Greg Canfield is chief of the Alabama Development Office.
BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Accelerate Alabama, the state's new strategic plan for economic development, targets 11 business sectors to recruit for new jobs and outlines new legislative goals to help improve existing resources.
The plan, unveiled at the Economic Development Association of Alabama's Winter Conference in Hoover, was developed over the last six months.
Among the goals is an updated branding campaign for the state, including possibly changing the name of the chief recruiting agency -- the Alabama Development Office -- to the Department of Commerce.
Similar agencies in other states are called the Department of Commerce.
Accelerate Alabama has three key drivers, including recruitment of new projects and retention of existing business. The plan also focuses on renewal, or job creation through innovation, entrepreneurship, commercialization and research and development.
For recruitment, targeted business sectors include aerospace/defense, automotive, agricultural products/food production, steel/metal, forestry products, chemicals, biosciences, information technology, enabling technology, distribution/logistics and corporate operations.
Greg Canfield, director of the Alabama Development Office, said the key new territory covered in Accelerate Alabama is the focus on innovation.
"It's the recognition that our research universities and private research institutions are creating great R&D across all disciplines," he said. "There's a golden opportunity for us to commercialize and create businesses that spring out of that R&D."
And, those businesses should stay in Alabama.
"If we're going to be engaged in the R&D here, let's keep the jobs here," Canfield.
A legislative agenda, including the ADO name change, new incentives programs and a statewide council to focus on innovation goals, is being drafted to complement Accelerate Alabama.