Amplify BA
Amplifying Broken Arrow
Amplify BA is a 5-year strategic capital investment campaign that will provide the foundation to expand multi-year economic development incentives to create jobs, attract new businesses, retain and expand an existing business, develop our future workforce, foster entrepreneurship, and support a growing, thriving innovative future for our city.
The goals of Amplify BA are ambitious and will positively impact our community well beyond the five-year strategic plan. The initiatives are focused on creating widely shared opportunities, job creation, talent development and recruitment, entrepreneurship, and inclusive growth. Such an aggressive plan requires broad community support to achieve our funding goal. We will be successful if businesses and stakeholders that have an interest in the prosperity of Broken Arrow engage in this strategy and exercise financial leadership by investing in it.
>>> For every new direct dollar earned as a result of Amplify Broken Arrow, another $0.72 in indirect wage earnings are injected into the local economy.
>>> For every new direct job created as a result of Amplify Broken Arrow, an additional 1.1483 indirect jobs are created in the area.
Our Case
As the nation and our local economy recover from the global pandemic, a new landscape for community vibrancy and economic growth is emerging. These changing dynamics create a unique opportunity for Broken Arrow to Amplify its trajectory for growth in the years ahead. Leveraging our assets and proactively addressing challenges before we set the stage for our independence, drive, and innovative spirit to bring an exciting future to bear, ensuring a thriving Broken Arrow for years to come.
>>> Need for Talent
The nationwide labor shortage is particularly acute in Broken Arrow due to the growth and expansion that has taken place in our community over the past several years. Competition among companies and communities has increased, all while the availability of a skilled labor force has declined. Working collaboratively with strategic partners, Amplify BA will establish a creative, comprehensive strategy to address these challenges to ensure our community will be a primary destination for talent.
>>> Workforce Skills Gap
Our community needs to have a plan for developing broad-based workforce solutions to leverage current programs such as the Workforce Center of Excellence through the State of Oklahoma to both address the skill gaps of today and ensure a qualified workforce for tomorrow. Through Amplify BA’s success, we can align workforce development with the needs of existing companies and those we are attracting to ensure access to a strong and diverse talent pipeline.
>>> Need for Comprehensive Economic Development Efforts
The BAEDC has had limited funding to support both business retention and expansion efforts as well as a robust business attraction program. To compete nationally with other communities, Amplify BA will draw increased private sector investment to enable the BAEDC to better deliver future economic growth for Broken Arrow.
>>> Lack of Commercial and Industrial Offerings – Land Use
Our future growth will be driven not only by how we leverage the resources available to us today but also by how we develop the necessary resources for tomorrow. Broken Arrow currently has a shortage of commercial and industrial offerings. For example, in 2019 and 2020, the BAEDC was unable to respond to more than 50% of projects circulated by utilities and the Oklahoma Department of Commerce due to a lack of inventory or shovel-ready sites. In addition, of the direct inquiries the BAEDC has received over the last two years, only 30% of customer needs to match available commercial buildings or developed land.
>>> Fostering of Entrepreneurship and Innovation
Small business is vital to the Broken Arrow economy with start-ups and entrepreneurs contributing greatly to the character of the community. The BAEDC needs increased funding to support and continue the development of this ecosystem vital to Broken Arrow’s future growth.
Achieving success in the years ahead and seizing the opportunity that is at the forefront of Broken Arrow will require broad community engagement and investment in a focused strategy for community and economic development.
