Regional vision plan integration and implementation : phase II : final report - Page 145 |
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139
G. Other partners
Aside from the state government, there were no other partner organizations or agencies
involved in this case.
H. Interviewees
Vince Nystrom, Michigan Economic Development Corporation
Roselyn Zator, Michigan Economic Development Corporation
Section D-6 Minnesota
A. Introduction
In Minnesota, like some other states, the main state-level economic development
organization is not the entity driving targeted cluster or industry development. In fact,
Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) only
recently retrained staff to provide any sort of business assistance (previously, they had
focused on counseling job seekers), and the resulting “business service specialists” are
assigned to a region, not a specific industry or cluster. While DEED does not target
industries or clusters, it has experimented with hiring industry-focused staff in two cases,
but their bioscience expert position is no longer funded, and the manufacturing expert
position is considered to be an “advocate,” not a project-oriented industry or cluster
developer.
In the absence of industry or cluster-focused efforts at the state economic development
organization, the most promising work in the state has occurred in the state college and
university system. Two recent initiatives have been industry-based and have worked to
involve business leaders:
1. Targeted Industry Partnerships program (or TIP), which was discontinued
several years ago; and,
2. Centers of Excellence program, which was approved by the legislature two years
ago.
Through TIP, the Minnesota legislature promoted the creation of four new industry
partnerships and provided $750,000 over three years to each of the partnerships, which
could independently decide how to spend the money. The centers of excellence program
allocates money to state universities and colleges to invest in research and programs
related to a single target industry, with the intention of stimulating the industry and
differentiating the universities and colleges from each other. At the close of TIP funding,
only one of the partnerships endured, so the centers of excellence program has been an
entirely separate initiative, despite some overlap in the industries targeted.
Object Description
Description
| Title | Regional vision plan integration and implementation : phase II : final report - Page 145 |
| Full Text | 139 G. Other partners Aside from the state government, there were no other partner organizations or agencies involved in this case. H. Interviewees Vince Nystrom, Michigan Economic Development Corporation Roselyn Zator, Michigan Economic Development Corporation Section D-6 Minnesota A. Introduction In Minnesota, like some other states, the main state-level economic development organization is not the entity driving targeted cluster or industry development. In fact, Minnesota’s Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) only recently retrained staff to provide any sort of business assistance (previously, they had focused on counseling job seekers), and the resulting “business service specialists” are assigned to a region, not a specific industry or cluster. While DEED does not target industries or clusters, it has experimented with hiring industry-focused staff in two cases, but their bioscience expert position is no longer funded, and the manufacturing expert position is considered to be an “advocate,” not a project-oriented industry or cluster developer. In the absence of industry or cluster-focused efforts at the state economic development organization, the most promising work in the state has occurred in the state college and university system. Two recent initiatives have been industry-based and have worked to involve business leaders: 1. Targeted Industry Partnerships program (or TIP), which was discontinued several years ago; and, 2. Centers of Excellence program, which was approved by the legislature two years ago. Through TIP, the Minnesota legislature promoted the creation of four new industry partnerships and provided $750,000 over three years to each of the partnerships, which could independently decide how to spend the money. The centers of excellence program allocates money to state universities and colleges to invest in research and programs related to a single target industry, with the intention of stimulating the industry and differentiating the universities and colleges from each other. At the close of TIP funding, only one of the partnerships endured, so the centers of excellence program has been an entirely separate initiative, despite some overlap in the industries targeted. |
