HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (Updated June 29, 2021) – Earlier this year, local community and business leaders solicited input from area businesses on their response to the COVID-19 pandemic. They asked businesses of all sizes to take a survey in order to learn how the regional infrastructure supported their sustainability and resiliency.

Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber, and the Mayor’s technology initiatives – GEO Huntsville, Energy Huntsville, Cyber Huntsville and Bio Huntsville – collaborated with Exemplar City, Inc., on this initiative. The survey asked how area businesses were impacted with respect to a remote working environment, their plans for bringing workers back into offices, and how the area’s infrastructure supported their ability to sustain operations. It also asked what the regional government and supporting agencies could have done better.

The survey was active from late March to April 15.  Here are some of the results from the approximately 150 companies that responded:

• 37 percent say their full workforce in Huntsville/Madison County has returned to work on-site
• 84 percent of companies say they do NOT plan to reduce their office space here, as a result of the pandemic
• 68 percent of companies said the area’s infrastructure (fiber, telecommunications, transportation, hospitals, etc.) contributed to their success during the pandemic
• 66 percent said they would not require vaccinations for their workforce to fully staff their office location, 24 percent were undecided, and 10 percent said they would require vaccinations

“The City of Huntsville worked to stay on site, on task, and in business for our community during the pandemic,” said Mayor Tommy Battle. “It was a tough year, and we are proud to have served our citizens with the services they needed to help get to the other side of COVID-19.”

“The survey helped to validate some of the information we suspected anecdotally about how businesses fared during the pandemic, and now we have excellent feedback that will support the city in future planning,” said Joe Francica, president of Exemplar City, Inc., a 501c3 non-profit organization focused on educating local governments on how technology can be used effectively.

“Like most of our members, the Chamber continued operations over the past year and adapted our programs and services to meet the near-term needs of our community,” said Lucia Cape, senior vice president of economic development for the Chamber. “These survey results give us insight into how our companies were able to keep working and why we have so quickly rebounded economically.”

We held a virtual event on Tuesday, June 29 to share results with the broader community and to solicit additional feedback from area businesses.  Watch the presentation above:

Additionally, here is the presentation that was shared.

Watch the full recording of the call below.

About the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber

The Huntsville/Madison County Chamber is the catalyst for business growth, community engagement, and action to drive economic vitality and advance our position as a global leader in technology and innovation.  Our mission is to prepare, develop, and promote our community for economic growth.

About the Technology Initiatives

GEO Huntsville, Energy Huntsville, Cyber Huntsville and Bio Huntsville are collaborative efforts among businesses, academic and government entities in the Huntsville region to support workforce growth and economic development. Each is supported by Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle and the Huntsville/Madison County Chamber.

About Exemplar City, Inc.

Exemplar City, Inc. is a 501c3 non-profit organization based in Huntsville, AL. The objective is to develop best practices that municipal governments can follow when faced with a wide variety of challenges such as responding to a local emergency or crisis, mitigating economic impacts, facing overwhelming infrastructure demands, or dealing with workforce skill and capacity issues.