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March 8, 2010
Fellow Alaskans:
Enclosed is the
Alaska Forward Executive Summary and final
report of
Phase I: Situational Analysis of the Alaska
Forward Initiative.
The report is a culmination of four months of
work with the consulting firms IHS Global
Insight, Economic Competitiveness Group, and the
McDowell Group to formulate an analysis of
Alaska’s economy. Some of the main themes that
came from the report include Alaska’s:
• Poor relative economic performance compared
to the rest of the country
• Weak linkages to rapidly expanding global
market opportunities.
• Ignoring opportunities for diversification and
inability to optimize the needs and linkages
within and among the state's existing portfolio
of export-oriented industry "clusters."
• Weak culture of entrepreneurship.
• Sub-par support from the state's economic
foundations compared to other peer states in the
area of transportation and other infrastructure,
quality of workforce/education, and technology.
As a state we are tasked with providing a
quality of life and good jobs amid an uncertain
economic environment. This report and subsequent
cluster group work will help do just that. The
Alaska Partnership for Economic Development is
planning a Statewide Economic Summit in the near
future to
develop action initiatives to be led by the
private sector. We will be looking for your
support and participation as we continue this
planning effort. To obtain more copies of the
document or to learn of the presentation
schedule on Phase I, please do not hesitate to
contact me.
Sincerely,

Marty Metiva
President
Alaska Partnership for Economic Development
(APED)
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