GO Topeka

• See Private Sector Funding here.

Mission: To develop a business climate where business can grow and prosper.

Goal: Business Retention and Expansion
Strategy: Create a strategic system for the retention and expansion of family sustaining jobs.
Action Plan:

• Develop an in-depth plan to assist in the identification of companies at risk and those with the potential to grow.
• Improve the communications with existing industry on available incentives, training funds, and any other information needed for their success.
• Identify recurring problems as perceived by multiple employers.
• Create increased awareness of local and state incentives.
• Recognize local area businesses for their contributions to the local economy. Expand upon the annual small business awards recognition program.

Goal: New Business Recruitment
Strategy: Increase employment base with emphasis on jobs which can sustain a household.
Action Plan:

• Continue to refine a long-range marketing plan focusing on those targeted businesses identified from the Wadley Donovan targeted industry study to aggressively promote the Topeka/Shawnee County area as a premiere location for business and industry.
• Develop policies and procedures inclusive of performance measures for utilization of incentive funds for new and expanding businesses.
• Capitalize on area's state of the art, world-class information highway system.
• Increase new prospect leads.
• Increase internal capabilities to promote and sell and the community and leverage opportunities in order to increase our overall effectiveness at creating higher paying jobs.
• Increase the availability of industrial and commercial sites to market to new and expanding businesses.
• Increase population and improve the net migration numbers of the MSA.
• Positively influence the Topeka/Shawnee County Comprehensive Plan.

Strategy: Develop enablers to economic growth.
Action Plan:

• Build alliance between business individuals, higher education, and government dedicated to building competitive advantage for regional businesses and sparking innovation.
• Maintain high level of public/private support for economic development.
• Build consensus support and organizational strength.

Strategy: Create an environment for organizational excellence and opportunities for leadership development and cooperation.
Action Plan:

Establish Chamber/GO Topeka as the leading economic development organization in the Topeka/Shawnee County area. Offices will be the first stop and "GO TO" organization for new and expanding businesses.

• Leverage intellectual capital of area and nearby educational institutions.

Identify, develop, and promote international trade and investment.

Strategy: Secure additional resources to further Chamber/GO Topeka goals.
Action Plan:
Enhance federal support for local economic development & priority community projects.

• Further enhance local support for economic development programs.

Goal: Small, Minority and Women-Owned Business Development
Strategy: Broaden and diversify economic base.
Action Plan:

• Support, promote, sponsor, coordinate, and develop programs to improve the talent pool, available financing, business environment, and entrepreneurship spirit in order to develop new employers and grow small businesses in Topeka and Shawnee County.
  
• Promote business development with a focus on small, minority and women-owned businesses.

Goal: Workforce Development
Strategy: Identify skills needed by existing and targeted industries in Topeka/Shawnee County area annually.
Action Plan:

• Develop a survey that identifies skills needed for growth and retention and unfilled positions.
• Identify workforce availability.

• Determine what needed skills are being produced by our K-12 education system and post-secondary technical schools currently.
• Implement a marketing plan to attract more people to technical training programs and existing skilled jobs.
• Market plan to Northeast Kansas.
• Identify, and where appropriate, apply for grant money for training skilled workers.