Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, Threats
SWOT ANALYSIS
SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. EDA encourages regions to create the strategic content of their CEDS (i.e., economic development goals, objectives, strategies, and projects) based upon a SWOT Analysis. The following is the regional view of the Southern Tier West region’s economy’s strengths and weaknesses, and the economic opportunities and threats that the region faces. Each of the four SWOT elements are subdivided into five sub-categories: (1) human capital, (2) traditional and non-traditional infrastructure, (3) innovation and entrepreneurship, (4) quality, connected places, and (5) collaborative leadership.
Human Capital
A skilled labor force capable of creating a knowledge-based and innovation-based economy, and that encourages businesses to start, locate, and expand in the region
Traditional & Non-Traditional Infrastructure
The region’s built environment and services that are requisite for retaining and expanding existing businesses and attracting new businesses
Innovation & Entrepreneurship
To catalyze innovation and new business development and growth, especially as regards technology-based, value added, and net export businesses
Quality, Connected Places
Safe, convenient and healthy places to live and work, that make the region attractive
Collaborative Leadership
Coordinated governance and rational and coordinated systemic investment in targeted economic development initiatives
Strategic Implications
The various economic development issues, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats discussed imply a number of strategic directions that the region should embrace in order to remove obstacles to creating a healthy, competitive, and sustainable economy and capture economic development.
While certain issues (e.g., state corporate and personal income tax burdens, state regulatory climate and compliance burdens, state workman’s compensation burdens, macroeconomic conditions, utility costs, winter heating costs, unfunded mandates, high transportation costs, rising health care costs, high municipal operating costs, labor force and labor legal environment, etc.) are structural in nature and remediating them is beyond the scope of a regional comprehensive economic development strategy, nonetheless there are many strategic steps that the region can take to respond to many of the other economic development problems that it faces.
Similarly, while certain strengths and opportunities may be beyond the realistic capacity of the region to capitalize upon (e.g., owing to financial and political constraints, imperfect knowledge, etc.), nonetheless there are many strategic steps that the region can take to capitalize on many of the economic development opportunities available to it. These steps (18 strategic foci) are enumerated in a subsequent section of this CEDS, “Vision / Goals / Objectives / Priority Strategic Foci / Strategies.”