Regional Development & Economic Recovery
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Virtual Panel Discussion on Indiana’s Budget, Regionalism & Post-COVID Recovery
Indiana’s new budget makes major investments in regional development: How can regionalism drive Indiana’s post-COVID recovery, and what challenges are still in the way?
Join the Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute for a free, virtual panel discussion with Mark Muro of the Brookings Institution, Senator Travis Holdman, Mayor Scott Fadness of Fishers, and Heather Ennis of the Northwest Indiana Forum.
Event Overview
Indiana’s new $37.4 billion budget makes historic commitments to education, economic development and infrastructure as the state looks to continue our post-COVID comeback in 2022 and 2023. But while the eye-popping $18.7 billion in K-12 spending grabs the most attention, does the budget invest in regional growth and quality of life that will keep more of today’s students in Indiana after they finish school, contributing to the state’s economic future?
That’s the focus of a virtual panel discussion presented by the Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute on Tuesday, May 4th at 9:00 a.m.: Mark Muro, Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, Senator Travis Holdman (chair of the Senate Tax & Fiscal Policy Committee), Mayor Scott Fadness of Fishers and Heather Ennis, President & CEO of the Northwest Indiana Forum, will discuss Regional Development and Economic Recovery in Indiana’s new budget – and beyond.
During Senate budget hearings, Senator Holdman urged state officials to “think bigger” on economic development, and helped shape the final plan that includes $500 million for the Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative (READI) – a dramatic expansion of the 2015-16 Regional Cities Initiative with a similar premise: Encouraging collaboration across city and county lines for talent attraction, quality of life, job creation and business investment.
Muro recently led ‘Indiana GPS,’ a sweeping analysis of Indiana’s economy and the unique strengths and opportunities of its regions on behalf of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership. He’ll discuss these findings and the potential impact of initiatives like READI, with national context on how states and metropolitan areas are leveraging federal stimulus to rebuild their economies from COVID.
Mayor Scott Fadness leads one of Indiana’s fastest-growing communities, and has championed regional cooperation as critical to the continued success of Fishers and the Indianapolis metro – even advancing his own proposals for expanding regional capacity to share the costs of economic development and quality of life priorities. In Northwest Indiana, Heather Ennis leads a regional organization (the Northwest Indiana Forum) focused on attracting new jobs and investment and pursuing transformative projects in transportation and redevelopment.
The group will bring varied perspectives to an engaging discussion of the long-term potential of programs like READI and existing public-private partnerships in the regions that anchor Indiana’s economy, with a deeper dive into the next state budget less than two weeks after its passage. Register here or at www.IndianaFiscal.org to join the conversation on Tuesday, May 4th, from 9-10:30AM (Eastern). (This is a free program from the Indiana Fiscal Policy Institute, Indiana’s only independent, impartial source of ongoing research on state and local tax and budget issues.)
Agenda
9:00 a.m. Welcome: Regionalism, Recovery & Fiscal Realities
- IFPI’s Chris Watts: Panel Introductions & Indiana’s Regional Capacity Challenge
- CICP’s Melissa Roberts: Indiana GPS Overview & Introduction of Mark Muro
9:15 a.m. Mark Muro – Senior Fellow, Brookings Metropolitan Policy Program
- Indiana GPS: Pre-existing Conditions for Indiana’s Regional Economies
- Regional Renewal and the American Rescue Plan – Indiana’s Opportunity
9:30 a.m. Senator Travis Holdman – Chair, Indiana Senate Tax & Fiscal Policy Committee:
- Overview of Economic Development in Indiana’s 2022-2023 Budget
- READI for Recovery: Encouraging Regional Growth beyond COVID
9:40 a.m. Mayor Scott Fadness – Mayor, City of Fishers
- Local Quality of Life & Regional Cooperation
- The Future of Investment Hubs – Sustaining Regional Strategies
9:50 a.m. Heather Ennis – President & CEO, Northwest Indiana Forum
- Public-Private Collaboration on Regional Economic Development
- Lessons from Regional Cities 1.0
10:00 a.m. Panel Discussion – Q&A
10:30 a.m. Wrap-Up