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,