Minnesota is one of the best places in the country to live, work, and build a future. Keeping it that way will require a stronger, faster-growing economy—and a new way of working together to build it. In this four-part series, we’ll explore what Greater Growth means, why it matters now, and how leaders across the GREATER MSP Partnership are working together to make it real. We welcome your thoughts and feedback. 

GREATER MSP is a partnership of business, government, university, nonprofit, and philanthropic leaders who care deeply about Minnesota's future.

Over the past few years, one question has become increasingly urgent: How do we preserve and expand the quality of life that generations of Minnesotans worked so hard to build?

It's a question that matters because Minnesota remains one of the country's best places to live—a place with world-class companies, leading healthcare systems, strong communities, extraordinary philanthropy, and a deep sense that we are responsible for one another.

But the world is changing fast, and the economy that created that quality of life is changing with it. 

The MSP Regional Indicators Dashboard, created by the GREATER MSP Partnership, revealed a difficult reality: Minnesota’s economy has been growing more slowly than many peer regions and states for more than a decade. Other places are winning investment, talent, and jobs in the fastest-growing sectors of the global economy. If those trends continue long enough, Minnesota risks becoming something it has never been used to being: average.

“There is no place in America that has a leading quality of life but a lagging economy,” said Peter Frosch, President and CEO of the GREATERMSP Partnership. “That’s why the economy is not just a business issue. It is an everybody issue.”

Economic growth is what funds public services, supports nonprofits, creates pathways into the middle class, and gives communities the resources to invest in parks, schools, transit, housing, and public safety.

At the same time, many people have legitimate questions about growth. Economic growth in America has often created tremendous prosperity, but its benefits have not always been broadly shared. Too often, communities have been left behind, workers have felt disconnected from opportunity, and environmental costs have been ignored.

That's why Minnesota does not need just any kind of growth. We need "Greater Growth"—growth that performs better for business, people, and the planet. And it means bringing together organizations and sectors that don't typically work together to solve problems that none of them can solve alone.

A new way of working is already beginning to emerge across Minnesota.

• Leaders from agriculture, industry, government, research, and environmental organizations aligned around a shared opportunity to help decarbonize aviation while building a new Minnesota industry. Learn more.
• At the same time, leaders of healthcare systems, medtech companies, universities, policymakers, and entrepreneurs are working together to tackle some of healthcare’s biggest challenges. Learn more.
• And in semiconductors and advanced manufacturing, employers are collaborating with educators and workforce leaders to develop the talent needed for the industries of the future. Learn more.

These are not isolated projects. They are part of a broader shift: Minnesota’s economy is beginning to organize around shared economic missions instead of fragmented efforts. This is the work of the GREATERMSP Partnership. And there are early signals the world is responding. In recent months: 

• Pivot Bio relocated its global headquarters from California to Minnesota
• Ecolab announced a major expansion of its R&D operations in Eagan
• Philips decided to build its AI R&D facility in Minnesota
• Polar Semiconductor secured transformational federal investment

None of this happened by accident. Minnesota's next economy will not simply emerge on its own. It will be built through shared ambition, coordinated action, and a willingness to evolve. The GREATER MSP Partnership was created for exactly this purpose: to help the region align around opportunities that can strengthen our economy while solving problems that matter to the world.