Louisiana Development Ready Communities
Louisiana Development Ready Communities Since 2007, Jennifer Tanner, TPMA's new Executive Vice President and Janus Economic's Co-Founder, has been working with Louisiana Economic Development encouraging communities to become development ready, competitive and open for business through creation and implementation of strategic community and economic development plans in a program called Louisiana Development Ready Communities (LDRC).
In two pilot phases, 18 communities have been recognized as "Development Ready Communities" and have received many benefits as a result of their participation. Jennifer Tanner and Janus Co-Founder, Robert Pittman, have many years experience as site selectors and each community receives a "Site Selector" visit giving them a "real" experience to practice their pitch. Additionally, communities accepted into the program receive coaching, mentoring, training, and connection to many resources they may not have known to access within the state.
Through the LDRC program, these communities all have strategic plans and are focused on achieving their visions. They are more competitive because they have a written plan describing how they are going to leverage assets and address challenges. In addition, they are able to show year to year progress with measurements identified in their plans, much like mile-markers on a roadmap.
Each community's plan includes strategies to address education, workforce development, infrastructure, leadership, and marketing/communications.
Programs such as this illustrate the importance not only of written strategic plans but also the strong relationship between economic development and workforce development. TPMA is finding our strength in identifying needs and assets and in development "single vision" strategic plans help lead to role clarity and a high level of trust between the two disciplines. The resulting coordinated, or what we call the TPMA "One-Plan", helps communities grow by playing to their strengths and assets, both physical and human, and making connections between organizations with complimentary programs and services that cause greater impact on the growth/diversification of a community. For more information on how we can help bring a single unifying vision to your community, please contact Tom Miller or Jennifer Tanner.
For more information on the Louisiana Development Ready Communities Program, go here. Victoria Hirschberg joins TPMA Victoria Hirschberg has joined TPMA as a senior project consultant. Victoria has a wealth of economic development, planning and social media experience. She most recently served as marketing director for the McAllen Economic Development Corporation in McAllen TX, where she was responsible for strategic outreach and recruitment. She's also worked for the Resource Center for Raza Planning, in Albuquerque, New Mexico and for the City of McAllen's Planning Office.
Client Profile: City of Greenfield Indiana
The city of Greenfield, Indiana has been a client of Thomas P. Miller and Associates since 2008, when the firm helped the city develop its strategic economic development plan. Greenfield is the county seat of Hancock County and has approximately 15,000 residents. It lies on the National Road (US 40) about 30 miles east of Indianapolis. Greenfield's challenge is not unlike that of many small cities across the country: the diversification of its economic base. The city is currently trying to identify life sciences opportunities, as it builds on recent growth in that sector in Central Indiana. TPMA is working with officials to market the city and identify funding opportunities, especially among incubators and accelerators throughout the Midwest. As the County does not have a college or university located within its borders, TPMA is also helping officials develop a collaborative higher education model that will provide additional learning opportunities for residents. For more information on the opportunities in Greenfield, the city's Web site can be accessed here.
How to collaborate remotely
Writing in Venturebeat.com and the Entrepreneur Corner blog, Joel Bomgar has some ideas on how to collaborate when employees span different time zones and geographies. "As more organizations move towards satellite offices or a remote workforce model to reduce costs and acquire top-tier talent from other locations, it's a problem that's only going to grow," he writes. "So how do you encourage collaboration among individuals who may only be in the same room a few times a year? It's not always easy, but there are some relatively simple technology tricks that can help."
Bomgar lists four techniques on how to stay in that collaborative frame of mind:
• Simulate face-to-face communication
• Encourage chatting
• Let IT be everywhere at once
• The virtual water cooler
For the full story, go here
Uptick in job-oriented certificates
The sluggish economy, languishing unemployment rates, and high student debt are combining to cause an uptick in "job-oriented certificates" throughout the nation, according to an article by Joanne Jacobs in The Hechinger Report. "The recession has brought in clear focus the value of a career versus a job," said Willis Holcombe, chancellor of Florida's fast-growing community college system. A new report based on the state's employment data shows that students who earn certificates or associate of science degrees make more money in their first year out of college than four-year graduates of Florida's university system. Labor economists and some educators believe career-driven degrees should become an increasingly common choice and are advising students to pursue skills-oriented fields of study they feel offer better job opportunities. Nationally, 27 percent of people with licenses and certificates also earn more than the average bachelor's degree recipient, according to Anthony Carnevale, director of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce. Carnevale's newest data show that at least half of all anticipated job opportunities in the next seven years will be open to "middle-skill" workers like pharmacy technicians - what Khofasani will be after he passes a certification exam. Training for such jobs is offered at both community colleges and for-profit career and trade schools. For the full article, go here.
