Utah has established itself as an economic powerhouse with one of the highest-performing economies in the country, excelling in measures related to innovation, business outlook, per capita GDP growth, social mobility and job creation.
Achieving this has been a generational endeavor, and navigating the next pitch of our economic climb will require us to double down on our cultural instinct to collaborate and move with deliberate speed. The stakes are high — particularly because if we do not deliberately align our economic growth with our quality of life, we risk harming both.
This is why we created Utah Elevated, a comprehensive statewide economic development plan designed to build an ecosystem of industry connectivity, innovation and quality of life. This direction is informed by data and community alignment. The result is a plan and system that link our economic momentum to livability, including housing, access to recreation and other measures of prosperity that benefit Utahns.
The state’s role in the plan
The role of my office in the system, and the state government’s role generally, is similar to that of a guide who provides climbers with expert knowledge of the process, technique and terrain. We help businesses, entrepreneurs and investors access the resources they need to prosper in the long term. Specifically, the Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) serves as a convener, connector and catalyzer.
This means that GOED works to align the input, expertise and capabilities of stakeholders in specific communities, councils such as the statewide Economic Development Council established by the legislature, partners like the Utah Inland Port Authority and Utah League of Cities and Towns, and industry players such as 47G.
What this plan creates
The result is what we call State United — a system of collaborative partnership with a shared vision of prosperity that enables businesses’ ambitions by setting the right conditions and steps out of the way. It also allows us to better identify and capture opportunity.
For example, as we created Utah Elevated, we began to explore new ways of understanding and organizing our economy — most notably by recognizing and acting on the convergence of our experience, innovation and creative economies. While strong independently, these three economic clusters, when viewed at their intersection, reveal significant opportunities that double down on our state’s best differentiators and our quality of life.
To be successful, this effort must be measured using tools aligned with the vision, including comprehensive economic scoring, a quality-of-life index and stress testing that examine Utah’s economy holistically. Our work, our state incentives and our outcomes will be guided by a focus on transparency, accountability and human-centric outcomes.
We invite anyone doing business in Utah to explore Utah Elevated and, more importantly, to engage with us as we work to bring the vision it centers on to life. In true Utah fashion, that engagement is what will move this idea, and our state, forward.