The Economic Development team at Denver South plays a critical role in helping our regional partners create programs that support businesses in the area. Becky Nelson, Economic Development Director at Denver South, explained what her team does and how the latest business survey will help companies.
Why is Denver South conducting this business survey?
This survey is an opportunity for businesses to tell us what matters to them. That way, we can make sure they’re accessing the right resources and support for them. This year, the survey gathers basic information in four areas: real estate; workforce and recruitment; company operations; and policy areas that will impact businesses.
Together, the responses to the survey will help us build an overall picture of the Denver South business climate. We then provide that information to a range of local jurisdiction partners and elected positions to fuel their decision-making. Ultimately, we want this to become a regular survey that helps us take the temperature of local businesses over time to spot emerging trends.
Who should respond to the survey?
If you are employed by or own a business in Denver South, we would love you to respond to the survey. It will only take three minutes of your time. We are looking for companies that operate in the following cities or zip codes: City of Greenwood Village, City of Centennial, City of Lone Tree, Arapahoe, or Douglas County (80111, 80112, 80124, 80126, 80129, 80130, 80134, 80237).
You can complete the survey here: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/DenverSouth-BusinessClimate-Survey
What does the Economic Development team do at Denver South?
One of Denver South’s key functions is to contribute to the economic stability of the region. We mainly achieve this through the recruitment and retention of employers who bring new investment to the area.
Business retention is particularly critical to the health of a local economy; more new jobs are created by companies already in an area, than by incoming companies. Therefore, we want to encourage our Denver South companies to stay here and help them grow. An additional area of focus for our team is supporting the growth of start-up and early-stage companies in our region. This work is done via our Project Nexus program.
Overall, we want to make it easier to operate a business in Denver South: we provide access to a variety of resources designed to meet the specific needs of our businesses and facilitate their success. To that end, we work closely with our local jurisdictional partners who develop programs to support employers. Additional partners include local, state, and federal government agencies, along with other economic development partners, Arapahoe Douglas Works! workforce center, commercial real estate partners, K-12 and higher education institutions, and local chambers of commerce.
How does Denver South work with local companies?
We see our role as amplifying the voices of businesses within our region. We want to understand what our businesses are experiencing so we can advocate for them and point them to the right resources. We do most of our work via one-on-one conversations, talking to local companies about general business operations. For example, when we hear from a company that they’re struggling to hire a particular type of employee, such as software developers or lab technicians, we refer them to Arapahoe/Douglas Works! Workforce Center, which can provide them with targeted resources for talent recruitment.
Businesses are the engine of the region and we work hard to ensure that they have the resources they need. To learn more about how we support existing businesses, email Becky Nelson at Becky@denver-south.com.
