Economic visions honed in on the region's strengths.
This was a year filled with economic introspection. In 2004, both the City and State completed studies of the local economy and found that, here, culture is money. The next step, planners agree, is to capitalize further on what already works. They hope, with studies proving the
***image2***
importance of arts and culture, they will get full support. Each of the plans also have raised questions over how to educate New Mexicans to work in these growing fields.
In Santa Fe, the Austin-based firm Angelou Economics came and left Santa Fe with its Economic Development Strategy this spring. The firm first interviewed extensively throughout the city to see what people, small businesses and non-profits want out of an economic plan. The plan was presented this spring at the Lensic to hundreds of Santa Feans [Outtakes, May 5: "If You Plan It…"].
City planners then took what Angelou Economics had found and wrote a list of priorities. The City could use those small steps, slated for completion by the end of June, 2005,
***image1***
to initiate a conscious effort to improve the city's economic base by encouraging what's already here-the things that make Santa Fe the City Different.
The Council approved the list of priorities and, in November, allocated $748,000 to the projects. "[City Council] made the commitment, now there's money to get to work," Kris Swedin, director of the City's Housing and Economic Development department, says. Swedin emphasizes that her department's approach will be a regional one [SFR Talk, Dec. 8: "Plan in Hand"]. The new projects include the creation of a non-profit to guide Santa Fe's cultural economy, encourage local clean energy projects, bring in the Southwest Design Conference in June 2005 and develop training programs for workers in those areas.
Separately, the recent work of Santa Fe Economic Development, Inc.-a non-profit that aims to link similar businesses together in clusters-has taken new steps towards training a workforce. "We try to grow what we already have," Cathy Zacher, the organization's director, says. It formed the Workforce Development Alliance in 2002 and hired Carla Gonzales as full-time head this fall. Gonzales, since, picked up the City's old internship program, where students work at different businesses and find out what skills and education are needed to work in various fields.
The students receive a $500 stipend. "There's a lot of interest in web-design, and the new design technologies used to make films," Gonzales says.
***image3***
The region's artistic flair also was touted in two more studies in November [Brief, Nov. 17: "It's a Cultural Affair"]. A Bureau of Business and Economic Research study reported $20 million in annual taxes in Santa Fe from cultural industries and a study by the Department of Cultural Affairs accounted for $2.5 billion of New Mexico's economy and more than 32,000 jobs. "Everyone in the State government understands the impact of our cultural resources, but this puts it down on paper to convince the most skeptical," Stuart Ashman, secretary of New Mexico's Department of Cultural Affairs, says.
Again, Ashman says, the next step is to educate a workforce. He wants New Mexico's schools to offer courses in historical preservation, museum management and other culturally related fields. He has already spoken to College of Santa Fe, University of New Mexico and New Mexico Highlands University about starting such programs.
