The case for regional collaboration in the Quad Cities
Historically splintered by Illinois vs. Iowa, city vs. city parochialism, the Quad Cities has been called a “sleeping giant,” unable to leverage the full strength of its nearly half-a-million-person region.
Since the formation of the bi-state Quad Cities Chamber in 2010, however, area leaders and organizations have become increasingly regionally minded, and Chamber President & CEO Paul Rumler is ready to build on the momentum.
“Now that we have this solid foundation, we can do things differently, and that’s really about harnessing our collective resources to beat our competition,” he said. “Heading into 2020, we now have a pathway to advocate for that, and I’m excited about finally turning the tide.”
While the Chamber will continue to evolve to meet the region’s needs, success for the organization in the 2020s will be measured by population and gross regional product (GRP) growth. In alignment with the Q2030 Regional Action Plan, the Chamber is committed to increasing the region’s population to 500,000 strong and GRP to $40 billion. Rumler is confident the Chamber and its partners are well-positioned to lead big initiatives to accomplish these goals and advance a winning economy through its five core areas of work:
- Economic Development
- Placemaking
- Talent Attraction and Development
- Business Services
- Q2030
Ten years ago, the Chamber’s economic development efforts focused on attracting new industries to the region. Today, the Chamber knows which industries and associated companies have grown and declined over the past decade, and using the data, prioritizes assisting those currently driving the region’s economic base.
“By growing from within, we’ll attract others that want to be part of that growth,” said Rumler, who applies the same philosophy to growing the region’s population. “You get people who like it here to love it here, and people will want to join in on that.”
Rather than creating jobs to attract people, the Chamber believes it first needs to attract people, and the jobs will follow. Supporting vibrant downtowns and creating cool places throughout the region is critical to attracting and retaining talent, a key part of the Q2030 vision.
“We have to have a place where people want to invest their lives,” Rumler said.
To build the workforce needed for Quad Cities businesses to compete on a global stage, the Chamber also plans to begin exploring regional talent attraction and development strategies in 2020.
As the Chamber continues hosting new networking and business education events introduced in 2019, the organization is looking for ways to provide more valuable offerings and a better return on investment for members.
One change to the Chamber’s menu of services is the recent launch of the Peer Roundtables program. Designed to develop leaders, deepen networks and retain talent, many organizations enrolled employees in the industry-exclusive groups to grow business and find innovative solutions to their most pressing challenges.
“Our region is seeing a different chamber experience in the last few months, and it will continue to evolve in the coming year,” Rumler said, citing member input as a key contributing factor. “We’ll continue to pivot in a direction that’s positive for businesses.”
In addition, he is eager to connect with more employers outside of the Quad Cities metro area, specifically those in Henry and Mercer counties in Illinois and Clinton and Muscatine counties in Iowa.
While its entire work plan is aligned with Q2030, the Chamber will lead some major initiatives associated with the plan next year. Becoming a better regional collaborator is another priority for Rumler, who plans to partner with other leading organizations influencing Q2030.
And no matter what major issues arise in 2020, people can count on the Chamber being a strong voice for the business community. The Chamber proved in 2019 it is comfortable representing the business community when it comes to major regional issues, such as flooding and racism.
“I think it’s very helpful and healthy for that to happen,” Rumler said. “It’s not just talking about issues like the Interstate 74 bridge or Chicago-to-Quad Cities passenger rail. We’re talking about issues that are really important.”