By Shelia Watson

The most effective way to grow the economy in the state and remain competitive on a regional and national scale is through existing and emerging “clusters of innovation.”

This was the message delivered by George Fletcher, executive director of the New Carolina–South Carolina Council on Competitiveness, at the 42nd annual conference of the South Carolina Economic Developers’ Association last month.

Fletcher pointed to specific drivers of regional performance in the Charleston area as models of success.

“Clustering has already been working in several areas in Charleston, especially in our advanced security cluster, also known as homeland security,” he said.

In New Carolina’s progress report published earlier this year, Fletcher noted that “all over the nation and world, cluster strategies are driving economies to more prosperity. A key lesson is that finding, building and nurturing clusters can only happen when someone is dedicated to administrative support for each cluster.”

To provide support for the Lowcountry, New Carolina recently appointed Beth Meredith to direct the Charleston region’s clusters, which include bioscience, aerospace, automotive, creative industries and advanced security.

“I anticipate that clustering will be very successful here,” Meredith said. “There’s already a good road map to follow with the Angelou Report and all of the innovation that’s found in this area. Plus the people here are very open to working together and working cooperatively to make things better.”

Fletcher noted that the cluster concept helps build relationships that support innovation and efficiency, which leads to productivity and prosperity for regions wanting to thrive encourages regions to rally the public and private sectors in support of their clusters.

“Where clusters form, regions grow and attract businesses focused on efficiency, innovation and higher productivity,” he said. “This leads to higher per capita income in these regions. Clustering represents an excellent way of supporting the growth of existing business and new business in South Carolina.”