Alabama's New Economic Development Plan Unveiled

Alabama's new economic development strategy calls for more teamwork between state and local business recruiters and a new focus on turning bright ideas into companies hiring Alabamians.

Gov. Robert Bentley created the Alabama Economic Development Alliance to come up with the plan that will guide his administration's job-hunting efforts. The plan, called "Accelerate Alabama," was unveiled at a meeting of economic developers Tuesday in Hoover.

Bentley said when he was campaigning across the state in 2010, he saw many people working on economic development, but they weren't all working together. The plan formalizes some informal working relationships.

The governor and the chancellor of the University of Alabama System, Malcolm Portera, said the plan also calls for using brain power at research universities and private research institutions to create jobs.