REGIONALISMGrowing Together to Expand

Opportunity to All

6STRENGTHS, WEAKNESSES, OPPORTUNITIES

AND THREATS

Chapter 6

Chapter 6: SWOT Analysis

The previous chapters provided the historical and contemporary context of Cleveland. The next section aims to synthesize contemporary issues and align them to risks, assets and liabilities. Among Cleveland’s noted strengths are its residents, community activism and philanthropy, political leadership, the health care sector and a broad array of physical and cultural amenities compared to other Ohio regions. These strengths, however, occur alongside weaknesses ranging from educational challenges and racial disparities to a somewhat negative regional image and lack of success attracting firms and individuals into the local innovation cycle.

Amplifying the region’s strengths and limiting its weaknesses requires a strategic look ahead. One strategic need is to reduce the growing economic schism between Cleveland and the rest of the Northeast Ohio region. As regional cooperation becomes more relevant, the perceived (and real) risk of diluted African American political voice needs to be addressed at the grassroots level, inclusive of diverse African American voices. Additionally, regional strategies which view racial and economic inclusion as complimentary (or even primary), must supersede those which promote efficiency alone. Lastly, as the region attempts to move forward into the competitive global economy, it should consider the cost of “doing nothing.” A question as to what the opportunity costs are, of not addressing the root causes of population decline and racially disparate outcomes, can be a powerful legislative and strategic tool.

Along with these “threats” are opportunities for integrating African Americans into the innovation cycle, increased representation of African American Minority Business Enterprises (MBEs) in emerging sectors, growth capital, integrated networks of traded and local African American businesses, and increased ethnic, political, and socially diverse households in neighborhoods of opportunity. Below is a brief explanation of these issues, followed by a matrix of regional strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.

1. Strengths (Present Conditions Promoting Inclusion and Equity for African Americans)

• Resident resiliency: Decades of economic and social decline tested the resolve of Cleveland’s residents and leaders – particularly African Americans. Inspired by place identity, a strong religious community, and community-focused organizations, African American residents possess a hopeful outlook on their ability to address the challenges in the community and the region.

• Neighborhood character and history: Cleveland was the industrial ‘Silicon Valley’ of the United States throughout much of the early 20th century. This history of innovation and the City’s continued resilience in facing recent economic hardship should be a galvanizing force. Further, a rich political, ethnic and industrial history is enriched with new perspectives from recent émigrés to Cleveland’s core neighborhoods and inner-ring suburbs.

• Highly developed philanthropy and community development networks: From affordable housing to venture capital, Cleveland’s regional challenges have led

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to successful interventions by local established networks. The efforts of these organizations are routinely cited as model best practices locally and on the national stage.

• Pro-regional political climate: From Mayor Jackson to County Commissioner Lawson-Jones, Congresswoman Tubbs-Jones and Sandra Scott Pierce, a forum for regionally-focused, inclusionary strategies is emerging. This also includes a number of regional initiatives, such as “Voices and Choices.” Putting forth a ‘linked fate’ approach that promotes inclusion, accountability and competition has great potential with the present leadership dynamic.

• Existing momentum to invest in regional economic competitiveness: As Ohio tries to establish a firm footing in economic fundamentals of the 21st century, it has looked to public resources to reduce market and non-market barriers. As part of an ambitious innovation-based economic development strategy, groups such as the Third Frontier, the Blue Ribbon Task Force Action Plan and the Fund For Our Economic Future have taken on increasingly unique and important roles in establishing foundations which all in the region should be encouraged to build upon.

• Natural, cultural, architectural and sports amenities: These attractions are a part of the portfolio of regional assets capable of attracting knowledge workers, and uplifting the quality of life for all residents. These amenities spur tourism and value creation. African Americans in the city of Cleveland have the potential to leverage the benefits of these amenities.

• World-renowned health care sector: The health care sector in Cleveland is a national leader in the field. Health care has demonstrated the capacity to attract and innovate – a tell-tale sign of an industry leader. African American entrepreneurial activity and career track employment in health care are critical. Shaping a common ground between the mission of health care and necessary economic interests is an example of a mutually constructive arrangement that leverages local ties.

2. Weaknesses (Present Conditions Serving As Barriers to Inclusion and Equity for African Americans)

• Educational disparities, racialized outcomes: To some, education is the principal challenge to meeting the region’s needs; as one stakeholder put it, “everything else is a by-product.” For African Americans, the public education system has become a part of a stream of “negative social experiences” due to the lack of quality education. The legacy of racialized outcomes is a function of structures yielding educational disparity between Black and White students. To remedy the problem in Cleveland and to create inclusive, equitable educational outcomes, contributing factors must be addressed including land use, municipal fragmentation, and housing policy.

• New economy representation: Cleveland as a region has limited entrepreneurship representation in the ‘New Economy’ sectors. For African American entrepreneurs the lack of representation is alarming. The region does,

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however, boast a strong MBE core, but more must be done to extend this beyond the sectors of service and materials-oriented businesses.

• Perception of manufacturing losses as “the” economic decline issue: Manufacturing losses are only a reflection of the broader issue – a void in the scale and frequency of firms participating in New Economy sectors. This is especially true for African American firms and the workforce. Lew Platt once said, “Formerly successful companies did not make gigantic mistakes. The only real mistake they made was to keep doing whatever it was that had made them successful for a little too long.” Statistics tell us that the regional decline is due to losses in manufacturing, but also critical was a conservative practice that constrained innovation by remaining in the region’s core businesses as they became less value-producing. As a result, African Americans in these sectors were ill-prepared educationally to transition into changing opportunities. For everyone in the region, the challenge is to regain Cleveland’s 1940s position as an innovation leader, when it was among the nation’s highest in educational attainment and patent filings.

3. Opportunities (Events and Conditions from which African Americans Can Benefit)

• Integrating African Americans into the innovation cycle: Much of the momentum and resources around regional economies is squarely focused on how to expand existing sectors in the New Economy and how to attract new entrants from those sectors. Leadership must make it a priority to steer African Americans to potential transformative, ameliorative opportunities by inserting African American representation into this process. However, leadership must not aggressively discount local businesses as scalable economic opportunities.

• Increased representation of African American MBEs in emerging sectors: The region’s emerging sectors in business, health care, and technology need more representation by African American firms. Much of the region’s African American workforce is in occupations that are low-paying, declining or receiving limited investment.

• Growth Capital, Integrated Networks of Traded and Local African American Businesses: Injections of growth capital to traded African American businesses and local firms are essential to sustaining business and innovation. Providing an integrated portfolio-based approach to capitalizing startups or expanding existing firms is a business and community development investment. African American businesses and residents, particularly those in Cleveland’s core neighborhoods and inner-ring suburbs, have a particularly vested interest in African American business development.

• Increased ethnic, political, and social diversity in Greater Cleveland’s Neighborhoods of Opportunity: As demographic trends shift, neighborhoods will have to be opportunity-rich in order to attract the more mobile households. As urban living is cast more favorably, reaching out to middle- and working- class African American households is a strategic means of creating and sustaining opportunity rich neighborhoods.

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• School funding reform: The Fund For Our Economic Future and Team NEO were partners in a recent study of area residents’ attitudes about Northeast Ohio’s economic future and regional cooperation. Perhaps the most critical, and to some, surprising, results revolved around questions of regional funding for education. When asked, “Would you favor or oppose having a regional system of school funding that would increase equity across public school districts but could be at the expense of wealthier school districts?” 56% of respondents in Northeast Ohio stated that they supported regional systems of school funding.

• Housing and land use coordination: People intuitively understand the connection

between housing accessibility and job success. Getting more affordable housing choices in areas of job growth is a critical step in growing the region’s economic base.

• Meaningful regional cooperation: Necessity, as the saying goes, is the mother of

invention, and Cleveland is experiencing the necessity of working together to promote a successful economic future for all of the region’s residents. The dialogue that is emerging across various sectors in the region – business, education, social service, religious service, philanthropy – is explicitly addressing economic productivity, personal and community well-being, and economic and racial inclusion. On this stage, Cleveland is leading, not lagging, the nation.

4. Threats (Dynamics Affecting African Americans)

• Growing economic schism between Cleveland and the rest of the region: Leadership cites spatial segregation and a lack of diversity in economic activity as drivers of the pronounced cleavages between the City and its suburbs. Some say this has spawned “territorialism” and ultra-competitive, small-scale competition. Some African Americans in Cleveland perceive that their suburban counterparts are colluding and conspiring against the City’s prosperity.

• Perceived (and real) risk of diluted African American political voice under “regionalism”: Closely related to the economic schism between City and suburbs is the perception of reduced political power under regional arrangements. For African Americans, a legacy of geographic isolation and marginalization drove a responsive political strength in the City, which may be threatened by governmental regionalism. Sensitivity to the potential pitfalls, tradeoffs, short-term versus long-term gains and losses associated with regional political structures is critical.

• Regional strategies which view inclusion as secondary to efficiency: Established organizations such as NOACA, RTA, and well-positioned commissions like the Blue Ribbon Task Force, advocate for regional reform. They also run the risk of not addressing or tangentially addressing inclusion goals. These actions can have a direct effect on African Americans by exacerbating existing inequitable conditions. Strategies such as innovation-focused economic development and smart growth position themselves as race-neutral and comprehensive, but in several instances discount the reality of racialized outcomes. Working together

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with these entities now to broaden their vision reduces the later risk of unintended consequences, and could mobilize broader support.

• “Doing Nothing”: There is strong evidence that Cleveland, like many regions in Ohio, is suffering from an “innovation drain,” population loss, and employment declines. What effect can such sustained trends have on the region if appropriate policy responses are not formulated? Substantive means to avert this threat require a sense of urgency. African American constituencies can quantify and spatially identify the extent and depth of these trends to discuss the need to integrate regional development with disparity reduction goals, and increase inclusion in the region.

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Resident resiliency Neighborhood character and history Highly developed philanthropy, community development network

Pro-regional political climate at the county and city level

Existing momentum at the state, county, local and philanthropic levels to invest in regional economic competitiveness

Natural, cultural, sports amenities World-renowned health care sectors

STRENGTHS

Educational disparities and racialized outcomes

Limited representation in the ‘New Economy’ sectors

Perception of manufacturing losses as “the” economic decline issue

WEAKNESSES

Integrating African Americans into the innovation cycle

Increased representation of African American MBEs in emerging sectors

Growth capital and integrated networks of traded and local African American businesses

Increased ethnic, political, and socially diverse households in Greater Cleveland’s neighborhoods of opportunity

School funding reform Housing and land use coordination Meaningful regional cooperation

OPPORTUNITIES

Growing economic schism between Cleveland and rest of the region

Perceived (and real) risk of diluted African American political voice under governmental regionalism

Regional structures which view inclusion as secondary to efficiency, instead of two equal priorities

“Doing Nothing” – Opportunity cost of not addressing root causes of population decline and racially disparate outcomes

THREATS

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