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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowGov. Mike Braun’s office on Thursday released the results of an independent study that it says validates the 15 regions in the state’s Regional Economic Acceleration and Development Initiative, or READI.
The study, conducted by the Indiana Business Research Center, or IBRC, and the Indiana University Kelley School of Business, was commissioned as part of an executive order signed by Braun directing the Indiana Secretary of Commerce to recommend a unified set of regional boundaries by the end of the year.
In a news release, Braun said the report proves that Indiana’s regions outlined by the READI program are “strong, well-defined, and ready to lead.”
The READI program was created by former Gov. Eric Holcomb with the first $500 million being awarded in December 2021 to 17 regions. The number of regions was consolidated to 15 for the program’s second iteration, known as READI 2.0, funding for which was awarded in April 2024.
“The 15 READI regions were built by local leaders, tested through real collaboration, and now validated by independent research,” Braun said. “By aligning the state around this framework, we remove confusion, cut costs, and give Hoosiers one clear plan forward.”
Executive Order 25-45 sought to establish a unified regional framework for economic and workforce development. The study recommends adopting the 15 READI regions as the state’s official planning regions.
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The study compared the READI regions with state-defined Economic Growth Regions and federally defined Metropolitan Statistical Areas, according to the IBRC.
According to the study, the regions, which were formed voluntarily through READI 1.0, align with real labor markets, demonstrate nearly the same commuting “tightness” as state-drawn regions at a lower implementation cost, and have proven their effectiveness through the READI program.
The READI regions have already incurred the cost of building informal regional governance institutions, the study found, and access to state funding incentivized communities to resolve how to work together.
“Our analysis shows that READI regions provide a socially efficient and empirically sound foundation for Indiana’s regional policy,” IBRC Executive Director Phil Powell said. “They capture economic activity nearly as effectively as state-drawn regions, but with the added advantage of trust and collaboration already built among local leaders. That gives Indiana a durable framework to deliver economic and workforce development.”
Indiana Secretary of Commerce David Adams said adopting the READI framework will ensure clarity and accountability in the state’s economic and workforce development efforts moving forward.
“This report confirms that Indiana’s regional approach is working,” Adams said. “With READI regions now validated as the economic planning framework, we can focus on strategy—empowering regions grow population, wages, and opportunity with one clear map.”
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