Indiana is dedicating $1 billion to further growth of agriculture and life science businesses and jobs to the central Indiana area over the next 10 years, with the hope of bringing in 100,000 high-wage jobs.
Gov. Mike Braun announced the state’s new commitment on Tuesday, which he says will lean into the state’s already expansive industry around human therapeutics, animal health, agricultural technology, and biotechnology.
“This historic investment will empower region-led growth, bring in more jobs with higher wages, and further establish Indiana as a state for cutting-edge life sciences,” Braun said during a press conference.
None of the $1 billion investment has been allocated yet to any particular business or industry.Indiana Secretary of Commerce David Adams said that this announcement is about declaring Indiana open for business for life science industries.
“We're actually planting a flag in the ground for the next 10 years that says we're committed to life sciences,” Adams said on Tuesday. “So on a global basis, take note, Indiana is serious about life sciences.”
Adams said the Indiana Economic Development Corporation will dedicate about a third of its resources to this initiative.
Braun also said that the state will award its resources based on performance and on whether the industry can prove it will bring in high-wage jobs.
Adams said that the IEDC’s guidelines for judging will be based on whether a particular job is above 125% of the county wage where the business will be located.
Braun said that this effort will be focused on the central Indiana area. Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness will help facilitate the effort through his work as the chair of the new Central Indiana Regional Development Authority or CIRDA.
CIRDA is comprised of 10 counties in central Indiana: Marion, Hancock, Morgan, Johnson, Putnam, Hendricks, Boone, Hamilton, Madison and Tipton counties.
Today’s announcement is a continuation of the governor’s office and the IEDC’s work on creating new regional development visions across the state to boost more high-wage job growth.
The 15 regions across the state were to submit plans to the state on how they grow their regional economies, and the central Indiana region’s plan was the first one that was able to launch, Braun said.
Fishers Mayor Scott Fadness said they plan to focus on growing the kinds of industry that are already developing in his city and central Indiana.
“That makes our story very compelling, because we already have the industry clusters here today,” Fadness said. “Now we're going to build out the rest of that ecosystem.”
Indiana workforce leaders have signaled the need to expand the state’s skilled workforce in the coming years.
Last year, Ivy Tech Community College released a report stating that Indiana will need to find 82,000 skilled workers each year through 2035 to meet the state’s needs in its expanding sectors of advanced manufacturing, transportation and logistics, healthcare, and technology.
Braun also pointed to alignment with Indiana’s higher education institutions like Purdue University and Indiana University, which have also agreed to support this investment.
Major companies like the Cook Group, Eli Lilly and Company, and Elanco Animal Health also backed the initiative on Tuesday.
Contact Government Reporter Caroline Beck at cbeck@wfyi.org