SRQ Daily Columnist Teri A Hansen is president and CEO of Gulf Coast Community Foundation

Two reports released last Tuesday might seem a world apart to the casual reader. But they point to related challenges and opportunities facing our region.

One—from United Way of Florida—details the size and scope of financial hardship among households in the state. In both Sarasota and Manatee counties, more than 40 percent of households can’t consistently afford the cost of living here. The report asserts that the true picture of need has been “underestimated and obscured” by not including families who are above the federal poverty line but still unable to make ends meet. These are motivated, hard-working families who simply can’t overcome conditions that continue to lag pre-recession levels.

The other study’s subject: video games. Or, more specifically, the growth of Florida’s computer and video-gaming industry. We now rank sixth among states for jobs in electronic gaming—an industry that is high-tech, high-wage and increasingly important to other sectors that leverage the skills and possibilities of digital game art (think healthcare, education). Locally, Ringling College of Art and Design is turning out top talent for this exploding field.

So, what’s the connection? It’s not that struggling families simply need to find jobs in gaming. The relation of the studies is less direct but far more promising than that. It’s the “innovation economy.”

That’s not just a buzzword; it’s our current reality. The engines of change and growth today are talent, technology, invention, trade, creativity and quality places. It’s no longer enough for a region to compete on beaches or taxes alone. Communities recognized as innovation leaders offer assets like talented workers, lifestyle amenities, business accelerators and more. 

About 18 months ago, in a regional research scan we conducted to identify funding priorities, Gulf Coast Community Foundation asked: “Will [our region] remain dependent on the volatile tourism, real estate, and service economy of yesterday? Or will we put people back to work in jobs that provide opportunities to advance, to earn a living wage?”

We then laid out a strategy to help move our region toward an innovation-based economy. It includes building a more competitive workforce, developing regional economic clusters around industries like creativity and the digital arts, and growing our entrepreneurial ecosystem. It also acknowledges that we can’t progress toward that vision while leaving so many behind. “The impacts of the Great Recession are still reverberating,” we wrote back then. It’s clear from the United Way study that they haven’t stopped.

At Gulf Coast, we and many partners—including donors—are working full tilt to ensure our region offers :

• talented workers (STEMsmart, CareerEdge, Talent4Tomorrow);
• unique places (leveraged grantmaking in the arts; community planning for future use of Sarasota’s bayfront); and
• entrepreneurial support (BIG—Bright Ideas on the Gulf Coast).

We’re also focused on providing more opportunity for all. That starts with addressing root causes of problems like homelessness and hunger, to lift people out of poverty and support their financial-asset building.

I invite you to visit www.GulfCoastCF.org to read our regional scan, “After the Fall: The Gulf Coast’s Next Innovation Economy.” I think you’ll agree how timely it remains. You can also find our new PROACTION Magazine, which spotlights active efforts to nurture local entrepreneurs and connect bright ideas with the right resources to grow innovative businesses.

We seek to transform the Gulf Coast region into a competitive force in the global economy. A place that welcomes active retirees and young talent alike; that provides all residents with the opportunity to succeed, advance and contribute. Will we innovate, or will we retire? The Gulf Coast’s future is ours to create.

SRQ Daily Columnist Teri A Hansen is president and CEO of Gulf Coast Community Foundation