A recent report conducted by the Center for Economic Development includes a model for understanding and predicting economic growth in U.S. mid-sized regional economies to analyze structural and policy-based factors among similar regions. The Center used factor analysis as a data-reduction technique to identify the influences in mid-sized regional economies. This statistical analysis found five factors influencing the mid-sized regional economies reviewed for this report. They are 1) Innovation and Talent, 2) Entrepreneurship in High-Cost Areas, 3) New Residential Centers, 4) Retirement Destinations, and 5) Polarization. This was followed by an analysis to determine the relationship between these factors and the regional growth in employment, gross regional product (output), and per capita income. This brief outlines the primary takeaways of this analysis as it relates to innovation and talent and explores how the five-county Cleveland-Elyria metro areas (the Cleveland Region) can incorporate policies and programs similar to those in other regions in order to propel its metros forward.