SSTI Digest

Governors in the Southern states were presented with findings from a new report on the growing gap in middle-skill jobs and urged to adopt a three-part policy framework for reversing the trend during the Southern Governors' Association annual meeting last week in Asheville, NC. The report found that middle-skill jobs account for 51 percent of the region's jobs today, but only about 43 percent of the region's workers are currently trained at this level. Read more...

Southerners voiced that focusing on innovation and technology-based business operations, supporting entrepreneurship, identifying community asset, developing skilled workforce and increasing community involvement in economic development strategies are vital for the South to recover from the current economic downtown according to a recent report — The Road to Recovery is Named Main Street — from the Southern Growth Policies Board. The report was assembled using comments of over 2,300 citizens from communities across the south. During community gatherings and via online surveys, Southerners discussed not only the challenges and concerns caused by the Great Recession, but also the priorities and potential to build stronger regional economies. Participants provide states, regional economic development organizations and local governments with five key themes: look beyond industrial recruitment, reduce regulation, identify and build on community assets, revamp workforce training and facilitate partnerships.

Want to participate in a new concept in innovation clusters? The Southern Advanced Materials in Transportation Alliance (SAMTA) is a regional innovation cluster that promotes the research, commercialization, and production of new and specialized materials important to the automotive and aerospace industries. Although traditional clusters are based on geographic concentration, SAMTA will use telecommunications networks to minimize geographic distance and facilitate the industry network. The Economic Development Administration has provided seed funding for this project. If you are a researcher, businessperson, or advocate, working in, or with facilities in the South and want to be on the mailing list, email Scott Doron at sdoron@southern.org.

Each year, Southern Growth Policies Board honors Southern initiatives that are improving economic opportunities and quality of life in the region. The 2010 Innovator Awards will be chosen from creative initiatives in the region that aim to help communities recover from the recession. Innovator Awards are presented annually to one organization in each of Southern Growth's 13 member states, and winners are recognized at Southern Growth's Annual Conference. The deadline for nominations is Nov 6. To learn more about the criteria for this year's Innovator Awards and to fill out a nomination form, visit: http://www.southern.org/innovators/innovators.shtml

Drawing on its high-tech cluster, Provo, Utah garnered the highest score in the 2008 Best-Performing Cities Index released today by the Milken Institute and Greenstreet Real Estate Partners.

The rebounding technology sector boosted several newcomers to the top 10 in the annual ranking of where America's jobs are being created and sustained. Metros that are highly dependent on resource extraction and export-intensive industries also showed success.

Rounding out the top five metros are Raleigh-Cary, NC; Salt Lake City, UT; Austin-Round Rock, TX; and Huntsville, AL.

The report explains that several past leading cities fell in the standings due to the national decline in housing and construction markets, and metros that remain concentrated in manufacturing continue to lag in the rankings. Rising energy prices have hindered the performance of cities where industries with high energy use are the key drivers, while benefiting those regions with significant oil and gas production and exploration activities.

This week's issue of Southern Compass, the electronic newsletter published by the Southern Growth Policies Board, suggested its readers check out the March 27, 2008, edition of Education Week, which is dedicated to examining what states are doing to improve science, technology, engineering and math education (STEM). STEM education is considered one of the highest priorities by many groups for the U.S. to maintain its global leadership in innovation and competitiveness.

Southern Growth Policies Board recently announced the launch of two new, searchable web-based tools and the redesign of its website.



The Southern.org website has been redesigned to provide users with improved navigational tools and greater access to Southern Growth's research, toolkits, best practices and publications. Southern Growth also added a scrolling regional calendar and two new, searchable online tools -- the Southern Compass News Portal and the Southern Growth Idea Bank.

Each year, Southern Growth Policies Board honors Southern initiatives that are improving the quality of life in the region through its Innovator Awards. The Awards are presented annually to one organization in each of Southern Growth’s member states ­ Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia.



In 2008, the Awards will be chosen from initiatives that promote youth engagement and leadership in the region. Each nominated initiative must fulfill these and other criteria:

Region Looks to Broadband Access and IT Usage

The Delta Regional Authority (DRA) lacks the access, awareness and affordability of broadband Internet service – a direct bearing on the region’s ability to participate successfully in the national and global economies, a new report from DRA and the Southern Growth Policies Board finds.

 

DRA and Southern Growth partnered to develop an information technology plan to improve education, enhance entrepreneurship, and improve health care through the use of information technology. The plan was presented to the president and Congress last week. 

 

iDelta: Information Technology in the Delta consists of two volumes. The first provides data for measuring information technology usage and examines the economic factors that lead to technology barriers in the region. For example, more than 15 percent of DRA zip codes do not have a high speed Internet service provider and per capita income for the region is about 20 percent below the U.S. average.

 

Southern Growth Policies Board, a regional public policy think tank, is accepting nominations for its 2007 Innovator Awards.



These awards are presented annually to recognize innovative southern initiatives that improve the quality of life in the organization's 13-state region - Ala., Ark., Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia - and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico.



The 2007 Innovator Awards will be chosen from initiatives that address workforce development challenges. Each nominated initiative must use technology as an integral component to accomplish goals; be truly unique; be something more than a new product, process or service; and provide a track record or other measures of success. In addition, nominated programs must be unique and have a proven track record or other reliable measures of future success.

Southern Growth Policies Board, in partnership with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), has designed a survey to identify the needs of small and medium-sized manufacturers in the area of information technology. The 20-question survey takes only a few minutes to complete and the results will be used to develop new programs to help small and medium-sized manufacturers. To participate, visit http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.asp?u=358482117916. For more information, contact Charity Pennock at cpennock@southern.org.