Governor Mikie Sherrill today signed Executive Order No. 28, establishing the New Jersey Means Business Economic Development Strategy, a coordinated, whole-of-government effort to strengthen New Jersey’s economic competitiveness and business friendliness, attract investment, support existing employers, and create quality jobs and career pathways for every community across the state.

The Executive Order sets an economic development agenda through 2030, with clear agency responsibilities and deadlines to make it easier to start and grow a business, strengthen industries where New Jersey can lead, enhance research and innovation that results in new companies and jobs, and expand economic opportunity in communities statewide.

“New Jersey has the talent, innovation, and entrepreneurial spirit to build one of the strongest economies in the country. State government needs to match that ambition with a clear strategy and commitment to make our economy more competitive and dynamic,” said Governor Sherrill. “New Jersey Means Business will bring our agencies together to cut unnecessary costs and delays, help businesses grow, and connect our residents with good-paying jobs. This whole-of-government effort will help us build on our strengths as we compete for new investment and ensure economic growth translates to real opportunities for families across our state.”

The strategy recognizes that a stronger economy is essential to lowering costs, increasing household incomes, and sustaining the public services New Jersey families rely on. It builds on the state’s highly educated and diverse workforce, research universities and healthcare institutions, transportation and port infrastructure, and longstanding strengths in innovation and industry.

The Executive Order organizes the State’s work around four pillars:

• Improve New Jersey’s business climate to make it easier to attract and grow businesses by reducing barriers to and costs of doing business, improving how businesses navigate State services and permitting, preparing sites for development, and strengthening the State’s focus on retaining and growing existing businesses in New Jersey.
• Grow the key industries that can drive New Jersey’s next generation of quality jobs by identifying sectors where the State has established strengths or a strong opportunity to compete, working with businesses to understand their needs, and aligning State tools, incentives, and workforce efforts to support their growth.
• Increase research, development, and speed of bringing ideas to market in New Jersey to boost business growth and investment by coordinating research institutions, companies, entrepreneurs, and State resources like the New Jersey Supercomputer Initiative; focusing on areas where New Jersey can lead and innovate; attracting more research dollars to the state; and strengthening the path from discovery to market and growth.
• Ensure businesses, residents, and communities across New Jersey can participate in and benefit from economic growth by making State services, capital, and procurement opportunities easier to navigate for businesses of all sizes; creating a new advisory group focused on small and midsized businesses; and focusing coordinated state action in communities facing persistent economic challenges.

To oversee implementation, the Executive Order establishes the New Jersey Means Business Economic Development Council, reporting to the Governor’s Chief Operating Officer and chaired by the Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives and Economic Opportunity. The Council will bring together the New Jersey Economic Development Authority, the New Jersey Innovation Authority, and the departments of State, Labor and Workforce Development, Community Affairs, and the Treasury.

The Executive Order directs State agencies to advance a series of concrete actions, including:

• Dedicated Business Retention and Attraction Strategy: Within 90 days, the State will create dedicated strategies to strengthen relationships with existing employers, support retention and expansion opportunities, sharpen business attraction efforts, and establish consistent messaging about New Jersey’s advantages as a place to invest and grow.
• Site Readiness Initiative: Within 90 days, the State will develop a statewide site readiness plan to identify and prepare priority sites for development and redevelopment, with the goal of reducing barriers to and encouraging new investment in the state.
• Business and Permitting Navigation: Within 150 days, the State will create a coordinated, cross-agency business and permitting navigation service for qualifying projects to make the process of growing, expanding, or investing in a business or development project in the State easier to navigate, by bringing together efforts related to state and municipal permitting, regulatory review, workforce development, and other key areas relevant to business growth and investment. Additionally, within 90 days, the State will convene the Governor’s Office Permitting Governing Council and other partner agencies to ensure the Governor’s permitting reform effort outlined in Executive Order No. 5 is aligned with the New Jersey Means Business Economic Development Strategy.
• Reduction in the Cost of Doing Business: Within 90 days, the State will develop and provide initial recommendations to reduce the cost and complexity of starting, operating, and growing a business in New Jersey. The review will examine administrative processes, duplicative requirements, taxes and fees, licensing, and additional costs across different levels of government.
• Priority Sector Strategy: Within 120 days, the State will recommend a limited number of sectors for intensive, coordinated State support, along with additional sectors for targeted assistance. Following approval, sector leaders will assess employer needs, identify barriers to growth, and recommend improvements to incentives, financing, workforce programs, and other tools.
• Evaluation of Incentives: Within 120 days, the State will recommend changes to economic development incentives and funding programs to improve cost-effectiveness, strengthen fiscal discipline, and accelerate investment.
• State Research, Development, and Speed to Market Strategy: Within 120 days, the State will develop a Statewide R&D and innovation strategy. The strategy will identify areas where New Jersey can lead, assess gaps in the path from research to market, suggest ways to attract more research funding to New Jersey, and recommend how State programs and institutions — including the New Jersey Supercomputer Initiative and Strategic Innovation Centers — can help translate scientific advances into new businesses, private investment, and quality jobs.
• Small Business Access to State Services: Within 120 days, the State will develop a strategy to improve access to services through Business.NJ.gov, the New Jersey Business Action Center, and other trusted channels. The effort will inventory and evaluate the effectiveness of existing programs, identify improvements to how businesses navigate services, and enhance coordination across agencies. Additionally, within 90 days, the State will convene the Department of Treasury, the New Jersey Innovation Authority, the Department of State, the NJEDA, and other partner agencies to ensure alignment with procurement reforms to expand access to State contracting opportunities.
• Advisory Group Focused on Small and Midsized Businesses: Within 120 days, the State will establish an advisory group to bring together leaders from the business community who are focused on small and midsized businesses and who represent a cross-section of the state’s economy – including historically underrepresented businesses – to provide direct, actionable insight on how to strengthen the state’s business climate, stimulate economic growth, enhance business retention, and expand access to capital for these businesses across the state.
• Inclusive Opportunity for All Communities and Workers: Within 120 days, the State will develop a strategy for coordinated economic development in communities facing persistent economic challenges. The Order also calls for alignment of revitalization efforts in Trenton and Atlantic City. Additionally, within 90 days, the State will convene relevant partner agencies to begin development of an updated Statewide Workforce and Talent Strategy for recommendation to the Governor.

Across these efforts, State agencies will establish implementation milestones and performance measures to evaluate outcomes such as employment, wages, business formation, and private investment. The strategy will also align with the Administration’s permitting and procurement reforms to improve coordination and accountability across State government. The strategy will include significant engagement with employers, business partners, and other stakeholders as agencies develop plans and execute the Executive Order.

A copy of Executive Order No. 28 is available here.