Building Miami's Economy — Together

The Miami-Dade Beacon Council is focused on aligning business, government, education, and community to ensure growth creates real opportunity across the county.

Published on Feb. 11, 2026

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Rodrick Miller, the author, has spent his career working in economic development and believes that growth only matters if people actually see it in their daily lives. Miami-Dade County is reaching an inflection point where residents not only see growth, but they also feel it. The Miami-Dade Beacon Council, the county's official economic development organization, is working to attract investment, create quality jobs, and strengthen Miami-Dade's long-term competitiveness while ensuring growth is durable, meaningful, and sustainable.

Why it matters

The Beacon Council's work has evolved to focus on building the systems that allow growth to last. They are focused on three priorities shaping the next chapter of Miami-Dade's economy: talent, small business growth, and data-driven insight. This is important because without coordination, growth can bypass local talent, small businesses can get squeezed out, and opportunity can become more difficult to reach.

The details

In the last year alone, Beacon-supported projects helped generate more than $1.2 billion in private investment, create thousands of new jobs, and deliver millions in new tax revenue that support public services. The Beacon Council is the only organization in Miami-Dade focused full-time on aligning business, government, education, and community around economic outcomes. They are expanding capacity and opening new ways for local businesses and organizations to engage, whether that means mentoring an entrepreneur, connecting to talent pipelines, participating in small business networks, or helping shape the strategies guiding the economy.

  • In the last year alone, Beacon-supported projects helped generate more than $1.2 billion in private investment, create thousands of new jobs, and deliver millions in new tax revenue.
  • The Beacon Council recently held its Annual Meeting where it announced its new stewardship of Strive305, a small business initiative launched under Mayor Daniella Levine Cava.

The players

The Miami-Dade Beacon Council

The county's official economic development organization, focused on attracting investment, creating quality jobs, and strengthening Miami-Dade's long-term competitiveness while working across business, government, education, and community partners to ensure growth is durable, meaningful, and sustainable.

Rodrick Miller

The author, who has spent his career working in and around economic development.

Mayor Daniella Levine Cava

The mayor of Miami-Dade County who launched the Strive305 small business initiative that the Beacon Council is now overseeing.

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What they’re saying

“Economic development is not something done to a community, it's something built with it. The work of strengthening Miami-Dade's economy depends on collaboration among residents, businesses, educators, and civic leaders.”

— Rodrick Miller (communitynewspapers.com)

What’s next

The Beacon Council is expanding capacity and opening new ways for local businesses and organizations to engage, whether that means mentoring an entrepreneur, connecting to talent pipelines, participating in small business networks, or helping shape the strategies guiding the economy.

The takeaway

The Beacon Council is focused on building the systems that allow growth to last in Miami-Dade County, with a focus on talent, small business growth, and data-driven insight. By aligning business, government, education, and community, they are working to ensure that growth creates real opportunity across the county.