Regional collaboration and action on expanding career pathways, fostering innovation, and enhancing quality of place are the key goals in a draft economic strategy for Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties now available for public comment.

The Resilience Roadmap will be the two-county region’s first-ever Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS), a federally recognized five-year plan that serves as a prerequisite for a number of federal, philanthropic and other funding for entities throughout the region.

Developed with guidance from a 30-member cross-sector strategy committee and suggestions from soeme 400 stakeholders, the Roadmap expands on the work of REACH 2030, designated as the region’s interim CEDS.

It identifies dozens of actions for building a diversified, inclusive and resilient Central Coast economy and pinpoints three large-scale regional initiatives with the greatest potential to create transformational change:

• Launching new career pathways into aerospace, precision manufacturing, technology, agriculture and ag-tech, clean tech, and renewable energy.
• Revving the region’s entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem.
• Establishing a regional coalition to increase the amount of attainable and affordable housing.

“The Resilience Roadmap lights the path for building our regional economy from within and raising the quality of life for everyone who lives and works here,” said Melissa James, REACH president/CEO.

“It advances the REACH 2030 vision of a Central Coast where current and future generations have the opportunity to thrive by laying out specific actions that a range of players in government, higher education, nonprofits and industry can take both collectively and in their own spheres,” she said.

REACH is facilitating development of the CEDS as administrator of a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Nuclear Closure Communities program, with required community matching funds provided by Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties, and Bank of America.

Developed under EDA guidelines with consulting from Austin-based TIP Strategies, the Roadmap integrates analysis of the regional socio-economic landscape — with comparative demographic, industry and workforce data that can be explored online in an Economic Explorer and Workforce Analysis — with significant community engagement.

Led by the Strategy Committee — composed of government, education, nonprofit and business representatives from across the region — comments were collected from a broad spectrum of participants through roundtables, industry councils, focus groups and interviews, and distilled into six dozen strategies and actions under the three goal areas of people, innovation and place.

Public comment is open through Oct. 12. Comments can be emailed to cedscomment@reachcentralcoast.org or mailed to: REACH/CEDS comments, PO Box 13201, San Luis Obispo, CA 93406.

The document is available in English and Spanish at reachcentralcoast.org/ceds. A printed copy is available upon emailed request. Refer to the page number or section heading when submitting a comment.

All comments will be reviewed and taken under consideration by the strategy committee, which will then revise the draft strategy before submitting it to the EDA for approval, which is expected in early 2024. The committee will oversee implementation of the Roadmap, planning for which is getting underway.

“So much good work is going on in our region, and, since Santa Barbara and SLO counties are so intimately connected, we still have room to deepen and improve upon what’s already happening,” said Jackie Carrera, Santa Barbara Foundation president/CEO.

“I’m excited to see how this collective vision can inspire and focus efforts to make the Central Coast a better place for everyone who lives here,” Carrera said.

“We’re proud to partner in this critical work to lift up residents of the Central Coast,” said Greg Bland, Bank of America senior vice president/business banking in San Luis Obispo.

“By working together as a region and spurring new investment, we can equitably increase economic mobility and ensure all Central Coast residents have access to good jobs to support their families,” he said. 

Fore more about REACH, which serves the Central Coast region spanning San Luis Obispo and Santa Barbara counties, visit reachcentralcoast.org.