DOL Announces WIRED Awards

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) recently announced the 13 recipients for one of the most anticipated new federal workforce programs to be launched in several years. The $195 million Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development (WIRED) program attempts to integrate human capital issues of talent and skill development into larger technology-based economic development strategies. While that in itself is seemingly unique for a federal initiative, WIRED also requires regional cooperation that crosses political jurisdictions and traditional organizational missions.

Each of the 13 regions will receive approximately $15 million in funding over three years to support strategy development, regional network formulation and plan implementation:

• Coastal Maine (11 counties, including Augusta and Brunswick);
• Northeast Pennsylvania (nine counties, including Scranton, Allentown and Reading);
• Upstate New York (nine counties, including Rochester and Finger Lakes region);
• Piedmont Triad North Carolina (12 counties, including Greensboro and Winston-Salem);
• Central Michigan (13 counties, including Lansing, Flint and Saginaw);
• Western Michigan (seven counties, including Grand Rapids);
• Florida Panhandle (16 counties, including Tallahassee and Pensacola);
• Western Alabama & Eastern Mississippi (17 counties in Alabama, including Tuscaloosa and Selma and 19 counties in Mississippi, including Meridian and Starkville);
• North Central Indiana (14 counties, including Lafayette);
• Greater Kansas City (10 counties in Missouri and eight counties in Kansas, including Topeka);
• Denver Metro Region (eight counties, including Denver, Boulder and Ft. Collins);
• Central & Eastern Montana (32 counties covering mostly rural areas);
• California Coast (13 counties, including Oakland, Los Angeles and San Diego).

Award criteria included:

• Demonstration of the strategic partnership that is representative of the entire economic region and is comprised of a strong team of regional leaders;
• Presence of impacted economic elements in the region (unemployment, low-wages, low levels of new job creation) and description of the economic and labor market conditions that are driving the need for transformation (such as industries that are declining or industries targeted for growth); and,
• Demonstration of how the region will undergo transformation through the implementation of new efforts designed to drive integration among workforce, economic development and education systems; innovation in addressing challenges; and utilizing and building upon existing structures, resources and legislatively funded programs.

In addition to the $195 million in awards, the Department of Labor's Employment & Training Administration will create a WIRED Academy to share successes and challenges between selected regions and capture that knowledge for other regions.

More information about WIRED, including project summaries for the 13 selected regions, is available at: http://www.doleta.gov/