The NEW Economy

The NorthEast Wisconsin

Economic Opportunity Study

 

Purpose:

Ø      The last 24 months the Northeast Wisconsin Region has experienced:

o       Approximately 35% Job Loss in Manufacturing Industry

o       Replacement wages less than 85% for Displaced Workers Re-employed

o       Other Industry Markets Impacted by Downturn in the Economy

 

Working Premise:

Ø      Workforce development and economic development are interrelated and interdependent for a strong creative economy.

 

16 County Project:

Calumet                                              Fond du Lac

Green Lake                                        Outagamie

Waupaca                                             Waushara

Marquette                                          Winnebago

Brown                                                 Door

Manitowoc                                          Sheboygan

Marinette                                           Shawano

Oconto                                                Kewaunee

 

Partners Involved:

Ø      Fox Valley Workforce Development Board

Ø      Bay Area Workforce Development Board

Ø      Local Economic Development Partners

Ø      East Central Planning Commission

Ø      Bay Lake Regional Planning Commission

Ø      UW County Extension Offices

Ø      Private sector business

Ø      Chambers

Ø      NorthStar Economics, Inc., a private consulting firm

Ø      Northeast Wisconsin Regional Economic Partnership

Ø      Others

 

Provides Opportunity to:

Ø      Build partnerships, including cooperation and coordination between area business organizations, municipalities, and metropolitan areas

Ø      Incorporate results of study into future strategic planning

Ø      Create stronger linkages between companies for doing business within this region

Ø      Develop sound future economic and workforce strategies, creating jobs that pay well and have bright futures.

 

Phase I:

Ø      Provided by Planning Commissions

Ø      Historical Analysis

o       Analysis of historical employment, income and selected demographic trends at the two and/or three digit standard industrial code classification level.

 

Phase II:

Ø      Provided by UW-Madison Extension

Ø      Trend analysis with projections to the year 2020, including national, state, and regional projections.  These projections will identify growing, declining and stable sectors:

o       Provide snapshot in time economic and demographic data

o       Forecast future economic and demographic information

o       Explore occupational forecasts and see where the future growth is occurring

Ø      Structure of the Northeast Wisconsin Regional Economy

o       Identification of key industries with high growth, high income potential

§         Industries at the three-digit standard industrial code classification will be ranked by size.

§         Detailed description of industry linkages and gaps for the targeted industries.

§         Identify high growth industry opportunities based on national level growth rates.

Ø      Benchmarking of economic measures

 

Phase III:

Ø      NorthStar Economics, Inc. will work with economic development committees and local stakeholders to create an economic development strategy for the region that utilizes the current strengths in the area while addressing the region’s weaknesses and challenges for the development of future strong economy.

§         Address the following geographical areas

·        County Clusters

o       Urban

o       Rural

·        MSAs

·        Cities (when feasible related to population and available data)

·        Corridors

o       Fox Valley (Brown County to Fond du Lac County)

o       Lake Shore (Door County to Sheboygan County)

·        Provide an accurate assessment of the challenges and opportunities facing the region.

·        Provide an analysis of per capita income for 2020 based on effective strategies implemented in relationship to “trends, tendencies, and goals”.

·        Identify the specifics of the local key industries and how they fit in the larger scheme of the economy compared to the Midwest, national, and international economic markets.

·        Identify growth potential for the key industries and industry clusters.

·        Identify potential for new industry start-up given the national and international economic picture.

o       Map the interconnections of industries and communities in the economic region.

o       Facilitate planning sessions for local communities in the development of strategies to remain competitive.

o       Recommend actions that will foster future economic prosperity of the region.

 

Expected Outcomes:

Ø      Present an economic development strategy for implementation to build a future strong economy for the Northeast Wisconsin Region.

Ø      Provide an impetus for municipalities to develop policies geared toward a strong economy, such as creating living wage jobs through key business replacement strategies and land use practices.

Ø      Effective use of resources for developing a skilled workforce to match needs of key industry and industry clusters.

 

 

 

 

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