Online survey aims to improve business climate

It is well known that the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, in recent years, has been one of the fastest growing regions in the country. With that growth has come concerns about how to best manage it for the benefit of those who live here.

A vibrant business community capable of offering paths of opportunity to residents is a major component of local quality of life. Although we still send the majority of our workforce down the Glenn Highway each morning to jobs in Anchorage, the Mat-Su, increasingly, is becoming a self-sustained micro-economy with an expanding array of jobs that provide an ever-growing local economic impact.

While attracting new businesses to the area can be part of a comprehensive economic development strategy, the vitality of any local economy is equally dependent on the nurturing of existing businesses. To assist in fostering a positive local business climate, Mat-Su Resource Conservation and Development Inc. has developed a survey for business owners designed to aid in the understanding of business retention and expansion.

A joint effort of the Alaska Industrial Development Export Authority, the Houston, Palmer and Wasilla chambers of commerce and the Mat-Su RC&D, the online survey will allow businesses to identify some of their key needs and concerns. Several businesses around the Valley have been contacted by e-mail about the online survey, which can be found, along with a wealth of other business-related information, at bit.ly/Y2L94h.

Others not contacted are welcome to take the survey, as well, since the more data that is collected, the better the analysis can be. The information will help stakeholders better understand how business people view the local economy and what can be done to improve the region as a place to do business.

We have come a long way as a community, but there is still work to be done. This survey is part of that work. It is a fitting project for the Mat-Su RC&D, which is one of 12 legislatively sanctioned Alaska Regional Development Organizations, a statewide network of locally based agencies charged with stimulating economic development and producing healthier local economies.

The continued strength of our local economy is a goal we should all support. So we encourage all local businesses to let their voices be heard by participating in the survey.

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• Mat-Su Resource Conservation and Development Council:

bit.ly/WBj494

• Alaska Regional Development Organizations:

bit.ly/15ESU5X