Vision-2020

Launch of the REAP

 
February 28th marked the official fundraising launch for the Regional Entrepreneurship Action Plan (REAP) for Northern Indiana. While the wildly successful pilot program is underway thanks to support from state and regional funders, the region is now undertaking an effort to raise $1 million from area funders to match $3 million from state funders and $5 million from national funders to support the program for three years. The initial planning initiative was the result of collaboration between the Economic Development Administration (EDA) of the U.S. Department of Commerce, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, the Surdna Foundation, the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), community leaders and private investors in Northern Indiana, and JumpStart Inc., a venture development organization in Northeast Ohio.
 
The objective of this partnership was to help the region develop stronger regional entrepreneurship and innovation capabilities, stimulating job growth and wealth creation. The REAP outlines the rationale and structure for providing regional entrepreneurs with expert assistance and investment capital, accelerating the growth of high potential startup businesses and existing companies. Over 40 people were in attendance at the launch as Ray Leach, CEO/President of JumpStart Inc., and Steve Hourigan, President/CEO of Elevate Ventures, Inc., spoke on the importance of the REAP and entrepreneurship in a community; or in our case a region.
 
JumpStart was founded in Ohio where they created over 2,864 jobs, made 42,000+ entrepreneurial connections, invested $1.1 billion in risk capital, and provided over 60,000 hours of service to entrepreneurs annually. Their main goal: to increase the economic impact of entrepreneurial ventures and the ecosystems supporting their growth in northeast Ohio and across the U.S.
 
So how did an organization that originated in Ohio help Northern Indiana? Simple, they shared their best practices from Jumpstart in Northeast Ohio to craft a Hoosier-specific program to implement here in Northern Indiana. JumpStart is helping Vision 2020 go to the next level of resources, actions and outcomes in partnership with state and national entities. And as the REAP took off, JumpStart recommended that Vision 2020 work with Elevate Ventures, a 501(c)3 organization, to make this all possible.
 
Since the inception of the REAP in 2010-2011, Elevate Ventures has been doing amazing things for Northern Indiana:

• They created QuickStart, a one year pilot program launched last fall, which provided expert advisory services to accelerate entrepreneurial services to small, high growth companies
• They initiated the formation of the Northeast Regional Advisory Board and deployed two Northeast Regional Entrepreneurs In Residence (EIR): Robert Clark and Dave Corcoran, who assist in the evaluation of potential investment and provide functional expertise to assist with existing investment
• They launched EIR Assistance and Economic Gardening Programs
• Committed 1/3 of 3 year state funding for Elevate / 21st Century Fund
• Coordinated with JumpStart to secure national funding to provide a 5:1 leverage ratio against regional commitment
• They also made it possible for Northern Indiana to capture 42% of the leads in Indiana, which is substantial when you consider that only 6% used to come from Northern Indiana

As a result in this growth, Northeast Indiana is working on funding its first two companies within the next quarter!
 
So what exactly does it take to build an entrepreneurial economy and how exactly do all of these things tie together? As Robert Clark, Entrepreneur in Residence with Elevate Ventures put it: “It takes team effort – support and partnership throughout the region. The only way to make a difference is to help each other collectively.” And he’s right. Collectively with the help of JumpStart, Elevate Ventures, and the Northeast Indiana region and its various partners, we can do extraordinary things and it seems that things will only continue to get better as we move forward into the future.
 
Dan Sands, Founder and President of Solstice Medical, LLC, gave a brief speech on how his experience with Elevate Ventures has helped his company in their success. They helped Dan realize the tangible points that investors wanted to know and helped him explore the talent needs that his company had, and where he could find talent and/or how he could get them here if they weren’t already here. During the launch Dan said, “There is a real opportunity for our region and I am really excited about the future and the help that we [as a region] are receiving.” Solstice Medical, founded in 2005 and located in Whitley County, is the leading supplier of radio frequency identification technology solutions including software development for the medical industry and was recently honored as one of Indiana’s leading emerging growth companies.
 
The fundraising launch of the REAP was a great success and we want to thank Mike Packnett and Parkview Health for making it all possible. Thanks again to everyone who attended. If you have additional questions regarding the REAP and are interesting in contributing, please feel free to contact our office.
 

“There are no institutional substitutes for individual entrepreneurial change agents. Without entrepreneurs, economies become poor and weak. The old will not exist; the new cannot enter.”
-Lester C. Thurow

 
Until next time,
Erica
 

Importance of Early Childhood Programs

 
How many of you knew that Northeast Indiana has a cluster of nationally accredited early childhood programs both in family child care and center-based care AND are known around the state for our high-quality early childhood programs? Quite frankly, I didn’t know it either and as Katy and I talked with directors from area early childhood programs who are a part of the Early Childhood Alliance, we learned just that.  We met with these directors in January to talk about Vision 2020, 21st Century Talent and their role in helping to transform our workforce and our economy. Early Childhood programs are vital for our region and are the critical first step for building a workforce that can measure up and surpass other regions/counties workforces. If a young child doesn’t gain the fundamentals at an early age they spend the rest of their life catching up and struggling to gain the skills to be successful in the workforce.
 
At the same time, the ECA directors also taught us just how important it is to have a passion for what you do. They inspired us and showed us how they are already helping to change the story of Northeast Indiana.
 
As we move forward with Vision 2020, groups like the Early Childhood Program directors will play a critical role in transforming the region. We need them at the table; we need their passion and leadership. We need their stories and we are grateful for the time they shared with us.
 

“If you’re going to equalize the academic playing field,
you’ve got to get the kids in early childhood programs.” – Paul Vallas

 
Until next time,
Erica

In the picture above: We asked everyone to write an inspirational story or a game changing tactic down on a sticky note.

National and Regional Efforts Coincide

As Vision 2020 staff, we see the two fundamental roles we need to fill are:

• Catalysts for the region to turn planning into action, and
• Motivators to inspire regional leaders and community members to help change the story of Northeast Indiana. With that being said, we are constantly looking for inspiration ourselves and are always amazed at the conversation that is happening nationally that resonates so clearly with what is happening in Northeast Indiana.

Arianna Huffington’s blog post yesterday titled “Country in Crisis: Looking to America’s Mayors to Rise to the Challenge,” is exactly that type of inspiration that got me all excited. How do I know when I’ve found that great bit of inspiration? When I want everyone in the office to drop whatever they are doing and read an article immediately, then I know I’m inspired.
 
The post hit on so many of the points that we are trying to convey about transformative change occurring at the local level, here are a few of my favorites:

• “As our nation becomes more polarized at the national political level, it becomes all the more important to nurture the commonality we have at the local level, where people care about what they’ve always cared about: their children, their families, their schools, their communities.”

• “And as more and more people lose trust in national institutions, they’re turning more and more to what is local, to what they can see and touch and feel. This gives our mayors a great opportunity, but also a great challenge.”

• “The ingredients for a successful startup and a successful city are remarkably similar. You need to build stuff that people want. You need to attract quality talent. You have to have enough capital to get your fledgling ideas to a point of sustainability. And you need to create a world-class culture that not only attracts the best possible people, but encourages them to stick around even when things aren’t going so great.”

Read the full blog post here: “Country in Crisis: Looking to America’s Mayors to Rise to the Challenge”

Katy
 

Why Your City Matters to Your Business

 
Have you ever found an article that describes almost exactly what you have been trying to say? This happens to be one of those articles. Steven Pedigo, the Vice President of Communications for Initiative for Competitive Inner City wrote an article titled “Why Your City Matters to Your Business” which outlines five reasons why a city makes a big difference to the success of your business. It just so happens that the five reasons that Steven identified line up with the pillars of Vision 2020 and the priorities that we have set to accomplish.
 
In the article, Steven states, “Your people – not your products or technology – are the driving force of your business, and talented workers go where the opportunities are.” The city you live in has an extensive impact on you and the business you either work for or own. It is critical to our region that we focus on our workforce and that we continually meet their expectations and needs which directly align with our mission of Developing, Attracting and Retaining Talent.
 
Please read the article, it truly is enlightening.
 
Until next time,
Erica
 

Changing Education Paradigms

 
I ran across this video by RSAnimate featuring Sir Ken Robinson, an internationally recognized leader in the development of education, creativity, and innovation. This video, titled “Changing Education Paradigms,” depicts an interesting perspective on education and how the culture of education has changed over time. The Animate states that every country on earth is reforming public education and goes on to provide two reasons why: economic and culture. People are trying to figure out how we educate our youth to take their place in the economies of the 21st Century while also trying to figure out how we educate them to have a cultural identity and provide them the opportunity to pass down the cultural genes they have to generations to come.
 
Sir Ken Robinson’s perspective on education is very interesting. I found myself thinking “Wow, no one has said it like that before.” I hope that you enjoy it as much as I did.
 
Until next time,
Erica
 

Enablers: The True Economic Engine by Nick Arnett

 
I had a great conversation the other day regarding the importance of place in terms of economic activity. While getting lunch with an old friend, they asked me in a doubtful tone, “can placemaking really spur economic growth, or is it just another feel-good idea?”
 
Economic development professionals, urban planners, architects, and individuals from related fields across the globe are beginning to realize the important role place plays in the economic development and growth of a location – be it a neighborhood, city, or an entire region. Placemaking marks a new era in the way we approach the growth and development of a city, and a new way in which we view the role “community” plays in the global competition for talent.
 
I typically break placemaking down into two categories:
 
Placemaking – The broader of the two; refers to the development, implementation, design, and management of a space largely guided by individuals who interact with the space on a routine basis. Project for Public Spaces (PPS) gives a great summary:
 

(Placemaking) involves looking at, listening to, and asking questions of the people who live, work and play in a particular space, to discover their needs and aspirations. This information is then used to create a common vision for that place. The vision can evolve quickly into an implementation strategy, beginning with small-scale, do-able improvements that can immediately bring benefits to public spaces and the people who use them.”

 
Placemaking hinges on two major process: the formation of a vision based on collection of input from individuals who interact with the space regarding their needs, dreams, and aspirations for it, and the transformation of that vision into action. When people who have a vested interest in a space are given the opportunity to shape its future, you’re essentially insuring that the given space is relevant to the lives of the people who utilize it.
 
The action phase of it can take a number of different paths, depending on who’s guiding the conversation. For example, if a developer opens dialogue among individuals effected by a space to create a vision for a development in that area, the action phase of it will be carried out by the developer once the visioning process is complete. However, a powerful and more sustainable transformation can occur when you implement some sort of “enabling feature” into the place you’re looking at.
 
A perfect illustration of this can be found in Chattanooga, Tennessee. During my recent visit there, I came across a fascinating duo that I’ve mentioned a number of times on this blog – CreateHere and CoLab. Nestled into a storefront on Main Street in the historic Southside neighborhood of Chattanooga, these two forward-thinking groups were incubators of innovation, inspiration, and creation – they helped lead the charge in the Main Street transformation. Whether it was planned intentionally or not, something was clear during my visit there: these two were responsible for much of the change that has occurred in the Southside neighborhood over the past five years. Businesses that lifted off through CoLab’s plethora of resources filled in store fronts throughout a five to ten block radius, and traces of CreateHere’s programs were found all throughout the neighborhood – everything from artistic elements made possible by MakeWork and Arts Move to signage for festivals celebrating the historic heritage and bright future Main Street has.
 
Though I’m not sure of the date, it’s obvious that dialogue opened up sometime within the last decade regarding the future of Main Street among people with a vested interest in the poverty and crime-stricken area of town. Ideas were shared, dreams were published, and a vision was born. The needs, aspirations, and dreams for Main Street were brought under one umbrella that gave it a guiding force – that vision compiled by people who had a passion for Main Street helped orchestrate the action that took place there. Yet the vision set for it wasn’t the only force at work; having “enablers” that believed in Main Street like CreateHere, CoLab, and the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga allowed the Southside community to not only reimagine itself, but also recreate itself. Hopes and dreams were processed through the enablers, and the output was the actual implementation of a vision set by lovers of Main Street.
 
The second, more specified form of placemaking is known as creative placemaking. This form of placemaking involves the creation of spaces that stimulate creativity and collaboration; in turn, they spur economic growth where implemented. In a study for the National Endowment for the Arts, Ann Markusen defines the term below:
 

Creative placemaking animates public and private spaces, rejuvenates structures and streetscapes, improves local business viability and public safety, and brings diverse people together to celebrate, inspire, and be inspired.

 
Sounds great, but what kind of consequences can be seen from practicing this in terms of economic growth? Does it really spur economic activity within a community, city, or region? Does it really “improve local business viability?”
 
At one point, I was among the skeptics – until I was able to see data supporting the case for creative placemaking as a tool for economic development. The study I referenced above illustrates this argument elegantly, and gives supporting evidence to back it up. One of the most important factors that this practice brings to the table is the incubation of innovation. In other words, these “creative elements” provide a creative, collaborative space where “two half-good ideas can come together.” A video Craig Crook showed me a few months back, entitled Where Good Ideas Come From, describes this process to a perfect tune.
 
During a radio interview on “Place Matters” with Dr. Katherine Loflin a few weeks ago, I described a local example of creative placemaking in Fort Wayne by way of utilizing already “socially-charged” infrastructure: our trails system. While conducting a study with students from the University of Saint Francis, Fort Wayne Trails executive director Lori Keys discovered that people are nearly eight times more likely to greet you with a smile on the trails than they are on the streets of downtown Fort Wayne. Lori went on to tell me how Fort Wayne Trails uses public art & sculpture to encourage social interaction on the trails and stimulate creative conversation.
 
Though placemaking and creative placemaking are two very different terms with different meanings, the two go hand-in-hand. Creating spaces that are relevant to the lives of the people who interact with them is more critical now than it ever has been in the past given that Millennials (individuals between the ages of 12 and 30) choose a place first and a job second when looking for a place to locate to. Creating a space that is relevant to them and giving them the means to keep it relevant is critically important to attracting and retaining talent. Creative placemaking insures that the dialogue about the space continues, a city’s creative potential is expanded, and its innovative capacity is enhanced.
 
The emotional connection between people and where they live is a critical factor to keep in mind when attracting talent. Enabling a community to keep their space relevant to their lives is the only sure way of developing a community that can be competitive on a global scale regarding the development, retainment, and attraction of talent.
 
To read more about Nick’s 12 Cities 12 Months project, visit his website here.
 

Priorities Revealed at Annual Meeting

 
A press conference was held yesterday afternoon at the IPFW Alumni Center by the Regional Opportunities Council to reveal the top priorities established for Northeast Indiana to achieve by the year 2020. Media and the general public waited anxiously to hear the long-awaited announcement.
 
Under the leadership of the Regional Opportunities Council, the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership has spent months garnering feedback from citizens across the 10-county region, establishing buy in from regional leadership and benchmarking successful regions across the country. As a result of feedback from the many partners and stakeholders working on Vision 2020, a final slate of priorities, which align with the five pillars, and a regional mission and vision were unveiled.
 
Throughout the Vision 2020 process, we have found that talent is the underlying current that ties the pillars of Vision 2020 together. Without a focus on developing, attracting and retaining talent, none of the five pillars will be successful. As a result, the Regional Opportunities Council voted at their October meeting to officially adopt a regional mission around talent: The mission of Northeast Indiana is to develop, attract and retain talent.
 
With multiple organizations, businesses and individuals moving Vision 2020 forward, maintaining alignment is critical for long-term sustainability. To affirm alignment with the mission, the Regional Opportunities Council also adopted an overarching vision for Northeast Indiana. The vision is for Northeast Indiana to become a top global competitor, exceeding the expectations of businesses and residents.
 
“A unified mission and vision for Northeast Indiana ensures that as we develop strategies within each pillar, we are doing so with focus, continuing to align with our core purpose for years to come. This is not about one organization aligning with these goals; it’s about all of us–education, business and civic leaders alike–agreeing that to be successful, we need to realize the power of speaking with one voice,” said Dr. Jerrilee Mosier, Chancellor of Ivy Tech Northeast and member of the Regional Opportunities Council. She discussed the importance of developing, attracting, and retaining talent in our region at yesterday’s press conference. She mentioned that if we don’t take the time to retain our educated individuals, we are simply educating someone else’s workforce.
 
Top Priorities set for Northeast Indiana
 
As mentioned above, the priorities revealed yesterday are long-term goals that the region will work on collectively to achieve in 2020. All of these priorities have been vetted extensively and have consistently been ranked by participants of Vision 2020 as both difficult to execute and highly desirable based on their potential impact to the region. As a result, the Regional Opportunities Council finds them to be game changers for the future of Northeast Indiana.
 
21st Century Talent
The BIG Goal
The BIG Goal, as set forth by the Lumina Foundation, entails increasing the proportion of Northeast Indiana residents with high-quality degrees and credentials to 60% by 2025. Currently, only 31.5% of residents in the region hold a degree. Reaching this goal will directly impact both the success of our businesses and the per capita income in the region.
 
 
Entrepreneurship
Quick Start
Quick Start is a one year pilot program that provides expert advisory services to accelerate entrepreneurial opportunities and small, high growth companies. It is a partnership of the Indiana Economic Development Corporation (IEDC), Elevate Ventures, Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership and JumpStart. Quick Start will also coordinate efforts with the Northeast Indiana Innovation Center, Small Business Development Center, SCORE and the LEDO Council.
 
 
Infrastructure
Regional Internet Access
Regional internet access will provide our talent with the tools necessary to access global markets, develop and improve technological skills and improve communication. Considering models such as iMAN in Steuben County, we will work to become one of the most wired regions in the country.
 
Regional Interstate Accessibility
Focusing on regional interstate accessibility will improve access to major transportation corridors. With the limited amount of state and federal resources, we must work collectively to prioritize and advocate for those transportation projects that will transform our regional transportation system. The Regional Chamber of Northeast Indiana’s efforts to bring community leaders together around the I-69 to Roanoke Project is the first significant endeavor towards addressing this priority.
 
 
Competitive Business Climate
Permitting
Streamlining the permitting and zoning processes across the region will create a more business-friendly climate, providing greater efficiencies to support our top industry talent. National research of permitting best practices tell us that successful efforts include the following: improvements driven by customer demand, common environmental interests, which serve as a catalyst for improvements, utilizing technology to make improvements sustainable, and the importance of empowering jurisdictions to lead and own these improvements.
 
Air Service at FWA
Increasing flight frequency as well as non-stop air service options will provide our regional talent with greater access to national and global markets. This ease of mobility will also encourage business and job growth and increase our capability to host major conferences.
 
 
Quality of Life
Downtown Riverfront Development
Riverfront development in downtown Fort Wayne will help create a vibrant and dynamic metro center for the region. Creating strong quality of place and offering increased social and cultural amenities will attract young talent and tourists as well as provide an asset for current residents. It could also align with trails, public transit and other waterways to serve as a catalyst for future developments throughout the region.
 
 
John Sampson, President and CEO of the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership said “It shows great strength in our region that we were able to successfully collaborate on developing these priorities. Now we need you, the residents of Northeast Indiana, to help turn these plans into action.”
 
Until next time,
Erica
 

The Chattanooga Transformation

Millennial 2020 coordinator Nick Arnett details his travels to his first city stop on his 12 city journey: Chattanooga, Tennessee.

I recently made my first Twelve Cities Project visit. I was Chattanooga-bound in sunny, beautiful 70-degree weather with the magnificent Smoky Mountains looming over my head. As I entered the Tennessee River valley and crossed into the Chattanooga area, it was easy to see why so many people have fallen in love with the beauty of this region.

But I wasn’t convinced that the aesthetic appeal of the place was the reason young talent has flocked there in droves over the past decade. I was determined to dig deeper.

My first morning there, I took a 5am walk (yes, 5AM) around the city’s center. There was a great sense of density and connectivity – everything, no matter what the distance, seemed to be within walking distance. The streets had a beautiful appeal to them, the sidewalks were comfortable to walk on, and there was an appropriate ratio of built environment to greenspace. Yes, they were little details – but they were little details that mattered.

I spent the majority of that morning with an awesome group of enthusiastic residents called CreateHere. Founded in 2007, they were determined to make a difference in both Chattanooga and the nonprofit realm from the start. Upon conception, they have a “supernova” date in mind – on December 31, 2011, they would cease to exist. They dubbed it their supernova date with the idea that a supernova either creates a black hole or shining stars. Based on what I observed during my visit, the latter is definitely true of this group.

In my own words, I’d describe them as an incubator for social innovation. I spent the morning (and a good deal of the week) learning about some of the awesome programs that had evolved out of CreateHere’s enthusiasm and passion for economic revival in Chattanooga. MakeWork, an artist grant program, seeks to change public perception of what art is to include new and emerging forms of artistic expression – new media, documentary production, to name a few. Click here to view a clip of my conversation with Kate Creason, the MakeWork Administrator. For a full list of programs that have been developed out of CreateHere, click here – and prepare to be blown away by seeing the explosive results of mixing arts, culture, economic development, and community attachment.

It was fantastic to see the energy, passion, and enthusiasm this group of young people had for Chattanooga – but I knew that wasn’t the whole story. I was only seeing the tip of the iceberg. Three decades ago, Chattanooga had be named the “dirtiest city” in the county and had hit rock bottom about as hard as it could. How did they rebound? How did they begin to establish themselves as – what I’m calling – the Silicon Valley of the south? How did they go from a “nearly dead city” to having such a vibrant and diversified economy, with such a high percentage of growth among young talent?

A conversation with J. Ed Marston of the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce shed a little more light on this. Jed told me about where Chattanooga is today in regards to it’s recent deployment of the country’s fastest internet, and its journey to establish itself as a technology hub on a national and global scale. Additionally, Jed spoke a bit about the steps it took to begin the process – the importance of creating a regional vision that everyone bought into and used as guiding principles for whatever they did. This helped insure that everyone’s agendas were aligned and all worked towards a common goal in a collaborative fashion.

I was now scratching the surface, but I knew I wasn’t digging down to the roots yet. I still hadn’t found the spark that lit the torch for Chattanooga’s transformation.

A conversation with Pete Cooper of the Community Foundation of Greater Chattanooga cleared that up.

As I asked Pete about Chattanooga’s story – where they had come from and what led to it – he emphasized one point: passion. It all started with a group of residents who were determined to see Chattanooga change for the better three decades ago, and they started to do so by taking on the enormous task of attempting to change residents’ perceptions of the city. Though they had made the unpopular decision to be fish swimming upstream, they knew that if Chattanooga’s residents loved the place that they lived – if they were attached to their community – they would be more inclined and willing to invest their time, energy, and talent into enhancing its overall desirability.

This point really hit home with me. On my way to Chattanooga, many had told me you can’t make a comparison between them and Fort Wayne. I beg to differ. Many cited the mountains and beautiful Tennessee River as reasons Chattanooga has seen explosive growth over the past few decades. However, many in Chattanooga pointed out the beauty of our cornfields, forests, and natural assets in Northeast Indiana as ways to attract people.

What it all comes down to is a simple, yet entirely complex shift that needs to occur in the mindset of our resident population. Many of us are deeply attached to Northeast Indiana and couldn’t see ourselves calling any other location home; that’s fantastic! Let’s build upon that. Too many times we focus on what we don’t have instead of what we could be. A vision is only as effective as the willingness of residents to turn it into action. Let’s create the Northeast Indiana we want to be.

Next up: Paducah, Kentucky.

To follow Nick’s travels, visit www.12cities12months.com.

Meet Erica Hahn, Vision 2020 Coordinator

 
Hello Everyone. I’m Erica Hahn, the Vision 2020 Coordinator. I recently moved to Fort Wayne from Northwest Indiana (small town of Walkerton) where I was born and raised. I am a 2010 graduate of Manchester College where I doubled majored in Finance and Economics. I’m currently pursuing my Masters in Business Management at Indiana Tech.
 
Although I’ve only been with the Partnership for about two months, in that short time Fort Wayne has become my home. The people are brilliant, the atmosphere is welcoming, and people here are innovative and inspiring. From my experience with education and with economics, I feel like we are really heading in the right direction. I’m so excited and honored to be a part of Vision 2020 and I hope that I can encourage others to get involved as well.
 
I will blog as often as possible, in order to keep everyone updated on what is going on regionally and with Vision 2020. If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to bring them my way.
 

21st Century Talent Conference Recap

 
The Partnership staff helped area Mayors, WorkOne Northeast, and the Talent Initiative kick off the 21st Century Talent Conference on Wednesday, October 5. Regional Mayors Suzanne Handshoe of Kendallville, John Schultz of Decatur, Tom Henry of Fort Wayne, Norm Yoder of Auburn, John Minch of Berne, and Richard Hickman of Angola, along with Senator Kruse stood behind this effort as we brought together over 200 area educators and business persons to talk about the importance of developing a top-rated workforce. The event was headlined by two dynamic keynote speakers; Ian Jukes; Director of InfoSavvy Group, an international consulting group that provides leadership and program development and Dewayne Matthews; Vice President of Policy and Strategy for the Lumina Foundation.
 
The conference’s main goal: educate the region on the BIG Goal and importance of education and business to work together to achieve this bold initiative. The BIG Goal; first developed by the Lumina Foundation for Education (out of Indianapolis) challenges the region to increase the proportion of American’s with high-quality degrees and credentials to 60% by the year 2025.
 
Why does this matter? While the unemployment rate in Northeast Indiana and across the nation is still high; we have employers with jobs openings that they are unable to fill due to the lack of appropriate skills and education. This trend is only just beginning and is projected to get much worse.
 
The conference touched on a broad spectrum of issues related to developing our 21st Century Talent. John Stafford, Director of Community Research Institute for IPFW, and his business panel discussed the current reality of the workforce in Northeast Indiana. Mark Michael; President and COO of Fort Wayne Metals, and Scott Maddox; Site Executive for Northrop Grumman Corp. talked about the current and long-term skill needs of their companies and the difficulties of finding those skills in our region today.
 
Leonard Helfrich, Director of the Talent Initiative, shared “What is Happening Regionally”, highlighted programs of the Talent Initiative and other strong regional programs.
 
Ian Jukes keynote address titled, “Disruptive Innovation,” illustrated the rapid nature of change in today’s world and the critical need for the evolution of training and education to keep pace with this change. Jukes stated that “everything has an expiration date; including education… get ready for the reset button, it is time for a complete overhaul.” The audience enjoyed his enthusiasm and ideas about change.
 
So here comes the question of: are we heading in the right direction? According to the various business owners, politicians, and educators who attended, the answer is a firm “yes!” We, as a region, need to change now before we get left behind. Dewayne showed the importance of education and how the previous recession accelerated a longer-term decline in middle-skilled, middle-waged jobs. According to studies, 735,000 working-age adults have attended college, but don’t have a degree. Wow! This just proves that we need to act now and the BIG Goal should be the driving force of our action.
 
By: Erica Hahn, Vision 2020 Project Coordinator
Photo By: Daniel Scheerer (Pixel Perfect Photography)