How are companies from across the globe attracted to a region technically not even on a map?

That is the question the Lehigh Valley Economic Development Corporation is asking Gardner Economics, an Atlanta-based site selector.

Easton, Allentown, Bethlehem and, even Catasauqua, can be found on an old-fashioned geographical map or via a GPS unit.

But, chances are, the "Lehigh Valley" will not show up in print or on a digital direction finder.

How are companies from across the United States or the globe to know the Lehigh Valley exists and is the third largest metropolitan area in the commonwealth?

How are those companies to know the Valley's population has been growing steadily over the last decade, salaries are low and education levels high?

That is the task the LVEDC has assigned to Gardner Economics, an Atlanta, Ga.-based site selector that helps companies decide where to build, to locate or relocate.

President and CEO of the LVEDC Don Cunningham said the first step toward getting others to know the Valley is to find out what the Valley is.

"Know thyself," Cunningham said, at a meeting of local government officials from Northampton and Lehigh counties recently at Whitehall High School .

"[Before we can market ourselves globally,] we need to take a hard look at ourselves in comparison to other regions and understand our strengths, weaknesses and opportunities and to develop our plans and strategies from an informed and realistic perspective," Cunningham said. "We can't afford to guess at things.

"We need to understand our own backyard … how we compare in the marketplace and our unique assets [we bring] to the market.

"This will make our strategies and efforts informed and cost-effective."

Cunningham explained why Gardner Economics was chosen to lead the study.

"We chose Mr. Gardner because his firm looks at companies that look at locales like ours," Cunningham said.

Gardner said his firm works with companies around the world to identify where to be and when to "move the ball forward.

"What many locales don't realize is with information available at your fingertips, companies are looking at you before you know they are looking at you," Gardner said.

He said regions like the Lehigh Valley should always be "shovel ready."

Companies expect there is already an established infrastructure – that water, sewer, power and communication utilities are already in place.

Gardner said companies generally look at the "quality of place" factor first.

The first component to this is public safety– if there is a low crime rate.

The second component is health care facilities: if hospitals and trauma centers are close-by.

Additional factors include housing availability and costs, public schools, colleges, climate, recreation and cultural opportunities.

"Being so close to Philadelphia and New York City, we offer an opportunity for cultural exploration, colleges and universities that are second to none and low crime rates," Holly Edinger, study director of Envision Lehigh Valley said. Edinger said Envision Lehigh Valley partnered with the LVEDC to engage residents to create a sustainable Lehigh Valley.

Envision Lehigh Valley asked residents, "What do you want the future of the Lehigh Valley to be?"

The group focuses on six areas of growth in each of the three major cities in the Valley, including affordable and fair housing, fresh food access, transportation, economic development and climate and energy efficiency.

In addition to studying these factors, Gardner's group would examine how the region compares to others.

Gardner said salaries, as compared to the rest of the state and to the rest of the country, in general, are lower, even though the number of college graduates is higher.

This is a double edge sword because although this is attractive to employers, it is not something a young, undervalued graduate does not know.

Graduates, in fields such as engineering, do not stay in the area in part due to the lower salary levels in certain fields.

The study launched recently with a series of focus groups comprised of key businesses, organizations, government and academic institutions across the Lehigh Valley.

"This new plan will serve as a roadmap not only for LVEDC but for all entities across the Lehigh Valley engaged in economic growth issues, particularly Lehigh and Northampton counties and larger regional organizations and governments," Edinger said.

The scope of the study includes:

·Producing a comprehensive inventory of businesses in the Lehigh and Valley;

·Cluster analysis of existing business types and a targeted industry analysis of business types that would be well suited to the area;

·A study of the makeup of the regional workforce with statistical detail based on job classification;

·An evaluation of the Lehigh Valley's economic strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats along with an emphasis on how the region's assets can be used to attract desirable targeted industries;

·Identification, evaluation and prioritization of key development areas;

·Examination of existing business retention efforts with a focus on preventive measures to assist at-risk companies.

The project will be approached in three phases:

·A discovery period during which the region is evaluated from a competitive site selection perspective including labor and economic analysis, along with an assets and challenges assessment and cluster analysis and business target identification.

·A strategy phase including short- and long-term planning, business recruitment and marketing strategies, along with product improvement.

·An implementation period during which action is taken on marketing, promotion, workforce development recommendations and organizational recommendations for best practices.

The expected completion date for the study is January 2014.

For more information on Garner Economics, go to garnereconomics.com.