Target Industries

Sunny and growing, Northwest Florida’s business climate has received national recognition for its “business friendly” attitude. It is clear to see why in a state that touts no state personal income tax, no state corporate tax on limited partnerships or S-corporations, and a pro-business environment. Businesses in Northwest Florida cross many industry segments and range from small technology startups to large multinational conglomerates. Florida’s Great Northwest strives to create a sustainable and diversified economy by focusing on target industry sectors that offer future growth opportunities while providing jobs with a wage structure above the national average.

In 2007, Florida’s Great Northwest contracted with SRI International to conduct an analysis of the region’s existing business assets and to compare these assets, the region’s and state’s business climate, and the region’s competitive strengths to the target industries’ national and global trends. At the end of the process, our conclusion, which has been verified through interviews with the region’s existing businesses, identified four target industries that match the region’s strengths, goals, and assets, as well as provide for a diversified and sustainable regional economy. The target clusters were chosen based upon the opportunity for growth, wage structure, role in regional development and the cluster’s synergy and linkage to other industries in Northwest Florida. Those four target industries are: Aviation, Aerospace, Defense, and National Security; Health Science and Human Performance Enhancement; Renewable Energy and Environment; and Transportation and Logistics Services.

The most significant conclusion of the analysis was the identification of two strategic support clusters – Information Technology Services and Research and Engineering – areas which transcend all four of Northwest Florida’s target industries, fit well with the Florida business, regulatory, and tax climate and have a large existing presence in the region. In fact, IT and Engineering areas represent a real strength in Northwest Florida.

The pyramid represents Northwest Florida’s development strategy. For years, the region has been building the specialized foundations designed to support innovation and the development of a human and physical infrastructure that will support those industries that are our basic economic engines driving a diversified and sustainable economy. Our focus continues on the strengthening of these foundations while also staying focused on meeting the employment and on-going education needs of the critical support industries. The demand for a skilled workforce in these areas continues to grow as our existing businesses expand, other businesses opt to locate in the region, and entrepreneurial technology companies emerge. As Northwest Florida continues to define our future, we will continue to support the foundations critical to the development of our major economic engines.

Download the executive summary or the presentation of the target industry analysis.