Examples of Emerging Regional Innovation Networks

by Ed Morrison.
Last Updated by Ed Morrison.

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Our Challenge: Adjusting to Networks

We face unprecedented change, as your economy goes through deep transformation. Networks are emerging everywhere. The Internet -- our first interactive mass medium -- has become a massive enabler of these networks. The transformation is every bit as powerful as the introduction of electricity over a century ago.
Yet, in vital areas of our economy -- education, health care, economic development, workforce development, and sustainable development -- we operate in silos. We continue to work behind the invisible fences that define the boundaries of our organizations and political jurisdictions.
Our inability to cross these boundaries limits our innovation and creates costly fragmentation. We need new approaches to accelerate strategic innovation in our networked world.

Our Opportunity: Building Globally Competitive Regions with Innovating Networks

Across the country, Strategy-Nets hasd been working with regional leaders to develop and deploy regional innovation networks in education, workforce development, health care, business clusters, entrepreneurship, sustainable development, and civic leadership.

These innovating networks operate in the "civic space" outside the four walls of any one organization.
They generate "link and leverage" strategies that dramatically improve productivity and reduce waste.
They develop new "civic infrastructures" that are more transparent, collaborative and innovative.
Through a new approach to strategy -- Strategic Doing -- these networks generate "swarm innovation": Aligned initiatives that are focused, measurable, replicable, scalable and sustainable.

Examples of emerging regional innovation networks

Workforce Development

North Central Indiana.-- North Central Indiana has used network-based strategies to create a large number of nnovations to transform the regional workforce system.

Scope of the Network: The network covers 14 counties in North Central Indiana.
Challenge: Leverage $15 million in federal investment to begin the integration of education, economic development and workforce development.
Response: The strategy includes four focus areas: talent development; cluster development; entrepreneurship development; and regional leadership development. Within those four areas, the strategy has over 50 initiatives each with their own metrics. Each strategy has been screened, so that they are replicable, scalable and sustainable. The network is administered by one full-time staff person . This fact highlights the high levels of productivity that can be generated with open network based strategies. Learn more about the approach here and here.
Contact: Peggy Hosea

The Milwaukee 7 region.-- Following the success of North Central Indiana, the Milwaukee 7 region (7 counties in Southeast Wisconsin) uses link and leverage strategies to align their resources and their works. The development of Milwaukee 7 Water Council is a good example of this approach to strategy and action. The M7 region is also using a network based approach to develop its Next Generation Manufacturing strategy.

Scope of the Network: The network covers 7 counties in Southeast Wisconsin
Challenge: Develop "link and leverage" strategies that 1) transform the workforce system; and 2) create high performance talent pipelines within the region.
Response: M7 uses Strategic Doing to develop and implementation.
Contact: Mike Mortell

Below Mike Mortell interviews Ed Morrison on new, network-based models of economic development and workforce development.

AIM2WIN Region (Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin)

Scope of the Network: The network covers 27 counties in Southeast Minnesota, West Wisconsin, and Northwest Iowa.

Challenge: Develop a cooperative partnership among the workforce agencies in the region. After completing a detailed regional asset map, how will the region put strategic insights into action?
Response: AIM2WIN used a Strategic Doing workshop to begin the translation of specific initiatives into action. The initiatives include, among others, a Smart Supplier network, a STEM network, and Bioscience network. You can review the region's asset mapping report on this page, as well as get see how the Strategic Doing workshop organized strategic conversations.
Contact: Randy Johnson

State of Idaho: Governor's Workforce Summit

Scope of the Network: Five regions across Idaho
Challenge: Introduce workforce development professionals and their volunteer leadership to the disciplines of Strategic Doing
Response: Over two days, the five regions developed "alpha" versions of their strategic action plans. North Idaho and South Central Idaho moved ahead to implement their strategic action plans in subsequent Strategic Doing workshops.
Contact: Leandra Burns

South Central Idaho.--South Central Idaho is using network-based strategies to to transform the regional workforce system.

Scope of the Network: The network covers 8 counties in South Central Idaho.
Challenge: South Central Idaho's economy is expanding beyond its traditional agriculture base with the arrival of new manufacturing and computer technology centers as well as research facilities. To keep pace, leaders are transforming the delivery of education and training required for careers in these high paying fields.
Response: The region is focused on three critical areas: current workforce demands for computer technology skill development, emerging industry and training demands for programs surrounding several expansion projects in the region, and long-term transformation of the workforce and economic development agenda.
Contact: Brent Tolman

Northland Region is using Strategic Doing to define their strategic agenda.

Scope of the Region: 17 counties in Northeast Minnesota and Northwest Wisconsin
Challenge: Can a rural region redefine its opportunities in terms of business, innovation and skills?
Response: The region has completed an extensive mapping of its assets, and it turned to Strategic Doing to develop its strategic agenda, define initiatives and move them into action. The region's leaders are thinking in new and dynamic ways about their future, as the television advertisement below demonstrates.
Contact: Randy Laskey.

Economic Development

Greater Kokomo Economic Development Alliance is a joint economic development initiative intended to combine resources to better leverage monies and services in Kokomo and the surrounding area.

Scope of the Network: The Alliance is the result of consolidation efforts among the Kokomo Howard County Chamber of Commerce, the Kokomo Howard County Development Corporation (KHDC which includes the Inventrek Technology Park ), the Kokomo Downtown Association and the Urban Enterprise Association.
Challenge: in the face of major structural changes in the US auto industry, Kokomo is facing a fundamental economic transformation. Can the leadership in Kokomo and the surrounding area adopt new approaches to collaboration in the face of these unprecedented changes?
Response: The Alliance used Strategic Doing to define its initial strategic action plan. The alliance continues to quickly adapt using these open source approaches. In the face of a major layoff of over 200 engineers by Delphi Electronics, the Alliance formed a new collaborative initiative to reemploy some of these engineers in new businesses based at Inventrek Technology Park.
Contact: Jan Hendrix

East Central Illinois Development Corporation is a consortium of community and economic development leaders dedicated to fostering positive economic development activities in a rural region.

Scope of the Network: 11 counties in East Central Illinois.
Challenge: Can a predominantly rural region adopt new, more entrepreneurial economic development model: Open Source Economic Development?
Response: The economic development professionals in the region have developed and deployed strategic action plans based on Strategic Doing and Open Source Economic Development.
Contact: Trisha Mason

Business Clusters

Milwaukee 7 Water Council.-- Based in Milwaukee, the Water Council represents a new network that leverages the region's strength in freshwater technology.

Scope of the Network: The Council includes over 80 members from the private, education and public sectors.
Challenge: How can this emerging network leverage the existing assets to establish the Milwaukee region as a global leader in freshwater technology?
Response: following a Strategic Doing workshop in July 2008, the Council embarked on an ambitious agenda of initiatives in business, research and workforce development.
Contact: Julia Taylor

Education Transformation

The Center for Education Innovation and Regional Economic Development.-- Based in Southeast Wisconsin, the Center focuses on strategies of education transformation to connect education and regional economic development.

Scope of the Network: 45 school districts in Southeast Wisconsin around Milwaukee: Map
Challenge: How does the Center identify promising, scalable initiatives to transform education within its region? See their infrastructure feasibility report and a report on the value of high speed networks.
Response: The Center uses Strategic Doing to identify collaborations among its districts. Recently conducted a Symposium and Strategic Doing work session to identify promising initiatives to assist "at risk" youth.
Contact: Bruce Connolly, Tim Gavigan.

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P-20 Council Southeast Missouri.-- Missouri promotes P-20 councils (learn more), and this Council is been using strategic doing to define the key characteristics of a "learning region". They are using the to conduct their meetings.

Scope of the Network: Covers 14 counties in southeast Missouri
Challenge: Develop a strategic focus for the region's P-20 council
Response: Used to strategic doing to define three key outcomes for it P-20 council: 1) primary school literacy; 2) high school graduation plans for middle school; and 3) post secondary plans for freshmen starting high school.
Contact: Janet Whitter

Consortium for Education Research and Technology (CERT).-- CERT promotes collaborative initiatives among 12 colleges and universities in North Louisiana.

Scope of the Network: The network covers 20 parishes across North Louisiana. Map.
Challenge: Identify initiatives to strengthen member institutions
Response: CERT uses Strategic Doing to identify its initiatives. Most recently, CERT is working on the details of a Sustainability Trust to promote energy efficiency among the different campuses within the network.
Contact: Patti Trudell

Other examples of education networks:

New Tech High.-- Indiana has become a leader in high school reform, and Zebra New Tech High is developing as a node in a network of rural districts exploring whole school reform using the whole school reform model developed by the New Tech Foundation. The school in Rochester has developed an extensive network of partners to support this innovation. Student videos explain the impact of New Tech High on this rural community and the value of a technology infrastructure. More here and here. Contact: Debra Howe.
Project Lead the Way.--Project Lead the Way is a pre-engineering curriculum that is being deployed nationally. The largest concentration of Project Lead the Way high schools is in the 14 county region surrounding Purdue University. Read more.