The Implementation Plan

Our Southwest Indiana WIRED Implementation Plan is based on connecting leadership across the region to create common regional goals and strategies that will increase the education and training level of existing and emerging workers while also accelerating job creation in our high growth, high skill, high wage business clusters. The base measure of success will be how many additional high skill, high wage jobs are created and filled.

Processes to Support Goal Achievement

Since WIRED is a constantly evolving process, the WIRED Team established a Process Goal in addition to the five substantive goals which follow. Process Goal - Establish Effective Processes to Drive the Goals of Southwest Indiana WIRED sets out strategies for Data Gathering, Outreach, Regional Identity, Sustainability and Linking WIRED and WIA.

Data Gathering encompasses a broad range of data for the region. The WIRED Data Team is using the Council on Competitiveness’ Asset Mapping Roadmap to determine what data to gather and likely sources. The data team will also lead the region’s asset mapping and cluster analysis. The Southwest Indiana WIRED Team understands that WIRED is a data driven process and is committed to reviewing the Implementation Plan carefully when all of the data is available to both confirm the goals, strategies and activities in this plan or, where indicated by the data, change direction or emphasis.

Sustainability of the plan’s initiatives after the WIRED seed money has been expended is also of paramount importance and the goal includes several strategies to keep sustainability as a priority for the Team in all of its decisions. As the WIRED staff is developed, sustainability will become an assigned duty for one of the staff members.

Linking WIRED and WIA. Also under this goal is a strategy we believe can transform workforce development in the region by linking WIRED to the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) activities at WorkOne Centers. Those WIRED Team members who are also on the RWB or Regional Operator staff see an opportunity to increase the impact on workers of the federal funds spent on WIA ($2.8 million in the current funding year through the RWB). We will form an ongoing team of key WIA and WIRED representatives to regularly develop additional linkages and synergies between the programs. Making the WIRED and WIA measurables as common as possible will also reinforce this linkage.

Meeting Workforce Needs Today and Tomorrow Through Education, Regional Collaboration and Focused Workforce Development (Goal 1)

This is our first and foundational substantive goal. The goal’s strategies and activities are built around a major regional effort to increase STEM capacity and enrollment and also greatly increasing Technical and Career skills development for both existing and emerging workers.

Goal 1 further recognizes and addresses the limiting factor that many of our citizens will not necessarily seek out skills improvement opportunities on their own; we need to reach out to expose them to the many exciting career opportunities available. We are resolved to not only communicate available careers and related training, but also to encourage workers to aim higher in their career aspirations.

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Integrate Economic Development (ED) and Workforce Development (WD) for Job Creation (Goal 2)

Just preparing the workers for good jobs is not enough. The genius of WIRED is that the regional leadership must also ensure the regional economy creates the jobs so that the education and training in Goal 1 isn’t an empty promise.

ED and WD leaders in Southwest Indiana recognize the critical link of having the right workers – numbers and skills – available to staff expanding existing businesses and businesses desiring to locate in the region. To this end, ED and WD professionals are committing to formalizing their relationship for manpower planning, jointly participate(ing) in obtaining detailed information about future worker needs, and regularly publishing future job requirements. We will also encourage the overlap of board members to further forge this link.

The plan also installs a feedback loop from the future jobs forecast to the education and training partners so they may manage their curricula and enrollments to keep a credible balance between trained workers and jobs available.

Entrepreneurship- Create a Supportive Culture for New Business Formation and Growth (Goal 3)

Because studies show that more than half of all new jobs are created by small businesses and entrepreneurial businesses, it is critical that the regional job creation plan include a supportive culture in which entrepreneurial businesses be encouraged and supported

The first step is to enlist proven entrepreneurs to work with the WIRED team to review the strategies and activities planned (and modify as needed); help identify the barriers entrepreneurs face in the region and develop strategies to mitigate them; and mentor other entrepreneurs, especially those just establishing their businesses.

The strategies further support the stimulation and teaching of entrepreneurship during K-12 and college/university education as well as providing support to adults who aspire to become entrepreneurs.

Southwest Indiana WIRED is also committed to making relationships with technology developers in the region, state, and federal agencies (through the DOL’s federal agencies partners program) so that technology transfer opportunities can be available to entrepreneurs and other existing businesses in the region.

Develop Transportation, Distribution, and Logistics Capabilities for Economic Growth - (Goal 4)

The WIRED planning process identified that the region is well located in relation to most of the large centers of economic activity in the eastern two-thirds of the U.S. and that the region’s rail, river, and, to a lesser extent, highway assets are excellent and have additional potential. The highway network will become a strong asset with the planned construction of Interstate 69 between Evansville and Indianapolis along with other road projects in progress or committed.

Historical use of these TDL assets has mainly been “passive” in the sense if freight is generated in the region or destined for the region it moves over the transportation system. Goal 4 proposes to “actively” use the region’s location and TDL assets to create a cluster of TDL businesses.

The region already has sizeable businesses such as Shoe Carnival and T.J.Maxx that receive containers of primarily imported retail goods which they distribute to their stores through sophisticated systems. Through the strategy to promote an Intermodal (train/truck) container facility and adjoining Business Park, the region will focus on becoming the place to locate TDL businesses. The strategy also includes preparing TDL training courses and training the specialized workers needed.

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Promote Broadband Access to Accelerate Communication, Education and Economic Development - (Goal 5)

Broadband access in the primarily rural Southwest Indiana Region is not uniform. High Speed Internet is available in many areas but there are also many locations with only dial up or no access at all. Simply stated, how can a WIRED Region be a success if it is not a “Wired” region?

Southwest Indiana WIRED believes that broadband access is a necessary infrastructure to compete successfully in the global economy, not only for business connectivity but also to deliver the latest education and skills training to rural regions in an economically feasible manner. Goal 5 commits the Team to lead a study to baseline existing broadband, determine expansion plans already committed, study the advantages of more broadband access in the region, and lay out potential technological changes the region should understand.

This study will then be communicated to leaders throughout the region with emphasis on local elected officials. Southwest Indiana WIRED will also provide assistance to communities trying to upgrade broadband service by making the broadband consultant and WIRED staff planning support available to them.

We Are Excited and Ready to Begin

The members of the Southwest Indiana WIRED Implementation Team and its partner organizations greatly appreciate the transformational opportunities this $5,000,000 WIRED grant presents to the Southwest Indiana Region. We wish to thank the U.S. D.O.L. Education and Training Administration, the Indiana Department of Workforce Development and the many individuals who helped the grant become a reality. We will work diligently to leverage the funds provided and execute this plan vigorously while remaining open to additional opportunities to further elevate the region as we follow the WIRED path.

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