The Economic Development Partnership of Alabama (EDPA) has announced the establishment of the Alabama Business Intelligence Center (ABIC), which will serve to identify growth opportunities for the state.
The EDPA made the announcement Monday at the Economic Development Association of Alabama (EDAA) Conference in Point Clear.
According to a release, the ABIC will generate actionable data insights for the recruitment and retention of businesses. In its initial stages, the center will focus on industries, companies and executives that align with Alabama’s value proposition.
With a goal of positioning Alabama as a driver of business growth and investment, ABIC will utilize intelligence and resources to formulate economic development leads by leveraging data in partnership with state and local partners.
According to EDPA president Greg Barker, the center plans to be a thought-leader on industry trends and will seek to secure increased investment for Alabama businesses.
“Every business sector is increasingly dependent upon quality business intelligence to develop actionable strategies,” said Barker in EDPA’s announcement. “Economic development is not any different, and I am completely confident that the Alabama Business Intelligence Center will be able to provide the needed business intelligence so Alabama can continue to build on its economic development success.”
Lauren Hyde, a chartered financial analyst who will serve as ABIC’s first executive director, advised that the center was dedicated “to long-term investment in Alabama.”
“Success for the Alabama Business Intelligence Center looks like success for our partners,” stated Hyde. “ABIC will utilize a risk-return framework of thinking when analyzing opportunities. We are committed to long-term investment in Alabama. It’s not just dollars, incentives or time. It’s jobs and infrastructure. And we’re here to generate the actionable data insights needed to encourage this investment.”
ABIC and the EDPA’s business development team will actively partner to produce leads across the Yellowhammer State. The center will also serve as a resource to the Alabama Department of Commerce, the state’s leading economic development entity.
Partnering with Opportunity Alabama, ABIC will collaborate with local stakeholders to drive economic investment in underserved communities and help in COVID-19 pandemic recovery efforts.
Opportunity Alabama founder and CEO Alex Flachsbart asserted that its partnership with ABIC would prove vital in implementing the initiative, which was made possible by funding through a CARES Act Recovery Assistance grant received in 2021 from the U.S. Economic Development Administration.
“In order to execute substantive, place-based strategic interventions, we need to understand local communities in a data-driven way, and ABIC will allow us to do just that,” noted Flachsbart. “We are fortunate to have someone of Lauren’s caliber providing actionable business intelligence statewide and grateful to the Economic Development Administration for supporting this effort.”
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
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