Governor Hoeven's Six Pillars

Economic Development - Building Our Future Together

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Building Our Future Together

Six years ago, our challenge was creating jobs. Then our challenge became creating higher paying jobs. Today, our challenge is finding people to fill those jobs - good jobs ranging the entire gamut, from construction workers, oil rig workers, and truck drivers, to nurses, accountants, software writers, and engineers.

Now, just like when people came to our state to homestead, there's opportunity in North Dakota - opportunity in manufacturing, energy, technology and other areas. We're both expanding and diversifying our economic base - North Dakota is on the move.

GOAL: To exceed the national average in personal income within a decade

Today, it is clear our plan is working.

• The people of North Dakota have created over 30,000 new jobs and more than 2,000 new businesses.
• Per capita personal income has grown nearly 30 percent - 8 percent faster than the national average.
• Wages have grown 21 percent, compared to just 15 percent for the rest of the country. (2005)
• Our gross state product has grown to over $26 billion annually, a 48 percent increase.
• And our foreign exports have almost doubled to $1.5 billion annually.

Economic development is generating a higher standard of living and a better quality of life for all North Dakotans. Developing better-paying jobs and career opportunities, in both our cities and our rural areas, creates stronger communities, and enables our young people to pursue their careers at home.

To maintain our momentum, in May 2007, Gov. John Hoeven was joined by legislators, business leaders and university officials to sign new legislation providing increased funds to address statewide workforce needs, as well as an additional $20 million for the Centers of Excellence program, a cornerstone of our economic development agenda. The funding is part of the North Dakota Department of Commerce's 2007-09 budget.

Over the past biennium, $20 million in state Centers of Excellence funding has leveraged more than $70 million in additional funding for research and development in agriculture, renewable energy, advanced manufacturing, business technology and other areas that are creating better paying jobs and new opportunities for North Dakotans.

In fact, last year, North Dakota's aggressive economic development efforts produced 7,850 net new jobs, and North Dakota exports grew 27 percent over the previous year, to $1.5 billion.

Key new initiatives included in the Commerce Department budget are:

• $20 million for Centers of Excellence to transform and expand North Dakota's economy.
• A doubling of the budget for the North Dakota Trade Office to further expand overseas trade.
• One of the most aggressive R&D investment tax credit programs in the nation, offering up to 25 percent of expenditures.
• Increase of the Seed Capital Investment Tax Credit Limit to $3.5 million per year and expansion of the Agricultural Business Investment Tax Credit.
• An increase in funding of $4 million in the North Dakota Development Fund to provide gap financing for business start-ups and expansions.
• State funding for InnovateND to be matched dollar-for-dollar with privately raised funds.
• Increased funding for the Agriculture Products Utilization Commission.
• More funding for Tourism to market North Dakota as a great place to tour and visit, as well as live and work.
• New Workforce Development initiatives, tied to an $8 million increase in funding, including:
  • A comprehensive strategic plan for the state's workforce system.
  • Expansion of Operation Intern - an incentive program to encourage businesses to hire interns from North Dakota universities.
  • A career specialist program to help public schools promote North Dakota career opportunities to high school students.
  • An Internship Employment Tax Credit.
  • A Workforce Recruitment Tax Credit for hard-to-fill positions.

2001 to the present: Transforming North Dakota's economy

In 2001, at the turn of a new century, we set a course focused on six pillars for growth: education, economic development, agriculture, energy, technology, and quality of life. We resolved to grow our state's economy, and to do so, we pursued economic development in new and innovative ways:

• We formed a Commerce Department to streamline services and provide one stop shopping for new and expanding businesses.
• We developed a strategic plan, with targeted industries - value-added agriculture, advanced manufacturing, technology, tourism, and energy.
• We established partnerships between the public sector and the private sector, bringing together state and local economic developers, all pulling together for the good of their communities and the good of the state as a whole.
• We forged a partnership between higher education and the private sector to drive the development and commercialization of new products and services. We gave developers innovative tools to get them started - tools like our Ethanol Production Incentive, investment tax credits, and Centers of Excellence.
• Working with the Legislature, we streamlined our tax and regulatory environment to help build a strong, competitive business climate - an environment where businesses can start and expand without the burdens of bureaucratic red tape or high taxes.

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