Team NEO, Partners Boast $2B in Projects in 2022

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Team NEO, in partnership with JobsOhio and the Northeast Ohio Economic Development Network, reported Monday the organization completed 88 projects in 2022 that will generate nearly 5,700 jobs, $304 million in annual payroll and $2 billion in capital investment in the region, while also advancing collaborative efforts to create a more vibrant regional economy.

The findings were released as part of Team NEO’s Annual Performance and Impact Report.

“As Team NEO enters its 20th year as Northeast Ohio’s regional economic development partner, I’m gratified by the progress made to grow businesses, create jobs and build prosperity for everyone in the Northeast Ohio Region,” Team NEO CEO Bill Koehler said.

The highlights in the organization’s Impact Report include:

• In 2022, the Smart Manufacturing Cluster, along with partners, presented the Electronic Vehicle (EV) Conference. The event drew a crowd of more than 350 manufacturers and solution providers that gathered to play a meaningful role in the $400 billion nationwide EV supply chain opportunity.
• In 2022, Team NEO and local economic development organizations completed 894 business retention and expansion calls that resulted in 20 project wins as a direct result and added 25 projects to the pipeline.
• Team NEO released its sixth annual Aligning Opportunities report, a data-rich research report to equip the Northeast Ohio Region’s education, talent and workforce ecosystems with insights into the state of current and emerging needs of the region’s employers. 
• Other reports in 2022 focused on diverse labor pools to ensure Northeast Ohio is tapping into all available talent. These reports included Misaligned Opportunities, which examined opportunities for STEM occupations in communities of color; Lost Opportunities, examining gender inequities in the region’s talent pool; and Untapped Opportunities, with insights into how tapping into the veteran pool can help create a vibrant and more equitable economy.
• Team NEO leveraged JobsOhio programs to build a pipeline of competitive sites, including the Inclusive Project Planning Program to assist small- and medium-size distressed communities and the Ohio Site Inventory Program for grants and low-interest loans for speculative site and building development projects.
• Along with the Fund for Our Economic Future, Team NEO jointly released Environment, Social, and Governance to the Power of Place to assist companies with ESG and diversity, equity and inclusion strategies. The, first-of-its-kind tool enables businesses to compare development sites across Northeast Ohio against factors related to racial equity, climate change and access to talent.
• Team NEO launched a new brand to showcase the region’s most marketable strengths. A new website, northeastohioregion.com, highlights the case for business investment in the Northeast Ohio Region, as well as support offered by Team NEO and Northeast Ohio’s coordinated economic development network.
• Created digital campaigns targeting business expansion and/or relocation decision makers, focusing on emerging industries including electric vehicles and aerospace.
• Team NEO hosted more than 400 direct engagement calls with municipal, city and county economic development directors to share local and regional economic development strategies.

Published by The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.