U.S. Department of Commerce invites Florida's Great Northwest to SelectUSA roundtable

Florida’s Great Northwest (FGNW), the regional economic development organization for the Florida Panhandle, participated in this year’s SelectUSA Investment Summit, the highest-profile event in the United States dedicated to promoting foreign direct investment (FDI).

SelectUSA is a U.S. government program led by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

FGNW President and CEO Jennifer Conoley was asked to serve as a participant in a closed-door, invitation-only meeting with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Deputy Secretary Don Graves during the summit. The small group roundtable focused on the unique challenges and opportunities associated with attracting FDI into underserved communities.

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Conoley represented Northwest Florida, one of only 14 areas invited to attend the session. Other roundtable participants included representatives from private sector firms who have invested in underserved communities and federal agencies whose mandate relates to underserved communities.

“This was a unique opportunity to join in on candid conversations between companies, economic development organizations and federal partners about the challenges facing underserved communities to attract jobs and capital investment,” Conoley said. “Other parts of the country, such as Detroit, Los Angeles, Puerto Rico and Virginia, were represented, and I was proud to see Northwest Florida, the only region in Florida, was included in this crucial discussion.”

Through her participation, Conoley was able to bring awareness to the needs of urban and rural underserved communities in Northwest Florida, explore synergies between federal agencies and discuss strategies on how the federal government can best support economic development organizations and communities in the future.

While there are many definitions of underserved communities, SelectUSA  assesses if a community is underserved through three criteria: more than 20% of the population falls under the poverty line; the unemployment rate is greater than 8.1% or more than one standard deviation from the median of 3.2 percent; and 50% of households have an income below $50,000.

The SelectUSA Investment Summit serves as a connection and networking event for economic developers interested in meeting with investors who are seeking to establish or expand their business operations in the U.S. This year’s summit had more than 3,600 attendees from more than 70 international markets and 51 states and territories. In addition to the off-agenda roundtable discussion, FGNW gained much exposure during the event:

• Conoley was also selected to speak on a panel during one of the information sessions about investment attraction in Northwest Florida.

• Florida was one of only four U.S. states to be invited to present to a group of 20 Singaporean companies attending the summit, and Conoley spoke about the region during the presentation.

• Enterprise Florida was an exhibitor at the event and hosted a Sunshine State Soiree Reception. FGNW participated and was allowed to give a few remarks at the event.

• In addition, FGNW made numerous direct company contacts and is already working several potential projects opportunities for Northwest Florida.

SelectUSA is the U.S. government program led by the U.S. Department of Commerce that focuses on facilitating job-creating business investment in the United States and raising awareness of the critical role that economic development plays in the U.S. economy. Since its inception, SelectUSA has facilitated more than $105 billion in investment, creating and/or retaining over 138,000 U.S. jobs.

This article originally appeared on Northwest Florida Daily News: Florida's Great Northwest economic development group goes to SelectUSA