Innovation Index -
Converting Capacity into Prosperity

The Innovation Index is a service of the Indiana Business Research Center at Indiana University's Kelley School of Business. This initiative is funded in part by the U.S. Commerce Department's Economic Development Administration. The index is a unique framework for understanding the economic development environment for a community. It is designed to measure a community's ability to convert knowledge and innovation capacity into prosperity. It does so by measuring / ranking five areas:

• Human Capital & Knowledge Creation

• Business Dynamics

• Business Profile

• Employment & Productivity

• Economic Well Being

Each index is comprised of several sub measurements to calculate the overall score as compared to the national median. Anything above the national median is considered a strong area and each community is ranked against similar communities. All areas are combined into the Headline Index seen below. Here is how we rank overall:

This means that Waller County is in the top 20% of all counties. The Houston MSA ranks 58 among 380 metros with an Innovation Index of 125.5. When considering the Waller County area for a project, you are coming to an innovative and productive region.

Waller County Long-range Strategic Plan

In 2017, the county worked with the Cooperative Extension Office at Prairie View A&M University to create a strategic plan. During the process, several community meetings were held to get community input. As the plan took shape, Texas Engineering Extension Services at Texas A&M University joined the team to formalize the plan. Both the plan (left image) and supporting data appendix (right image) are available to download here. These are large files, so please be patient.

Regional Data

Waller County is part of the Houston region. As such, we have also provided sources of regional data. Although each county and community is unique, using regional data will give researchers a feel for the area and the economy in which we operate. Two great sources are; The Greater Houston Partnership (GHP) and The Houston Galveston Area Council of Governments (HGAC).

The GHP is the leading economic development group for the Houston area. They keep large archives of economic and area development data. In fact, you can download their Houston Population and Employment Forecast from the Population Profile tab below. Visit their website to learn more about the region.

HGAC is the local regional council. They provide the region with planning services and coordinate various planning activities within the region. In addition, their organization maintains a vast amount of useful data about the area, various planning documents, and maps. Visit their website to learn more.