Clusters in Milwaukee and the Surrounding Region
Brian Kelsey linked to an article from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel on Milwaukee’s chief economic growth strategy: fostering the development of industry clusters. The water cluster in the M-7 region is perhaps the most well-known at this point, but there are others — food, medical technology, innovation, financial services, the creative economy, etc.
Each has made strides in the last two to three years.
“The water cluster probably has the most traction – the longest run time, great leadership, defined mission, and great publicity in the local, national and international markets,” [the Milwaukee 7 economic development consortium's Pat] O’Brien said.Manufacturing, however, has enticed the greatest number of other companies to create jobs in the region, usually with packages of tax incentives and state aid, O’Brien said.
Merely identifying a cluster never guarantees that a region will benefit. One effort that fizzled a decade ago involved the preponderance of commercial printers in metro Milwaukee – companies that print magazines, catalogs and books. It wasn’t for lack of raw numbers. The national trade journal Printing Impressions named Wisconsin the “Printing Capital of the USA.”
But printing no longer appears on anyone’s cluster list in an age when e-readers and tablets have thrown the industry into a state of flux.
“Establishing other clusters took a higher priority,” O’Brien said. To successfully coax growth and investment in a sector, it’s critical to have engaged business leadership and a defined set of objectives, he said.
EMSI worked alongside regional planners in Milwaukee near the start of this project to identify the top in-demand workforce competencies needed for the targeted industry groups that M-7 had chosen. You can read more that about in this case study.
Linda Fowler, founder of Regionerate (an EMSI partner on the Milwaukee project and others), talked about the unique steps Milwaukee is taking to develop its water cluster this EMSI Q&A:
I think a good example [of knowledge spillover] is Milwaukee, where they’ve formed a water cluster that is essentially bringing people together to benefit creating this hub for freshwater science. The way they’ve done that is they’ve looked at how they can integrate the needs of industry back into the K-12 system.
In the postsecondary system they’re looking at forming an advanced technology education center, a community college for freshwater science. They have a new grad program they set up. So they’re getting to look at all the different ways to bring stakeholders together to support this initiative. And I think the work that EMSI and Regionerate did in that region was just to help them take that to the next level. They were already beginning to focus on the integration of education and economic development and workforce development toward this industry cluster around water.
Read more at Economic Modeling Specialists (EMSI blog)
Source:
Anyone can join.
Anyone can contribute.
Anyone can become informed about their world.
"United We Stand" Click Here To Create Your Personal Citizen Journalist Account Today, Be Sure To Invite Your Friends.
Please Help Support BeforeitsNews by trying our Natural Health Products below!
Order by Phone at 888-809-8385 or online at https://mitocopper.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST
Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomic.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST
Order by Phone at 866-388-7003 or online at https://www.herbanomics.com M - F 9am to 5pm EST
Humic & Fulvic Trace Minerals Complex - Nature's most important supplement! Vivid Dreams again!
HNEX HydroNano EXtracellular Water - Improve immune system health and reduce inflammation.
Ultimate Clinical Potency Curcumin - Natural pain relief, reduce inflammation and so much more.
MitoCopper - Bioavailable Copper destroys pathogens and gives you more energy. (See Blood Video)
Oxy Powder - Natural Colon Cleanser! Cleans out toxic buildup with oxygen!
Nascent Iodine - Promotes detoxification, mental focus and thyroid health.
Smart Meter Cover - Reduces Smart Meter radiation by 96%! (See Video).