Ten Innovative Economic Development Plans Due This Month in Hartford’s Strong Cities Challenge

As one of three cities selected as part of a competitive process to participate in the Strong Cities Strong Communities (SC2) Initiative under the auspices of the Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce, Hartford has 10 teams of economic development innovators coming down the home stretch in developing and outlining their inventive economic development proposals. The EDA-funded SC2 Hartford Challenge, launched 14 months ago, is in its final phase. Ten multidisciplinary teams of finalists are working on plans aimed at helping to establish Hartford as a “city for entrepreneurs.” The U.S. Economic Development Administration notes that the goal of the SC2 Hartford Challenge is to generate economic development plans that “both leverage local assets and compliment larger trends and opportunities.”

City and community leaders will judge the plans and choose six winners who will share $800,000 in prize money, with the top plan receiving $500,000. The City of Hartford and the EDA will jointly own the winning plans and be able to implement the ideas—both in Hartford and in other cities around the country. Plans are due this week, with six winners to be announced in May.  Funds for the winning plans are provided by EDA.

The two other cities selected — Greensboro, N.C. and Las Vegas — opted to focus on a single project or hire a consulting firm. Hartford officials preferred to provide area residents with an opportunity to create locally-driven proposals and created an open competition, which initially saw 58 teams developing plans, which were then winnowed down to a top 10 last fall.

The most recent descriptions highlighting the teams’ respective economic development plans include:

Hartford.Health.Works (HHW) is an industry-led collaboration with the mission to increase the number of good quality jobs in Hartford by fostering healthcare technology development and manufacturing. To attract existing med tech companies and foster new companies, HHW is creating a FDA-approved, ISO-certified medical device prototyping and manufacturing plant in Hartford and implementing targeted programs to improve access to: A) expertise; B) capital; and C) markets. HHW is also developing biomedical engineering and precision manufacturing education and job training programs at the K-12, college, and graduate school levels. HHW founding partners include: Rising-Tide Health Care, BEACON, and Movia Robotics.

Choose Hartford is a comprehensive initiative to scale up businesses that will create a sustainable regional economy with long-term growth prospects and jobs. The plan aims to increase access to innovative capital options along with an across-the-board effort to ensure collaboration of local, regional, state and federal partners to create the best entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country.

It’s All Here is an asset based economic development model which will build wealth and raise incomes in all of Hartford’s neighborhoods. The team believes that self-employment and small business ownership is the best way to build a new future for all of the city’s residents. Lasting, sustainable economic development has to be built on the talents of city residents, giving access and visibility to new markets and service providers using an interactive website, a multi-lingual call center, physical market locations, and turnkey digital street signage.

Made in Hartford is an entrepreneurial ecosystem to empower Hartford’s community. With a culture of innovation, tradition of industrial adaptation, and healthy urban core, Hartford is ripe for attracting and retaining entrepreneurs. The plan recommends coordinated, strategic actions that will work in tandem with existing investments to provide a sustainable ecosystem for first-time and serial entrepreneurs. Central to this ecosystem is ‘Made-in-Hartford’, a seed accelerator that will cultivate industries and businesses through incubation, mentoring, equity-capital and partnerships. Made-in-Hartford targets Hartford’s established industry clusters and human capital to spark much-needed economic diversification, and at its maturity ancillary initiatives will incentivizing successful entrepreneurs to reinvest in this entrepreneurial ecosystem, bringing about an economic renaissance.

Team Fotofiction: For those of us in the business of innovation, our mantra is: Think outside the box. Unconventional success isn’t born with conventional thinking. Game-changing, outside-the-box ideas often emerge from the most unexpected places. Re-purposing shipping containers is innovative and cutting edge, yet not unproven. From Los Angeles to New Zealand, these containers are being used for a variety of new purposes. The FRATE concept: to create an urban community, where people will live, work, dine and shop in a dynamic, trend-setting environment constructed entirely of modified shipping containers. FRATE thinks inside the box. FRATE is that game changer.

Solutionists focuses on remediating the economic environment that qualified Hartford for the SC2 Challenge, viewing the task as developing a strategy that will result in increased employment opportunities for Hartford residents -- now, and in the future. The plan embraces Social Enterprise and Collective Impact strategies by creating an ecosystem of spirit, policy and financial incentives that encourage and support Social Entrepreneurs in their efforts to start and grow the types of businesses that will produce desired results for Hartford and the Region.

#lovehartford will implement low cost interventions that promote economic development, foster social interactions, and support changing transportation dynamics founded on the growing demand for affordable urban environments that support the sharing economy and reduce reliance on the private automobile. Short-term projects include the demonstration of open streets with pop-up markets and food trucks. Longer-term projects include a bike share system and support for other evolving transportation technology, like the driverless car. #lovehartford will offer micro-loans to grow small business, and will look to provide locations that include creative placemaking through murals, public art, and other cultural programming.

Also among the ten competitors are Entrepreneur Foundation, community bootstrapping through entrepreneurship; Made at Swift, a food-driven innovation cluster to create jobs and improve population health; and CJM Innovations, fostering an entrepreneurial ecosystem for students and young professionals.

Major New Academic, Residence Facilities Opening At State University Campuses

Years in the making, a number of major new facilities are in the midst of coming on  line at Connecticut's four state universities - Central, Eastern, Southern and Western - that are part of the Connecticut State Colleges & Universities (CSCU) system administered by the Board of Regents for Higher Education.  The facilities include a library, residence hall, classroom building, performing arts instructional centers, and a science and laboratory building, among other new and renovated facilities. At Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, students now have a first-rate, 21st century library in which to study, conduct research and meet with their friends and classmates, the university announced this week. A ribbon-cutting ceremony to mark the opening of the “new” Buley Library was held April 20. The event marked the completion of the $31 million project that renovated the original wing of the building. A 12,000-square-foot area that will serve as an atrium has been added to the older 98,000-square-foot wing as part of the project. When combined with the 135,000-square-foot addition that was completed in 2008, the library now encompasses 245,000 square feet.

“This truly is an exciting and energizing time for Southern because we are gaining the physical resources to prepare our students for success in the 21st century knowledge-based economy,” said SCSU President Mary A. Papazian. “The students already have claimed this library as their own.”

Among the other amenities in the four-story complex is a “learning commons”-- an area on the first floor that includes a computer lab, lounge seating, email stations, a reference help desk and an IT help desk. The library houses space for media collections and special collections, on the ground floor. Three classrooms, two computer teaching labs, a seminar room and a conference room also are part of the new Buley.  In addition, a cyber café and a Student Success Center that includes tutoring rooms, a computer lab and conference space are scheduled to open in the fall.

At Central Connecticut State University in New Britain, there is a Fall 2015 target date for completion of a new on-campus residence hall and food services dining facility. That will follow by just two years the opening of a major new classroom building on the CCSU campus.  The four-story academic building houses classes and faculty offices for the sociology, history, anthropology, geography and political science departments, according to university officials.  It includes 17 classrooms, five seminar rooms, seven labs and 71 offices for faculty and administrators.  Now completing construction at the corner of Harold Lewis Drive and Ella Grasso Boulevard, the new $82.3 million, eight-story 220,000 square foot residence hall "will keep CCSU in the vanguard of higher education in operations and facilities," points out CCSU President Jack Miller, noting its ideal fit into the university's strategic plan for the recruitment and retention of new students.

Opening this fall on the campus of Eastern Connecticut State University in Willimantic is a Fine Arts Instructional Center - a 118,000 square foot building that will contain three main performance venues; an auditorium; a procenium theater and a black box theater.    In addition to the performance spaces there will be instructional labs and other spaces in support of the Performing Arts Department.   There will be design studios for the Visual Arts Department including Printmaking, Sculpture, Painting and Drawing. The building will also have three general purpose classrooms and a gallery.  Construction  has been underway for the past two years.

The new residence hall at CCSU will be the school’s tenth, and the largest on any of the four Connecticut state university campuses, according to CCSU officials. Features include over 600 beds, a 2,000 square foot fitness facility, a kitchenette on each floor, a large kitchen and living room on the main floor, and will house approximately 150 suite-style rooms, each with a living room and bathroom shared by four students. Each floor will also have a computer room, a game room and group study rooms and alcoves for one-on-one studying and socializing.  Construction is also scheduled to begin soon on a new food services dining facility located near the north end of campus near the existing residence halls.  The planned $10.3 million, 22,000 square ft. food services dining facility will include areas for food preparation, serving, and accommodate dining for approximately 1,200 residents.

Renovations are also underway at Willard and DiLoreto Halls at CCSU, among the oldest academic buildings on campus. The $61,085,000 project calls for both of the academic buildings to be completely renovated, including the development of a new main entrance with elevators, bathroom facilities, and additional offices and classroom space, along with new heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, with the interiors of the buildings also receiving enhanced lighting, computer technology and classroom/office upgrades.

Last September, Western Connecticut State University opened its new Visual and Performing Arts Center. Students, faculty and staff were on hand to “put the building through its paces” in a multitude of spaces, including the Concert Hall, Studio Theatre, Art Gallery, Painting Studio, Recording Studio, Scene Shop, Dressing Rooms, Sculpture Studio, and M.F.A. Studios. Since the gala opening, the new facility has enhanced the artistic and academic experience for students, faculty, staff and patrons - and received positive notice in regional and national publications.

At 130,000 square feet, this uniquely designed facility is divided into three distinct wings: Theatre Arts, Music and Visual Arts, all connecting together. Students taking courses in the art wing benefit from light shining through double-height, northern-exposed windows in the spacious painting and sculpture studios. They work in photography and graphic design studios equipped with both the latest computer technology and the legacy technology of traditional film development.Two theater rehearsal studios, both equipped with audio/visual technology and sprung dance floors complement the university’s increasingly popular musical theater program. Dressing rooms, practice rooms and individual Master of Fine Arts in Visual Arts studios are all incorporated into the spaces, designed for students so they may experience a professional-quality arts education.

The next major opening among the CSCU institutions will likely be a Science and Laboratory Building at Southern Connecticut, due later this year.  Southern's ongoing expansion of its science programs will be greatly enhanced with the construction of a 103,608-square-foot, four-level academic and laboratory science building. Situated adjacent to Jennings Hall, the current home for the sciences, the new building will enhance the ongoing expansion of Southern’s science programs and the university’s capacity to educate more students in the STEM disciplines – science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

According to Southern's website description, the building will be configured in the shape of an “L,” the new building will work in concert with two pre-existing science buildings — Jennings and Morrill halls — to enclose a new “science enclave.” Bedecked with scientific displays and instrumentation visible from within and outside the building, the new center will house teaching and research training laboratories for nanotechnology, physics and optics, the earth sciences, the environmental sciences, cancer research, astronomy, molecular biology and chemistry.  The building’s two wings will be connected at each of its four floors by an alluring connector windowed along its southern exposure and encircling the newly formed science enclave outside. It is along the glass-enclosed path that built-in displays of optical phenomena, the natural environment, nanotechnology, geological formations, biological specimens, and astronomical observations will be interspersed among sun-filled lounges, all to advance interaction among the different scientific disciplines housed within.

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Nooyi, Miles, Bourke-White to be Inducted into CT Women's Hall of Fame

Three women who made their mark internationally in their respective fields of endeavor will be honored by the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame at the 22nd Annual Induction Ceremony & Celebration this fall. The theme, “Connecticut Women - Global Impact” will be reflected in the noteworthy careers of:

• Carolyn Miles - President and CEO of Save the Children, international leader creating change for children around the world
• Indra Nooyi - Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo known for her global leadership, strategy, corporate responsibility and sustainability efforts
• Margaret Bourke-White - First female photographer for Life magazine and first female American war photojournalist

The induction ceremony will be held on Thursday, November 12, 2015 at the Connecticut Convention Center in Hartford.

To be considered for induction to the Connecticut Women’s Hall of fame, a nominee must:

• be a Connecticut native and/or Connecticut resident
• be the first woman, historic or living, to achieve recognition in her field of endeavor; or have a lifetime of achievement in that field
• have made a significant statewide contribution to arts, athletics, business, government, philanthropy, humanities, science, education, etc.

Nooyi and her family live in Connecticut, and she previously earned a master’s degree at Yale University.  Miles works in Fairfield, where the headquarters of the internationally acclaimed Save the Children is located.  Bourke-White died in 1971 and lived in Connecticut in her later years, after an illustrious landmark career as a photo journalist, most notably for LIFE magazine.

The global Save the Children movement currently serves over 143 million children in the US and in more than 120 countries.  Miles joined the organization in 1998, was COO from 2004-2011, and became President and CEO in September 2011. Under her senior leadership, the organization has more than doubled the number of children it reaches with nutrition, health, education and other programs.  Miles was named this year as one of the 50 World's Greatest Leaders by Fortune magazine.

Nooyi is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of PepsiCo. In its global food and beverage portfolio, PepsiCo has 22 brands that generate more than $1 billion each in annual retail sales. PepsiCo's main businesses include Quaker, Tropicana, Gatorade, Frito-Lay and Pepsi-Cola, with more than $66 billion in annual net revenue.

The Induction Ceremony is the signature program of the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame, which brings the mission of the organization to life. From its inception in 1994, the Ceremony has been a forum for women to gather, share stories and celebrate the achievements of exceptional women who have paved the way for the current generation to enjoy freedoms and choices unheard of even a few decades ago.

While several living women are inducted into the Hall each year, the organization has traditionally placed heavy emphasis on uncovering the stories of extraordinary women and their accomplishments, “stories that heretofore have received little or no recognition.”

The Annual Induction Ceremony typically brings more than 800 of Connecticut’s civic, corporate and government leaders together. Each Inductee is honored with a short tribute film which chronicles her struggles and achievements. These films are currently produced by Karyl Evans, a five-time Emmy Award-winning documentary filmmaker in collaboration with CPTV’s film crew and are also used as educational tools throughout the year.

The Honorary Event Chair for the 2015 Induction Ceremony is Linda Koch Lorimer, Vice President for Global and Strategic Initiatives at Yale University.

Hartford, Bridgeport Turn to Splashy Websites, Slogans to Promote Cities

Connecticut’s major cities have dual personalities on the internet – one aimed primarily at city residents, the other at potential visitors and prospective residents.  While one site is chock full of detailed information that is the lifeline for locals – with listings of city agencies, services, and department contacts – the other is dominated by splashy photographs, engaging messages, and enticing activities. Such is the marketing of urban cores in the age of the internet, mobile technology and social media – with an eye towards economic development and young professionals seeking an urban address.

In Hartford, the government site is www.hartford.gov and the event-laden site is www.hartford.com   The marketing site currently features a photo of the National Champion UConn Huskies basketball team, which fills the entire home page, save for links to Upcoming Events and Restaurants & Bars.  The menu includes Things to Do, Places to Go, and Everything Else (such as a category named Awesome Things).  The theme Hartford Has It, the city’s tagline, appears on both sites.

The www.hartford.gov site is led by an announcement of road closures in the city due to construction, and features links to government agencies, business services and visitors information, and police.  Hartford history highlights and facts about the city are included, along with a heading called “residents,” which includes a directory of city services, public health, public safety, family services and a link to “Pay Your Taxes.”

In Bridgeport, the city services site is  www.bridgeportct.gov but most of the advertising, including a full-page ad in the latest issue of the Fairfield County Business Journal, is for www.bridgeportbettereveryday.com   The site, which features the headline “Park City” above “bridgeport, ct” highlights livability, green Bridgeport, schools, parks and jobs & economy.  The theme of the site, “Bridgeport is getting better every day,” is reflected in the site’s URL, and the text featured on the home page:

“Bridgeport is a city on the way up. We've got a lot of work to do, but we're investing in the future, making our city a place where our kids and grandkids will choose to live, work and raise their families. We're improving the city by building schools, re-opening parks, making downtown more vibrant, and developing the waterfront. And by investing in cleaner energy, we're creating better jobs and our kids will breathe cleaner air. Bridgeport is getting better every day.”

Individual can sign up for emails from the city in order to “Be the first to know about the ways Bridgeport is getting better every day.”  Material on the site is copyrighted by the City of Bridgeport.

The site points out that:

• Bridgeport is becoming one of America’s greenest cities.
• We’ve got a long way to go, but schools in Bridgeport are getting better every day.
• Bridgeport’s been known as “Park City” for well over a century. And for good reason.
• Bridgeport is a great place to live for families, young professionals, seniors, and everyone in between.

In New Haven, the city government website, www.cityofnewhaven.com, includes a home page message from Mayor Toni Harp, and an array of links to various city services.  Although not produced by the city, the websites www.infonewhaven.com and www.visitnewhaven.com offer information, events, and entertainment information about the city.

Museum Store Association Brings National Conference to Hartford; Wadsworth Atheneum Is Award Finalist

The Wadsworth Atheneum’s Museum Store is one of five nominees for the 2015 Museum Store Association (MSA) Visual Merchandising award, which recognizes excellence in visual merchandising by a museum institution. The award will be given on Sunday, April 19 in Hartford – on the final day of the Museum Store Association’s national conference, being held this weekend at the Connecticut Convention Center. Nominations were evaluated based on creative use of resources, collaboration and how well the display extends the museum experience.  The other finalists are the Columbia River Maritime Museum, Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Eastern National and Virginia Museum of Fine Art.

The 2015 MSA Retail Conference & Expo, organizers point out, is designed to help nonprofit retail professionals succeed by offering dynamic learning sessions and opportunities to connect with select MSA vendors who offer products matched with the museum store industry.

In Hartford for the annual conference are approximately 300 museum store professionals and more than 200 select vendors who offer products and services for nonprofit and independent retailers. When the conference location in Hartford was announced 15 months ago, it was expected to bring in 900 participants downtown utilizing an estimated 1,130 room nights, according to organizers.

Learning sessions throughout the conference are presented by “the leading thinkers in nonprofit retailing who share the knowledge you need to run your store, meet the needs of management, make the most out of challenges, be a leader and through retailing contribute to your institution’s brand and extend the experience of your visitors.”

It is the first time the national conference is being hosted in Hartford.  In recent years host cities have been Houston, Los Angeles, New Orleans and Chicago.  The national meeting also includes a “retail boot camp” and a tour of the Mark Twain House and Harriet Beecher Stowe House in Hartford.

The outstanding line-up of speakers includes Roderick Buchanan, the director of buying and retail sales at the British Museum Company, where he has overseen the redevelopment of the stores, products and customer service culture and increased profits four-fold since 2008.  Buchanan will deliver the conference opening keynote on Saturday morning.  The closing keynote speaker on Sunday will be Dick Durrance, described as one of the most versatile photographers of his generation. His well-known portfolio includes images from Vietnam combat, National Geographic stories, global advertising campaigns, National Parks and the world’s great golf courses.

Sessions for industry attendees include Open To Buy Workshop, Retail Boot Camp, 7 Habits of Highly Effective Retailers, Sales Guaranteed: The Only Four Things You Need to Know to Improve Museum Store Sales, Perspectives On Fair Trade, 29 Tech Tools to Create Cool Content for Social Media, Looking at Business Through Your Customers’ Eyes and eCommerce A to Z: Selling the Museum Experience Online.

In addition to the Wadsworth Atheneum, other MSA member institutions in the area include the Connecticut Historical Society Museum & Library, Harriet Beecher Stowe House, New Britain Museum of American Art and Friends of Dinosaur State Park and Arboretum. Manager of the Museum Shop at the Wadsworth Atheneum Museum of Art, Stacey Stachow, is immediate past MSA Board President.

“Retailers often find themselves doing a balancing act every day, performing a variety of functions and responsibilities,” said Jama Rice, MSA Executive Director/CEO. “They balance inventory control, staffing, merchandising, displays, financial management, marketing and even event planning, and at the same time they must stay apprised of all that’s happening at their institutions and stores. The 2015 Conference & Expo will provide tools to help balance the balancing act.”

Now in its 60th year, the Museum Store Association is a nonprofit, international association dedicated to advancing the success of nonprofit retail professionals in extending the brand and contributing to the bottom lines of their institutions. MSA serves over 1,500 members in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Asia and Europe.

CT Is Second-Tier State in Innovation Ranking of States; Earns Top Grades in Investment, Internet

Connecticut is among the second tier of states, described as an “innovation leader,” in the inaugural Innovation Scorecard compiled by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA).  The first-of-its-kind innovation performance index is based on ten criteria, and evaluates all 50 states and Washington, D.C., according to the conduciveness of their legal, regulatory and overall business environments to welcome and encourage innovation. The Innovation Scorecard’s first group of Innovation Champions – those states that earned the highest grades – are Delaware, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and Virginia, as well as the District of Columbia.

Connecticut’s grades range from A- in the “attracts investment” and “fast internet” categories to a C in “tax-friendliness,” D in “innovation friendly sustainable policies,” and F in “right to work.”  The state also received a B in four categories:  entrepreneurial activity, tech workforce, grants STEM degrees and innovation momentum.

The analysis notes that in Connecticut, “the public and private sector are funding incubators including the Connecticut Enterprise Center, Institute of Technology & Business Development and UConn Technology incubation Program to help startups launch their businesses and become financially viable companies.”

The Innovation Scorecard assesses the progress of state policies intended to advance innovation and improve business climates, while also tracking states’ responsiveness to disruptive innovation. Using established economic, educational and legislative data, the report issues grades across ten categories, including: right-to-work laws; policies that support new business models; tax friendliness; Internet speed; and size of the tech workforce.

After the innovation champions group that tops the list, the next category (innovation leader) includes Connecticut and 19 other states, including Vermont and New Hampshire in New England and Washington and Oregon on the West Coast.

Connecticut is one of only five states to receive an A, A- or A+ in the “attracts investment” category.  The others are California, Washington, Massachusetts, and Delaware.  Nine states and Washington, D.C. receive an A, A- or A+ for “fast internet.”  Among them are Connecticut, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

Among the CEA report’s key findings:

• Delaware leads the nation in providing the fastest average Internet speed, at 16,200 kbps;
• The District of Columbia leads the nation in tech jobs per capita;
• Massachusetts and California bring in the most venture capital investment dollars, more than $500 per capita, in the U.S; and
• Massachusetts, California, Washington, Connecticut and Delaware received higher R&D investment than other states.

Plans are for the Innovation Scorecard will be annually updated to reflect states’ evolving policies and any changes in measuring innovation.

Gary Shapiro, president and CEO of CEA, said “The future of growth and economic prosperity in this country is most vibrant in places where policies and political climates serve to unleash the entrepreneurial spirit and can-do attitude that is part of our American DNA. Our hope is that states will use our Scorecard as a measurable guidepost to improve their policies supporting innovation.”

The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA), with more than 2,000 member companies, is the technology trade association representing the $286 billion U.S. consumer electronics industry.

Millennials Present New Challenges to Insurance Industry Seeking Customers

Just as recently appointed Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Katharine L. Wade settles in to her job, the insurance industry is facing new challenges from a new generation. A former Cigna executive, Commissioner Wade has more than 20 years of industry experience and oversees a regulatory agency with jurisdiction over one of the largest insurance industries in the United States.  Hartford has long been considered the nation’s Insurance Capitol, so changes in the industry reverberate across the Constitution State.

It seems insurance companies have their work cut out for them when it comes to engaging their millennial customers. Of all the generations, millennials (born in 1980 to 1996) are the least likely to be fully engaged -- and the most likely to be actively disengaged -- with their primary insurer, according to a recent Gallup survey.

Millennials are the largest generation in the U.S. and will grow to dominate the market in the years to come, Gallup points out, adding that “insurance executives who neglect to take steps to engage this age group do so at their own peril.”

Insurance companies see substantial business gains when they engage customers of any generation, Gallup finds. Compared with their actively disengaged counterparts, engaged insurance customers are less sensitive about pricing when selecting and retaining a primary insurance carrier. They spend more and buy a wider variety of products, including financial offerings, from their insurer than do actively disengaged customers. They also stay with the company longer and are more likely to recommend it to others.

But building and maintaining customer engagement can be challenging -- especially for insurance companies with a diverse customer base. To raise millennials' engagement -- and thereby ensure a more engaged customer base in the future -- Gallup indicates that "leaders must understand how these young customers differ from others in their engagement and consumer behavior."  And they do differ, in substantial ways.

In its 2014 Insurance Panel study, Gallup uncovered insights into what drives millennials to start a relationship or stay in one with an insurance company. The analysis revealed many similarities across generations, but it also uncovered two important approaches to build relationships with millennials, and key factors that differ with past generations.

1. Family is key. Millennials are significantly more likely than other generations to have insurance coverage under a family member who chose the company. When their family members value an insurance company's brand, millennials follow suit. This finding contrasts sharply with older generations' prioritization of factors such as cost and company reputation.
2. Millennials are more likely to buy insurance online. Millennials are more than twice as likely (27% vs. 11%, respectively) as all other generations to purchase their policies online rather than through an agent. Online purchasing is far from the mainstream among insurance consumers overall -- 74% originally purchased with an agent vs. 14% online -- but if this trend among millennials continues to grow, it could substantially change the way insurance companies interact with customers in the coming years.

The bad news?  Millennials are least satisfied of any generation with the online experience, which could contribute to their generally low engagement overall with their primary insurer. Improving interactions with customers online is, therefore, a smart investment toward building strong relationships within this future mainstream customer base, Gallup points out.

As insurance companies consider ways to improve those relationships with millennial customers, Gallup suggests seven key areas worthy of attention:  information security, family incentives, specialized services,  ease of making changes to coverage online, ease of finding answers online, easy access to a range of online services, and overall ease of use in areas including account management, payment and website navigation.

Millennials’ distinctive attitudes also extend to car insurance and long-term care insurance, according to other recent surveys.

Cars are increasingly being rejected by many millennials in favor of public transit or other modes of transportation, including increasingly popular ride-for-hire services.  As a consequence, car insurance is taking a backseat among some, the website NerdWallet reported this month. According to a study by the U.S. Public Interest Research Group, Americans are driving fewer total miles today than eight years ago, and driving fewer miles per person than we did in 1996.  It is a reversal after decades of steady growth.

Millennials are less likely to drive — or even have a driver’s license — than previous generations. From 1983 to 2008, the percentage of Americans age 20 to 24 with a driver’s license fell from about 90 percent of that age group to just over 80 percent, according to a University of Michigan study, the website noted.  If you don’t own a car, you don’t need car insurance.

In addition, Forbes recently reported that many of the nation’s millennials think their boomer parents are doing a lousy job planning for their long-term care needs, according to a survey from Genworth Financial, a leading seller of long-term care insurance policies.

The Aging Across Generations study, conducted with the J&K Solutions research firm, found that 27 percent of millennials would give their parents or loved ones a “failing grade” due to not planning for, or talking about, their long-term care needs.  And the kids say they’ll do better, with more than half (56 percent) of millennials surveyed expressing the view that they will plan for their long-term care needs more effectively than previous generations.

Time will tell.  Other impacts on the industry are likely to be more noticeable more quickly.

As Income Inequality Grows Nationwide, CT's Top 1% Earn More Than in Any State

Connecticut's top 1 percent earned an average of $2.7 million, compared to an average of $52,000 for the rest of the taxpayers -- a ratio of about 51 to 1, according to a report from the Economic Analysis and Research Network (EARN). The data indicate that the top 1 percent of taxpayers in Connecticut earn more than $677,608 — the highest 1-percent income threshold in the nation, according to the report issued earlier this year, based on 2012 data.  In addition, Connecticut has the largest income gap between the top 1 percent of taxpayers and the bottom 99 percent, according to a recent study, and a AP-GfK poll found that 68 percent of Americans believe that wealthy households pay too little in federal taxes. It is little wonder that some describe the nation – as well as Connecticut – as separate and disparate lands.  Income inequality drives the conversation.

The top 1 percent in Connecticut saw incomes grow by 35 percent between 2009 and 2012, while the bottom 99 percent of Connecticut taxpayers saw average real income growth decline by 5.4 percent during the same period, according to the report. In fact, the states in which all income growth between 2009 and 2012 accrued to the top 1 percent include not only Connecticut, but Delaware, Florida, Missouri, South Carolina, North Carolina, Washington, Louisiana, California, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Idaho, Massachusetts, Colorado, New York, Rhode Island, and Nevada.

A recent article in the Boston Globe, Divided Nation, included the following:

• The nation’s 100 richest families have as much wealth as the 80 million families who make up the bottom 50 percent in wealth, according to the University of California, Berkeley.
• By the late 1970’s the wealth gap in America had substantially closed over the previous five decades, with the top .01 percent of Americans holding 7 percent of the nation’s wealth. The trend then reversed. By 2012, the top 0.1 percent controlled 22 percent of the nation’s wealth.  Projections are the percentage will reach 25 percent by next year.
• An estimated 7 million families have lost their homes to foreclosure since 2007, according to Moody’s Analytics. And 6.5 million families still hold mortgages larger than the value of their home.

A study conducted at Harvard Business School last fall found that Americans believe CEOs make roughly 30 times what the average worker makes in the U.S., when in actuality they are making more than 350 times the average worker.  A previous analysis estimated that it takes the typical worker at both McDonald's and Starbucks more than six months to earn what each company's CEO makes in a single hour.

The average Fortune 500 CEO in the United States makes more than $12 million per year, which is nearly five million dollars more than the amount for top CEOs in Switzerland, where the second highest paid CEOs live, more than twice that for those in Germany, where the third highest paid CEOs live, and more than twenty one times that for those in Poland, the Harvard report indicated.

The wealth disparity is also on full display in politics, the Globe points out, noting that 100 super-wealth Americans accounted for 41 percent of contributions in 2012 to so-called Super Political Action Committees (PACs).

Widely reported estimates suggest that compensation of CEOs was about 20 times as much as the typical worker in the 1950s, rising to 42-to-1 in 1980 and 120-to-1 in 2000. In 2013, the ratio stood at 204-to-1 for the S&P 500, with the average of the top 100 companies at nearly 500-to-1, according to a 2013 Bloomberg Businessweek report cited a study by researchers at Rice University and the University of Houston last month, which found that for the vast majority of United States commercial banks, the ratio of CEO-to-employee pay was lower than at the top echelons of the S&P 500.

The EARN report concludes by starkly pointing out that “Policy choices and cultural forces have combined to put downward pressure on the wages and incomes of most Americans even as their productivity has risen. CEOs and financial-sector executives at the commanding heights of the private economy have raked in a rising share of the nation’s expanding economic pie, setting new norms for top incomes often emulated today by college presidents (as well as college football and basketball coaches), surgeons, lawyers, entertainers, and professional athletes.”

Economic Report Finds “Significant Shift” in Destinations for State Exports

Connecticut has become more reliant on exports to drive gross state product growth during the past decade, according to a new report prepared by the Connecticut Economic Resource Center (CERC). In 2003, Connecticut exports as a percent of Gross State Product (GSP) stood at 4.5 percent, increasing to 6.6 percent of GSP in 2013. That growth, CERC points out, makes it “important to analyze Connecticut exports trends to understand how exports will impact Connecticut’s economy in the future.”

In 2014, approximately 46 percent of Connecticut exports were comprised of transportation equipment merchandise, which includes aerospace equipment. And approximately 45 percent of Connecticut exports went to four countries: France, Canada, Germany, and Mexico, according to the report, Eye on Economics – Export Trends for Connecticut.

Although Connecticut still has strong trade ties with Europe and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) countries (Canada, Mexico), there has been “an obvious shift in export growth among its trading partners.”   From 2013 to 2014, Connecticut exports to South America and Asia increased overall, while exports to Europe, Oceania, and the rest of North America (mostly Canada and Mexico) were “generally flat.”

From 2003 to 2014, Connecticut exports to Asia increased by 182 percent, faster than exports to any other region, according to the data.   Economic growth in Asia was primarily driven by growth in China.

The shift in Connecticut export locations “can be partially explained by demand changes in regions that Connecticut trades with,” the report explains, citing changes in the appetite for exports in Europe and Asia. Europe, for example, has “experienced economic weakness since 2008 and has not fully recovered. It has been particularly hit hard by credit market constraints and unemployment, which has reduced consumptions levels, and thus demand for imported merchandise, the CERC report pointed out.

Looking ahead, the CERC analysis anticipates that Connecticut exports “may slow or remain flat” because of “weaker demand in Europe, where the majority of Connecticut exports currently go to; and Asia, which received the second largest amount of Connecticut exports in 2014.”

CERC is a nonprofit corporation and public‐private partnership that provides clients with objective research, marketing and economic development services. The organizations mission is to “provide services consistent with state strategies, leveraging Connecticut’s unique advantages as a premier business location.”

The report was developed by the CERC Research Department, including Alissa DeJonge, Carmel Ford and Matthew Ross.

Norwalk Among 15 Finalists for City Livability Awards; Energy Program Highlighted

The City of Norwalk and Mayor Harry Rilling have been chosen as one of fifteen finalists for the U.S. Conference of Mayors City Livability Awards in the national division of cities with populations under 100,000.  The awards recognize mayoral leadership for developing and implementing programs that improve the quality of life in America’s cities. The program is characterized by the U.S. Conference of Mayors as “the most competitive award program” sponsored by the organization, and honors mayors and city governments for developing innovations that enhance the quality of life in urban areas.        

In its application, the City of Norwalk recognized the work of the Mayor’s Energy and Environment Task Force, chaired by Council member John Kydes, according to city officials.  Mayor Rilling created the Task Force in February 2014 to promote environmentally responsible use of energy and natural resources among citizens and businesses in Norwalk, and to offer them green energy alternatives.

As a finalist, The City of Norwalk has been invited to submit a second application to the judges for the final round of decisions, which will take place in late spring.  A first-place city and four runners-up will be announced at the organization’s annual meeting in June.

The other cities reaching the second round are Aguadilla, PR; Camuy, PR; Carmel, IN; Davie, FL; Hattiesburg, MS; Norcross, GA; Orland Park, IL; Pontiac, MI; Renton, WA; Rochester Hills, MI; Sumter, SC; Sunrise, FL; Warren, OH; and Westland, MI. 

Last year, New Orleans, LA Mayor Mitch Landrieu and West Sacramento, CA Mayor Chris Cabaldon were awarded first place honors – for cities above and below 100,000 population respectively -  in the 2014 City Livability Awards, from a pool of over 200 applicants. Honorable mention for cities with populations of less than 100,000 was given to Beverly Hills (CA), Braintree (MA), Roanoke (VA) Tamarac (FL) and York (PA).

Mayor Bill Finch and the City of Bridgeport were recognized with an Outstanding Achievement Award among cities with populations over 100,000 in 2012, for the city’s Brownfields Remediation and Redevelopment Program – the City’s focus on reclaiming dormant brownfields to spur redevelopment.  That same year, Hartford and Mayor Pedro Segarra also earned an Outstanding Achievement Award.

Established in 1979, the City Livability Awards are given annually to ten mayors and their cities--a first-place award and four Outstanding Achievement Awards for cities under 100,000 population, and a first-place and four Outstanding Achievement Awards for cities of 100,000 or more inhabitants.

The U.S. Conference of Mayors is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more. There are nearly 1,400 such cities in the country today, and each city is represented in the Conference by its chief elected official, the mayor.