The City of Saint Paul is involved in an initiative to position the Minneapolis Saint Paul region as the world’s premier business location and strengthen our diverse economy to compete in the global marketplace. A Minneapolis Saint Paul Metropolitan Business Plan is guiding our efforts to coordinate a regional approach to economic development.

Minneapolis Saint Paul Metropolitan Business Plan

Executive Summary - April 2011
Complete Business Plan - April 2011
Accelerate MSP - A Minneapolis Saint Paul regional prospectus for stimulating the entrepreneurial ecosystem
Minneapolis Saint Paul Business Plan Presentation - Presented by Mayors Coleman and Rybak in Washington, D.C. on April 11, 2011

The Minneapolis Saint Paul Metro Business Plan contains five integrated regional economic development strategies:

• Regional Economic Development Partnership (REDP) spearheaded by the Itasca Project to integrate the activities of forty economic development organizations in the region to provide a more effective model for retaining and recruiting firms to the region.
• The Regional Cluster Initiative, a collaboration among Urban Land Institute of Minnesota, Regional Council of Mayors, Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs, Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, and the BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota to establish a network and action plan to support the region’s medical devices cluster.
• Thinc.GreenMSP, an initiative to strengthen our green manufacturing base and brand the region as great places to develop green business.
• The Corridors of Opportunity, an initiative to improve access to regional opportunities by advancing the transit system, connecting land use and transit investments, maximizing community benefits and creating new regional public/private partnerships. This effort received $16 million in funding by the national philanthropic collaborative, Living Cities.
• Accelerate MSP, a strategy under development that will use our core strengths to stimulate the formation and growth of new businesses across industries.

Saint Paul Mayor Chris Coleman and Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak are jointly presenting the first-ever Metropolitan Business Plan in Washington, D.C. on April 11 at a forum hosted by the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program.

Presentation given by Mayor Coleman and Mayor Rybak

Event website

Video of Mayor Coleman discussing how regions must emulate entrepreneurs (00:57)

On December 8, 2010, Urban Land Institute Minnesota/Regional Council of Mayors and its partners – the Itasca Project, the cities of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, the Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) and the Target Corporation - shared the stage with international leaders at the Global Metro Summit in Chicago sponsored by the Brookings Institution, Time Magazine and the London School of Economics. Mayors Chris Coleman and R.T. Rybak presented the findings from a year-long effort to produce the Minneapolis Saint Paul Metropolitan Business Plan discussion draft. Below are links to materials and information from the summit.

Presentation given by Mayor Coleman and Mayor Rybak

Bruce Katz's presentation and video highlights. Mr. Katz, Vice President and Director, Metropolitan Policy Program, The Brookings Institution, was a keynote speaker at the Global Metro Summit.

Global Metro Summit website