I was in Cincinnati recently and caught Carol Coletta of CEOs for Cities, Talent Dividend Tour. [It was a gracious coincidence of being in the right place at the right time and only cost me a tall mocha, no whip for a ride to the event. Thanks Carla!] The folks around the table were a good diversity of smart people, including several YPs. The Talent Dividend tour shines the light on how shifting the entire educational distribution curve just 1% to the right offers a city varying degrees of economic impact. For Cincinnati, 1% adds approximately 14,500 more students with four-year degrees to the area, creating an economic impact of $1.6 billon.
See the full article for more information: How to Add $1.6 billion to the Region’s Economy.
This framework breaks a very large and daunting goal into manageable, concrete numbers that are achievable when collaboration exists. The folks around the table can walk away with real numbers and attainable goals.
In Cincinnati $1.6 billion would buy 12,121 houses, four years of tuition for 42,558 in-state students at the University of Cincinnati, or five Great American Towers, a new skyscraper – designed to achieve LEED certification - that’s being built in the city square with an expected completion of 2011. That’s a big shopping cart.
It’s really no wonder that Cincinnati is so focused on education. From our recent research on Next Cities, Cincinnati ranks #7 for cities between 200,000 to 500,000 in population. Their educational opportunities, quality of education, and life-long learning scores are well above the national average. Keep up the good work, Cincinatti! I think you’re primed to move the education curve 1%.
So what are you doing to provide 1% more for your city?
Find out more about CEOs for Cities here.
