New York provides examples relevant to practically all states. New York has emphasized the need to build its different regions' unique, existing strengths. Plans that focus on large cities where there are clusters of talent and job opportunities are drivers for growth. They bring together leaders in government, business, and communities. The successful programs will also implement training and employment at multiple skill levels.

Wasylenko commended the Regional Economic Development Councils. This program organizes stakeholders, uses a “bottom up” approach, follows regional strategic plans, and supports necessary infrastructure such as job training. But he suggested improvements in greater alignment of funding with regional priorities, stricter priorities to prevent money from getting spread too thinly, and greater tracking of projects over time.

Wasylenko criticized economic stimulus through tax incentives saying, “New York state has mostly functioned through tax breaks. This is a worn out smokestack chasing policy that New York state has started to move away from.” Neighboring states including NJ, CT and PA have competitive tax rates or look worse from a business perspective, he said.

He cautioned against mega deals where the state invests significant capital upfront in a corporation, expecting it to perform an economic turn-around. Statistics show New York state leads in mega deal investments, spending more than any other state. High-profile failures such as Tesla's SolarCity in Buffalo and the Film Hub in Syracuse point to how these arrangements can hurt taxpayers.

Finally, the public affairs expert said there needs to be greater transparency. This would allow more effective evaluations with standardized metrics, reporting on project-level results.