The Nashville area has leveraged its roots in country music to become a region with a broad range of assets that go well beyond the music and entertainment industry. Its success in attracting a number of prominent headquarters, as well as logistics and manufacturing firms, launched Nashville to the top of many “best places for business” lists. The Partnership 2020 process aims to continue and enhance that track record.  The Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce has partnered with Market Street Services to coordinate a strategic process for the region’s residents, business and leadership. At the end of this effort, Nashville will have a strategic blueprint for its near- and longer-term future. 

The key components of this project include:

1. Competitive Assessment

Market Street has developed a substantial and inclusive matrix of data and information to assess competitiveness.  The three study areas are People, Prosperity, and Place. These categories encompass the real-life considerations that every resident, business owner or entrepreneur takes into account when deciding whether to stay in an area or relocate.  This matrix is based on fact, not a “model” created in a lab or by an economist’s theory.

The Nashville region will be benchmarked against its 2005 metrics, as well as those of the state, nation, and five comparison regions: Charlotte, NC; Austin, TX; Atlanta, GA; Indianapolis, IN; and Raleigh-Durham, NC.  The data will identify progress that has been made since implementation of the 2005 Economic Development Strategy and highlight future challenges and opportunities for the region to provide increased access to prosperity for all residents.

The research will identify key findings that will help inform the development of the Partnership 2020 plan.

2. Community Input Process

To gather the perspectives of community members and project stakeholders, several avenues will be used, including individual interviews and focus groups.  Information will be gathered about various aspects of the Nashville area’s current competitiveness and quality of life, as well as information related to stakeholders’ visions for its future development.  Highlights from this process will be incorporated into the Competitive Assessment and will inform the Partnership 2020 strategy.

3. Target Cluster Review

In the Target Cluster Review, Market Street will assess the Nashville region’s existing targets (headquarters, health care, advanced manufacturing, digital music, music and entertainment business, logistics, warehousing, and wholesale trade) based on available quantitative and qualitative information in order to confirm the continued viability of these targets. Market Street will base target business confirmations, revisions and recommendations on national economic trends, regional assets and competitive advantages attractive to businesses within the targets.

The Target Cluster Review will take a “bottom-up” approach to cluster identification. It will begin by examining the unique attributes of the workforce and the region, rather than beginning with a “top-down” examination of industrial composition.

4. Partnership 2020 Plan

Partnership 2020 is the means by which the Nashville region will build upon its existing accomplishments to chart a fresh path for continued success.  The strategy will use existing successful programs and efforts undertaken by Partnership 2010 as its foundation and provide recommendations for developing enhanced capacity and resources necessary to strengthen Nashville’s competitive position in today’s 21st-century economic development landscape.  The Partnership 2020 process is about the renewal and reformation of a trajectory of growth.  This task will identify the most well-suited strategies and best practices to address the challenges and maximize opportunities facing the Nashville region, while focusing on areas that contribute to sustaining and growing the region.

Within the Strategy, a set of tactical internal and external marketing recommendations will be provided for each of the targets. We will seek to answer the question, “What can be done internally to enhance the region’s position in terms of specific targets?” as well as “How can we differentiate Nashville to our prospective target audiences?” New media tools and traditional marketing approaches will be included in the assessments. The recommendations from this component will be incorporated into the new Implementation Plan.

5. Implementation Guidelines

This phase will provide a review and assessment of programs, budget estimates, and organizational structure.  Funding options, including public sector sources, will also be explored, with best practices from other organizations provided during the initial implementation discussions.  Specific steps to implement Partnership 2020 and a new five-year action plan will be provided. The Plan will include enhanced and new activity measures and outcome benchmarks to gauge the success of Partnership 2020.