Innovation to Drive Economic Growth: Can Cincinnati Become Ohio's First Innovation Hub?
Ohio recently unveiled a new economic development initiative – Ohio Hubs of Innovation and Opportunity (OHIO). This strategy, which targets the advanced manufacturing and information technology industries, is one of the top economic development priorities of the state. The 12 different geographical regions of Ohio including its three largest MSAs, Cincinnati, Columbus, and Cleveland, are all potential hubs of innovation for the state. Yet, the Cincinnati MSA – with its strengths in communication and information, as well as professional and business services, manufacturing, and the arts, entertainment and recreation industry – may become the first innovation hub in the state.
Not surprisingly, the metropolitan areas of Cincinnati, Cleveland, and Columbus have the highest GDP in information and communication technology (ICT); more than one billion dollars. Although, the GDP of ICT in Columbus is the highest of the three regions, Cincinnati has experienced a 20.5% increase in GDP in this industry sector. Cincinnati MSA employs almost 155,000 individuals in the professional and business services sector, more than either Columbus or Cleveland.
A strong manufacturing industry sector is another factor that could help Cincinnati MSA become an innovation hub. Some manufacturing subsectors are seen as high tech and are particularly important in the knowledge-based economy. Cincinnati MSA involves 120,000 manufacturing jobs, second to Cleveland. Our region does a significantly better job in retaining its manufacturing industry compared to the other two MSAs. Cincinnati MSA has seen 6.5 percent decline, as opposed to 11.6 percent and 13.7 percent declines in jobs in Cleveland and Columbus, respectively.
The arts, entertainment, and recreation industry is crucial for any creative urban environment. When it comes to number of jobs in this sector and the employment growth rates in the last five years, Cincinnati has performed significantly better than Cleveland, gaining more than 5 percent, compared to a 4 percent decline in Cleveland.
This analysis suggests Cincinnati's substantial potential to become Ohio's first future innovation hub. Updating workforce development strategies, supporting creative businesses, downtown revitalization, the streetcar initiative, and large LEED certified building projects are some examples of progressive urban projects whose relevance is recognized and, at times, measured by the Economics Center for Education & Research. These individual projects are all a part of a greater vision underlined by initiatives such as Growth and Opportunity Cincinnati (GO Cincinnati) and Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber's Agenda 360. This unified willingness to leverage development efforts is perhaps the greatest factor for differentiating the Cincinnati MSA from other candidates.
“The Economics Center has proven to be a great partner and an excellent resource to Cadmus. Their knowledge about the local community and economy—coupled with their analytic capabilities—have been important components of our evaluation and very well received by our client. We look forward to our continued collaboration with the Center.”- 
George’s major focus areas are regional economics and human capital. With his colleagues at the Economics Center, he continues to apply lessons learned in those fields to economic development and workforce development.
“We needed to communicate the value of our institution in the local community and the Economics Center’s economic impact analysis helped us accomplish that goal. They were very easy to work with and met our expectations. We will certainly utilize their services for economic analysis in the future and would recommend them to others.”- 
Jennifer’s work includes analyzing individual and household decision-making, factors that influence as well as the economic and fiscal impacts of those decisions. - 
Jeff has worked with leaders from the public, private, and non-profit sectors, designing and implementing economic development and research projects in response to diverse community issues.
“We're very pleased with the results of this study. Often times, when people think about arts and culture organizations, they do not take into account the economic benefits that come with the educational and entertainment benefits. That was one of our main goals when commissioning this project." 
“The Economics Center brings analytical expertise and valuable insights that helps our clients to develop and, then, communicate key messages. The research team understands we are in a world increasingly dependent on data for decision making. The Center is an important partner in our business and a valuable resource to our community.” - 
“As a research-based organization, Cincinnati Works relies heavily on the type of data and analysis the Economic Center provides. Their ability to analyze economic trends and assess the impact they have on job seekers and workforce development is valuable to the work that we do here at Cincinnati Works.” 
“The TIF Model is intuitive, easy and flexible for report to the Township Trustees to help them understand the resources that Deerfield Township may have available. The Trustees really appreciate having a tool that can inform planning for the future, beyond the upcoming year.” 
“The Center worked to understand our community and our needs. They developed a set of custom economic indicators for Newaygo County, MI. We believe that this information is critical for expressing unique assets of our community and in making important decisions for our economic vitality.” -