthropic, and university sectors to inform in the 1970s was “flat on its back, weakened investments and strategies led by policymakers by deindustrialization and excessive at the local and state level. Very quickly, suburbanization.” In a case study of Central however, CICP realized that transformative Indiana’s market evolution, Katz and Nowak note initiatives would require a combination of that the initial market momentum in the region private and philanthropic investment along with came through a series of signature investments support from the public sector. Organizations to become the “Amateur Sports Capital of the outside of government had to become active World,” including successfully building the participants and investors, in addition to RETHINKING Hoosier Dome in the 1980s and attracting the advisors. The question was what investments the CLUSTER NCAA’s headquarters in the 1990s. region should prioritize to solidify its economic INITIATIVES future. CASE STUDY: CENTRAL INDIANA CORPORATE PARTNERSHIP 3 CLUSTER IDENTIFICATION AND PRIORITIZATION he process of identifying and prioritizing 2007), energy technology (Energy Systems Teconomic opportunities in the Central Network, 2009), agbiosciences (AgriNovus Indiana economy has evolved over time, but Indiana, 2015), and talent development (Ascend three core elements define CICP’s process: Indiana, 2015). Several individual project efforts an appreciation for rigorous research and complement these six pillar initiatives, such as data; a deep commitment to delivering the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute, 16 value for its members, and therefore local Tech innovation district, and Indiana Innovation industries; and an operational ethos that values Institute. continuous improvement, meaning a collective acknowledgement that the region’s innovation CICP’s mandate is to identify and prioritize and industrial strengths could be improved by pressing issues and then channel resources bringing together institutions and firms with a from the business, university, and philanthropic shared interest in the competitiveness of key communities toward solutions. The organization industry clusters. is business- and civic-led, but there is intentional engagement with the public sector, In 2000, CICP obtained some funding from the given government’s ability to scale through Lilly Endowment to commission a report from policy and regulatory change. Every initiative the Battelle Technology Partnership Practice the organization supports is vetted by its on the region’s economy. That report argued 65-member board of directors, whose support that the competitiveness of two legacy industry typically requires rigorous, independent research clusters (advanced manufacturing and life that identifies opportunities and challenges sciences) and one emerging cluster (information within a key industry cluster (or group of technology) would determine the future of clusters) and offers a plan to address them. Central Indiana’s economic prosperity. However, it would be simplistic to characterize the CICP process as a rote series of research The Battelle report provided a roadmap that reports followed by strategic implementation. could galvanize leadership around a shared set Three CICP initiatives reveal the diversity of of facts, but it required an incredible breadth approaches through which the organization of organizations to act in service of its findings. identifies and prioritizes interventions. CICP became the much-needed organization to help coordinate the actions of employers, BioCrossroads is CICP’s longest running and philanthropies, and universities that together arguably most impactful cluster initiative and could push transformative economic change. provides one example of the organization’s identification, decisionmaking, and strategic Rather than an organization devoted to a single implementation process. cluster initiative, CICP has proven over the past two decades to be the rare organization The identification and prioritization of the life that can seed several high-capacity industry sciences cluster resulted partly from the 2000 interventions that address the weaknesses Battelle report mentioned above and partly and build on the strengths of Central Indiana’s from broader civic dynamics. That report used regional economy. As of 2018, CICP housed six various metrics—employment concentrations, BROOKINGS initiatives related to life sciences (BioCrossroads, productivity levels, and the share of the regional METROPOLITAN 2003), technology (TechPoint, 2006), advanced economy accounted for by life sciences—to argue POLICY manufacturing and logistics (Conexus Indiana, for life sciences as a pillar cluster, one that had PROGRAM 4 an enormous impact throughout the region saw the link between agricultural sciences, and state. Yet, while boasting Eli Lilly and Co., human health, and life sciences. Roche Diagnostics, the Cook Group, Corteva Agriscience, Agriculture Division of DowDuPont, The work to prioritize the cluster began with Zimmer, Biomet, Anthem, and the Indiana David Johnson asking Beth Bechdol to conduct University School of Medicine, the report also an initial exploration to determine whether a identified untapped potential. cluster initiative made sense. Bechdol had grown up on a farm, worked in agribusiness, spent Specifically, it cited four key areas: time in Washington, D.C. working on agriculture strengthening the sector’s brand, ensuring policy, and then served as the deputy director the talent supply was sufficient, linking of the Indiana State Department of Agriculture. university and business leaders through shared She had a deep knowledge