1. Minnesota’s Workforce Investment and Competitiveness Strategy Lee W. Munnich, Jr. and L. Burke Murphy Presentation for session on What the European Social Fund Can Learn from the WIA Experience Washington, D.C. November 7, 2009

2. Overview Merging Workforce and Economic Development Economic Competitiveness Focus Regional Collaboration Unified Workforce Investment Plan WIA Reauthorization: Integrating Workforce Development, Education and Economic Development Regional Competitiveness Project Led by Metro Mayors Conclusion OVERVIEW

3. Merging WF and ED MERGING WORKFORCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

4. DEED’s role in transformation 1.Integrating – Workforce center services provided by DEED and WIA providers at local level – Adult Basic Education, higher education, workforce & economic development to improve education and employment outcomes of adult learners 2. Educating – Regional leadership regarding best practices and opportunities – Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs), Foundations, K-12, higher education, and public & private sector partners regarding role of clusters/industry sectors in driving regional transformation 3. Leading – Development of new /existing partnerships regionally, statewide, across state lines and internationally 4. Consulting – Technical assistance on State and Federal grants management – Ongoing assistance w/WF Center operations and services – Regional team building strategies with DEED staff 5. Documenting – Regional prosperity networks initiated or strengthened – Developing rubric to measure regional competitiveness and inform possible future investments DEED’s role in transformation process – Working across systems and geo-political boundaries

5. Economic Comp Focus Microeconomics of Competitiveness: Firms, Clusters and Economic Development (MOC) – Professor Michael Porter, Harvard Business School 110 DEED, higher education and local government employees take MOC course in 2006 and 2007 Teams completed 21 cluster projects in 13 Minnesota regions ECONOMIC COMPETITIVENESS FOCUS

6. Regional Collaboration REGIONAL COLLABORATION

7. Unified Workforce Investment Plan UNIFIED WORKFORCE INVESTMENT PLAN

8. WIA Reauthorization Overarching emphasis on regional, inclusive and innovative approaches to workforce development Minnesota Fast TRAC is an innovative model of this newly integrated and aligned approach Targets and leverages resources from multiple agencies to enhance employability of low-wage working learners State competitiveness depends on this seamless alignment WIA REAUTHORIZATION: INTEGRATING WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT, EDUCATION AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

9. Regional Comp Project 36-member Twin Cities Regional Council of Mayors (RCM) organized by Urban Land Institute (ULI) Central city and suburban mayors collaborated in winning $133 million USDOT Urban Partnership Agreement (UPA) grant for I-35W in 2007. DEED and University of Minnesota’s Humphrey Institute conducting a two- year Regional Competitiveness Project for RCM. Business leaders involved through Itasca Project. REGIONAL COMPETITIVENESS PROJECT LED BY METRO MAYORS

11. Cluster Evaluation & Criteria Six Key Criteria Strength of competitive advantage Potential gain from private- public collaboration Degree of geographic distribution in the region Potential to spur innovation Potential to spur entrepreneurship International strength EVALUATION AND SELECTION OF COMPETITIVE CLUSTERS

13. Project Timeline REGIONAL COMPETITIVENESS PROJECT TIMETABLE

14. Conclusion Regional competitiveness and institutional collaboration are critical ingredients for the evolving workforce development, education and economic development strategies in Minnesota. Regional industry cluster strategies may offer an effective new model for linking business, government and education strategies within a region and state. These strategies offer a promising new model for WIA reauthorization in the U.S. and may offer an opportunity for benchmarking with European workforce investment and cluster initiatives. CONCLUSION