Market Street Services 730 Midtown 730 Peachtree Street Suite 540 Atlanta, GA 30308 VOICE 404-880-7242 FAX 404-880-7246 ONLINE marketstreetservices.com MEMORANDUM TO: Steering Committee and Advisory Committee FROM: Market Street Services DATE: September 9, 2019 RE: Revisions to the Regional Assessment & Competitive Scorecards During and after their August 8th meetings, the Steering Committee and Advisory Committee provided feedback on the draft Regional Assessment & Competitive Scorecards. A variety of minor edits and revisions were made but a few more substantive additions deserve highlighting: (page 3) Added an additional reference reminding the reader that all data displayed and discussed covers the San Antonio-New Braunfels metropolitan statistical area unless otherwise noted. (page 5) Added data and additional context covering top metros in terms of net in-migration. (page 21) Added data to Figure 16 illustrating certificate and degree completions per employee, incorporating a measure of relative higher education capacity (expressed per job). (page 22) Expanded the discussion of higher education capacity to include additional information on A&M SA’s recent growth. (page 54) Corrected the Competitive Scorecards Summary to ensure consistency with the Innovation & Entrepreneurship Scorecard presented on page 48. (page 58) Added an appendix illustrating key demographic, socioeconomic, and other attributes for survey respondents. 1 REGIONAL ASSESSMENT & COMPETITIVE SCORECARDS GREATER SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS Submitted by Market Street Services, Inc. www.marketstreetservices.com September 2019 Cover images sourced from the visitsanantonio.com media library Regional Assessment & Competitive Scorecards Greater San Antonio, Texas TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction: Project Overview .......................................................................................................................................................... 1 Regional Assessment ............................................................................................................................................................................. 2 1. The Alamo Region: A Diverse & Culturally-Rich Destination ........................................................................... 3 2. Socioeconomics & Resident Well-Being in Greater San Antonio ............................................................... 10 3. A “Fragmented” Education System with Varied Outcomes ........................................................................... 14 4. The Availability & Development of a Skilled Workforce ................................................................................. 18 5. Competing on Cost: An Historical Value Proposition ...................................................................................... 23 6. Economic Composition: Implications for Elevating Prosperity ..................................................................... 26 7. Intra-Regional Mobility & Inter-Regional Connectivity .................................................................................. 30 8. Competing on Quality: Resident Evaluations of Quality of Life ................................................................... 33 9. Enabling Choice: Downtown & Regional Activity Centers ............................................................................. 36 Conclusion & Executive Summary: Economic Identity in Greater San Antonio ................................................. 38 Competitive Scorecards ..................................................................................................................................................................... 43 Economic Performance .............................................................................................................................................................. 44 Workforce Competitiveness .................................................................................................................................................... 46 Innovation and Entrepreneurship ......................................................................................................................................... 48 Business Environment ................................................................................................................................................................ 50 Quality of Life ................................................................................................................................................................................ 52 Competitive Scorecards: Summary ....................................................................................................................................... 54 Competitive Scorecards: Data Sources ............................................................................................................................... 55 Appendix A: Survey Demographics ............................................................................................................................................... 58 Endnotes................................................................................................................................................................................................... 62 September 2019 Regional Assessment & Competitive Scorecards Greater San Antonio, Texas INTRODUCTION: PROJECT OVERVIEW Over the course of the last decade – a period that spans our nation’s sluggish recovery from and subsequent expansion following the Great Recession – a variety of trends have fundamentally shifted the manner in which communities and regions compete for jobs and workers. Nationwide, residential location patterns have shifted with generational preferences; younger workers seek different attributes in their desired place of residence. Meanwhile, corporate location decisions are increasingly tied to talent proximity, and inherently, the attributes that attract and retain talent within regions. As a result, the nature of the economic development profession, and the manner in which regions and economic development partners invest in their future, has changed considerably. The San Antonio region is no stranger to such changes; during the aforementioned decade, the metropolitan area experienced a variety of changes in its competitive position and the organizational landscape supporting regional economic development. Today, as the San Antonio region approaches a new decade, the business community and a variety of economic development partners have convened – through the leadership of the San Antonio Economic Development Foundation (SAEDF) – to evaluate the region’s competitiveness and define necessary, proactive investments supporting regional economic development. The process outlined herein will support this objective. STEERING COMMITTEE & ADVISORY COMMITTEE The strategic planning process is guided by a Steering Committee comprised of regional business and institutional leadership. These individuals will review input and research findings, provide feedback, and oversee the development of a new Regional Economic Development Strategy and corresponding Implementation Plan. Their input and oversight is complemented by the support of an Advisory Committee including representatives from key partners such as local governments, chambers of commerce, higher education, and other organizations. PHASE 1: REGIONAL & STAKEHOLDER INPUT More than 4,000 residents and businesses in the San Antonio region were engaged via interviews, focus groups, and an online survey to better understand the region’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. PHASE 2: REGIONAL ASSESSMENT & COMPETITIVE SCORECARDS The Regional Assessment synthesizes pre-existing research, the aforementioned input, and a wealth of quantitative data to tell a story about the region – where it has been, where it stands today, and where it may be heading. It is complemented by a series of Competitive Scorecards that benchmark the region’s competitiveness in measures of economic performance, workforce sustainability, innovation and entrepreneurship, business environment, and quality of life, comparing performance to ten competing regions. PHASE 3: TARGET SECTOR ASSESSMENT The Target Sector Assessment will build upon the Regional Assessment by providing a deeper examination of the region’s economic composition, identifying and assessing those sectors of economic activity for which Greater San Antonio is most competitive and which are most likely to support future job and wealth creation in the years ahead. PHASE 4: REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY Informed by the input and research findings, a new Regional Economic Development Strategy will detail a series of objectives related to the region’s identified challenges and opportunities, and a corresponding set of actions, investments, and initiatives that can help achieve those objectives. PHASE 5: IMPLEMENTATION PLAN An Implementation Plan will complement the Strategy by prioritizing activities, evaluating resources required to support effective implementation, and defining performance metrics to gauge return on investment. September 2019 Page 1 Regional Assessment & Competitive Scorecards Greater San Antonio, Texas REGIONAL ASSESSMENT This Regional Assessment evaluates the San Antonio region’s economic competitiveness and prosperity through the lens of nine key stories that illuminate specific challenges and opportunities while collectively forming a narrative