B3K: AN OVERVIEW
The regional economic development initiative known as B3K (Better Bakersfield & Boundless Kern: Regional Action for Economic Prosperity) has brought together business, government and community stakeholders to produce a shared road map for creating lasting jobs accessible to all local residents.
Local leaders launched the effort in April because of concerns that regulatory and market forces have weakened Kern’s dominant sectors — oil, ag and even eastern Kern’s aerospace industry.
The idea is not necessarily to create whole new industries or attract businesses from outside the area. Instead, it’s about setting clear and mutually acceptable goals that would be achieved through shared action and accountability among diverse local partners.
A primary focus is the production of goods and services that can be sold outside the area. That would exclude health care, for example, because that industry tends to serve local needs. Commodities production also is not a priority because prices can fluctuate independently of local efforts, though value-added services involving energy and ag may be emphasized as long as they can create quality jobs that improve social mobility.
The Brookings Institution, a think tank based in Washington, D.C., is advancing similar projects in more than 50 U.S. cities including Fresno. The institution has been contracted to guide the effort, but otherwise the intent is to be locally self-sustainable.
Much of the organizational work, such as creation of committees, has been completed and the current focus is a regional market analysis that will be constantly updated by local contributors. A big-picture economic strategy is due next spring, followed by an implementation phase that could carry on for years.
That part is expected to involve coordinated public and private efforts to bring in financial resources from a wide variety of sources. Ideally, such investment will advance the entire region’s best interests without pitting local companies and institutions against each other.