Workforce Investment Act

Driving Transformation Session Summary

FIRST Grant Expected Outcomes

1. A sustainable regional collaboration is developed that includes key leaders from business, workforce development, economic development, and education organizations.
2. The collaboration aligns resources of its members and others in it's network to support common strategies for regional prosperity that are based on:
   1. An analysis of a region's assets, challenges and opportunities (i.e., a SWOT analysis).
   2. SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and time-bound) goals.
   3. Identification of regional competitive advantages and key industry sectors or clusters.
   4. Information on economic and demographic projections/trends.
3. Plans to create a regional identity and message are developed.
4. Demonstration that collaboration goals and actions align with the following guiding principles:
   1. The collaboration's work will lead to strategic "doing" rather than "planning."
   2. Business needs and data drive the collaboration's efforts and actions.
   3. Collaborations expand their networks to ensure that as many entities as possible are supporting common goals.
   4. The collaboration's work is so compelling that individuals choose to contribute their knowledge, skills, passion, and resources.
   5. Meaningful benchmarks are used to measure progress towards regional goals.

Deliverables (See the templates at FIRST Tools and Resources)

Driving Transformation - Making Regional Teams Work by Rick Maher, Maher and Maher

Engaging Business by Sue Wollan Fan, Irving Ventures, LLC

Session Themes

• Data will set you free! Use data to drive your decisions.
• We are operating in a new economic environment that requires us to change how we think and act . The United States cannot win the numbers game ( China and India out produce us in on widgets and people), so we need to compete on the quality of our ideas. An innovation economy requires that we have the best talent development system in the world (innovative, adaptive).
• Productive and sustainable networks have a core of high-level business leaders.
• A network is a collection of assets - head (knowledge), heart (passion), hands (resources - time, money, equipment). [Networking Guide Table is incorporated into Project Charter Template]
• Ensuring a vibrant network will require implementing strategies that solicit new members and adopting practices that ensure your network is open and inviting to new members.
• Network success depends on having the right (i.e., head, heart, hands) people on your leadership team or governing/policy-making body.
• Engaging businesses in your network will require that you appeal to an individual's passion before you can engage their hands (time, money, knowledge). What is your compelling message/vision?
• A governance structure is a process for moving forward with regional prosperity efforts (e.g., pit crew - gets effort started, nominates team leaders).
• Regional planning efforts cannot be successful if business and education, especially pre-K through 12th grade, are not at the table.
• Open collaborations happen in environments that are not fear-based.
• Establish a common message (e.g., Creating a talent development system that will fuel our regional economy) and communication strategy to ensure network success.

Technical Assistance Suggestions

• Promising/best practices workshop for FIRST grantees - already identified to be part of the state's Development Conference to be held on September 24-25, 2008.
• Provide training to larger FIRST groups
• Conduct statewide cluster analysis
• Assistance developing local websites on workforce development resources
• Assistance with asset mapping, such as a weblink roadmap on how to asset map
• Assistance with trend analysis
• Provide consulting services (technical assistance and facilitation)
• Provide a project charter template
• Assist teams with fund development for sustainability (grant entities contact information, grant writing)
• Provide economic (e.g., patents, forecasts - EMSI, WITS) and LMI data
• Help obtaining and mining education data
• Provide access to collaborative workspace software tools ( www.near-time.net, Share Point website)

2008 Minnesota Regional Economic Competitiveness Initiative map (pdf)

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