Greater MSP absorbs the Itasca Project
Two longstanding Twin Cities-based economic development partnerships — the Itasca Project and Greater MSP — have announced a formal merger.
In addition to some administrative support staff, Greater MSP — also known as the Minneapolis St. Paul Economic Development Partnership — maintains a core staff of about 18 managers and directors in offices in the Securian Financial building on Robert Street in downtown St. Paul. The organization represents some 300 dues-paying member businesses, universities, cities, counties and philanthropic organizations, marketing the region to prospective employers while highlighting the work of local start-ups.
The volunteer-driven Itasca Project formed in 2004 and is composed of some 70 or more cross-sector business leaders who gather to address long-term regional challenges, largely through studies and calls to action. Itasca, which works closely with the management consulting group McKinsey and Co., maintains at least two paid staffers who will join Greater MSP.
“We’re integrating Itasca into Greater MSP, and this will live on as a platform within our organization,” said Don Ball, a Greater MSP communications director, in a brief interview. “Greater MSP was founded by the Itasca Project, so this is kind of reuniting the family. Our hope is to let it do what it does, but grow it and have more impact.”
Ball said Itasca leadership will continue to meet and “influence the spirit and substance of its work.”
In a joint written statement, the two organizations said that after several months of discussion, a joint task force recommended the integration. Task force member John Naylor, president and chief executive officer of Medica, a health insurance company based in Minnetonka, said in the statement that “now is the time for two successful entities focused on regional economic health and competitiveness to come together and leverage their unique strengths for the greater good of our community and the lives of our neighbors.”
The statement goes on to say that the Itasca Project brand will continue and “its work will grow as a result of new connections to more leaders and organizations, as well as the operational support available within Greater MSP.”
THINK TANK WORK
Over the years, Itasca funded original studies on the connection between a stable workforce and early childhood development, investments in public transit, affordable housing and economic development. Among those studies, Itasca’s research on job growth during the Great Recession in 2008 led to the founding of Greater MSP three years later.
Recent collaborations between the two groups include the Regional Economic Indicators Dashboard, which tracks metro-area progress on economic growth against peer regions, as well as Business Bridge, an accelerator focused on diversifying suppliers to include under-represented groups. Another collaboration that launched with 40 partners, ConnextMSP, focuses on recruiting young professionals of color and helping employers foster and retain them.
Itasca Project chair Lynn Casey, the former chair and chief executive officer of Padilla, a Minneapolis-based public relations firm, said in a written statement that “both Itasca and Greater MSP share an ethos of civic engagement to solve big challenges.”
Greater MSP president and CEO Peter Frosch said Itasca’s work “is completely aligned with the mission of our partnership, which is to accelerate regional competitiveness and inclusive economic growth,” and the merger will accelerate that mission.
