ALLIANCE WORKING TEAMS CONVENE FOR QUARTERLY MEETING AT WINGSPREAD

The Alliance Working Teams convened for their autumn quarterly meeting on Friday, October 10 at The Johnson Foundation at Wingspread in Racine, Wisconsin. The Working Teams were welcomed to the historic Frank Lloyd Wright-designed House at Wingspread by Johnson Foundation President Roger Dower, before splitting up into individual breakout sessions to continue preparations for their showcase products that will be featured at the Second Annual Summit on Regional Competitiveness. (See item further below.)

Showcase products further refined at Wingspread included:

• Alliance Green Growth Working Team--Regional water technology receptions to be held in partnership with institutional stakeholders to define and regionalize the tri-state water cluster (see item further below);
• Alliance Human Capital Working Team--A promotional video highlighting the region's innovative Hiring Event model and the launch of Hiring Events around the region;
• Alliance Innovation Working Team--An online portal for accessing tri-state innovation assets based upon the successful model of DetroitBizgrid; and
• Alliance Transportation & Logistics Working Team--A GIS-based graphical database of tri-state transportation infrastructure assets.

The Alliance would like to thank The Johnson Foundation for hosting the Working Teams quarterly meeting, and as always the hardworking members of the Working Teams. We look forward to a successful event on December 19. We're almost there!

Learn More about Wingspread

PAUL JONES MEETING

DECEMBER 19th SUMMIT ON REGIONAL COMPETITIVENESS: HAVE YOU REGISTERED?
Special discounted hotel rooms offered for Summit attendees

The Alliance in partnership with the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago will host the second annual Summit on Regional Competitiveness on Friday, December 19, 2014. The Summit–an invitation-only event–will serve as an opportunity to brief stakeholders about the progress of the Alliance Working Teams and will have high level key note speakers discussing regional economic development. In addition to the presentations by the working teams, the agenda will include remarks by the President of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the OECD Urban Development Program Head, the Alliance Chairmen as well as a panel discussion on the UI Labs Digital Manufacturing and Design Innovation Institute. There will also be a “Strategic Doing” workshop led by Purdue University’s Ed Morrison.  

This high-level event will serve as a showcase for the power of cross-jurisdictional cooperation to move regional strategies forward. Sponsorship opportunities are available.

• REGISTRATION: The Federal Reserve Bank has emailed invitees directly with instructions to register online. Individuals MUST register themselves via the link contained in their original invitation email. (Registration via third-parties cannot be accommodated and invitations are non-transferable.)
• ACCOMMODATIONS: Accommodations have been reserved for the nights of December 18 and December 19 and guests may stay at the J.W. Marriott Chicago at 151 West Adams Street in the heart of the Chicago Loop at a specially negotiated base rate of $129 by clicking the following link. (Note: Accommodations are limited.) Reserve a Room
  

To inquire about attending the Summit/webcast or sponsorship opportunities, please email Kelly O’Brien at kobrien@alliancerd.org.

ALLIANCE GREEN GROWTH TEAM TO HOLD REGIONAL WATER SUMMIT AT LOYOLA UNVERSITY CHICAGO WATER TOWER CAMPUS ON NOVEMBER 24

As part of its continued focus on the water sector and ways to regionalize the growing water cluster, the Alliance Green Growth working team in collaboration with Alliance partner Loyola University will hold a Water Summit for regional water technology companies in November.

Please join us on:

Monday, November 24, 2014
3:00 pm Doors Open
3:30 Panel Begins
Reception to Follow

Loyola University Chicago Water Tower Campus
111 East Pearson Street, Beane Hall,  Chicago, IL (map)
Validation for discounted parking available

Space is limited, RSVP to mdoyle@alliancerd.org

.The program will include information about the strengths of the water tech companies in the region, the gains made by The Water Council organized in Milwaukee, the opportunity to make connections with other Water Tech firms and leaders, as well the as opportunities that working together can provide to help expand business, find talent, and speed technology development.

Confirmed speakers include:

• Kirk Allen, President and CEO, Sloan Valve Company
• Dean Amhaus, President and CEO, The Water Council
• John Dickert, Mayor, Racine, Wisconsin and President, Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative
• Jeff Malehorn, President & CEO, World Business Chicago
• Dr. Jose A. Ramirez, Founder, Mikroflot Technologies
• Dr. Seth Snyder, Argonne National Laboratory
• Nancy C. Tuchman, Professor & Founding Director of the Institute of Environmental Sustainability, Loyola University
• Sammis White, Interim Dean and Director of Workforce Development—School of Continuing Education, University of Wisconsin Milwaukee

NORTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY ACCEPTS NATIONAL AWARD ON BEHALF OF ROCKFORD AEROSPACE INITIATIVE

Alliance partner Northern Illinois University (NIU) accepted a national award last month at the University Economic Development Association’s annual summit in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on behalf of a program aimed at accelerating the engineering and high-tech workforce for Rockford’s burgeoning aerospace industry. 

JiET-A, or the Joint Institute for Engineering and Technology – Aerospace, is an innovative partnership among aerospace businesses, higher education institutions, and students in the Rockford area. JiET-A is one of the most significant collaborative initiatives arising from the NIU-led Jobs and Innovation Accelerator Challenge (JIAC) grant work in support of the aerospace cluster.

Beyond helping students map out an academic and career path into the aerospace industry, JiET-A partners also offer high-quality internships and mentoring that allow graduates to move seamlessly into the aerospace workforce. More than 100 students have been accepted into the program since its inception and nearly 30 have been placed in integrated internships with Rockford’s UTC Aerospace Systems, Woodward and B/E Aerospace.

In addition to NIU, JiET-A partners include the Rockford Area Economic Development Council, EIGERlab, Rock Valley College, Rockford University, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Rockford public schools, Belvidere public schools, Kishwaukee College, the Northern Illinois Workforce Alliance, the Boone-Winnebago Regional Office of Education, and a number of the region’s major aerospace companies. UTC Aerospace Systems has given special leadership support to the initiative since its inception. 

Browse the full press release

INDIANA RELEASES REPORT STUDYING REGIONAL CITIES GROWTH STRATEGIES

The findings of Indiana’s regional cities study are available today at IndianaRegionalCities.com. The study identifies strategies that aim to help cities across Indiana transform into national economic powerhouses. “If you’re looking for Indiana’s greatest natural resource, look no further than the Hoosiers who call our state home,” said Governor Mike Pence. “By investing in our regional cities and focusing on retaining and attracting the nation’s brightest minds to join our Hoosier ranks, we’ll drive population and economic growth. The next chapter of Indiana’s story is being written right now.”

 Following a call from Pence and the passage of House Enrolled Act 1035 earlier this year, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC) commissioned a study of 11 peer cities across the nation that have experienced significant economic growth. Working with Fourth Economy Consulting, a national economic development consulting firm, the IEDC identified common themes across the cities that could apply to Indiana, including:

• A bold vision with a market-based and action-oriented plan
• Support across the city’s region
• Strengthening of existing industries
• Investments in quality of place initiatives
• Private sector investment in community growth
• Long-term partnerships with non-partisan thinking, and
• Engagement with higher education partners.

Benchmark cities studied as part of the initiative were Austin, Texas; Raleigh and Durham, North Carolina; Denver, Colorado; Nashville, Tennessee; Fayetteville, Arkansas; Provo, Utah; Boise, Idaho; Waterloo–Cedar Falls, Iowa; Manhattan, Kansas and Brookings, South Dakota.

“The communities we studied this summer are excited for their futures, with a real buzz palpable around every corner. They are busy working together to embrace big ideas,” said Eric Doden, president of the IEDC. “Our next step is to help spark that same enthusiasm into each region of our state, working with community leaders and the guidance of this study to cultivate the next big economic powerhouse community right here at home.” This week Doden will lead five regional forums across the state to discuss the initiative and key themes and findings from the study, encouraging local leaders to identify ways their communities can embrace transformative change to encourage economic opportunity.

For more information about the regional cities forums, including the schedule, locations and RSVP information, visit IndianaRegionalCities.com.

ALLIANCE PRESIDENT & CEO KELLY O'BRIEN INTERVIEWED BY FOX32 ON NEW REGIONAL JOB NUMBERS

On Thursday, October 23, Alliance President & CEO Kelly O'Brien was interviewed by Fox32 News regarding data released by the Illinois Department of Employment security indicating a continuing drop in jobless numbers for urban areas across the tri-state region. O'Brien noted in her comments the importance of standing together as a region in order to ensure that, although led by Chicago at its core, all parts of our tri-state economy are able to grow and achieve success together.

View the full Fox32 video