Southwest Indiana Development Council Completes Business Attraction Readiness Assessment

The Southwest Indiana Development Council (SWIDC), in partnership with Ginovus, a global leader in Economic Development Site Selection, is proud to have recently completed a in- depth assessment on economic development business attraction efforts. This region, which consists of 10 member counties and a workforce of 590,000+ Hoosiers, is home to a wide range of current industries, as well as continues to seek their next partners in business to grow the Southwest Indiana regional economy. 

This assessment has enabled SWIDC members to modernize business development outreach and inquiry responses, while also recommending adoption of industry best practices. Specifically, the report highlights changes in business site selection requests and requests for proposals assisting SWIDC member communities refine internal processes, and compete with communities across the Midwest and country while highlighting the unique amenities and business climate of Southwestern Indiana. 

“Few communities have the foresight to complete an in-depth assessment to refine processes, which will pay dividends for SWIDC and its member communities, ” according to Larry Gigerich, founder of Ginovus. Colten Pipenger, Chairman of SWIDC added, “This leadership from our region in business attraction efforts and regional approach of assessing ourselves is exactly what regional economic development leadership can look like. ” 
 
Since the assessment' s completion, SWIDC member communities have implemented several changes for each of their respective processes, and additional regional resources including SWIDC.org have begun to implement modern best practices in regional site selection and business development efforts. “We are, as a region, excited to see Ginovus’s hard work pay off and attract our next community businesses as we seek to grow, diversify, and further develop as one regional economy. ” Colten Pipenger, Chair - SWIDC. 
 
To learn more about the report and its findings please contact Colten Pipenger at [email protected] + Ian Ward at [email protected]. 

A special thank you to financial supporters who made this assessment possible. Supporters include; Centerpoint Energy, Community Foundation Alliance in partnership with the Harrison County Community Foundation, Duke Energy and Hoosier Energy with its member cooperatives.