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Key Challenge Facing the Auto Communi3es of Central Indiana
For a long )me, Indiana’s economy has been dependent on manufacturing and distribu)on, ranking first
among states in per‐capita manufacturing employment and ninth in per‐capita logis)cs employment.
Auto‐related manufacturing and logis)cs represents a significant por)on of this segment of the
economy, and the recent restructuring of the auto industry has sent shockwaves through the en)re state
with epicenters in the Hoosier State’s most auto‐dependent communi)es like Kokomo, Anderson,
Marion, and others.
The job losses in these sectors have been especially deep and painful effec)ng groups of individuals with
a broad array of skills from experienced front‐line workers to engineers and management. Delphi in
Kokomo, for instance, has reduced its engineering and design workforce by 600. All cuts are difficult for a
regional economy, but the prospects of so much engineering and high‐tech brainpower either siMng idle
or leaving the region will result in a significant blow to the region’s capacity for innova)on and future
economic growth.
Overview of Strategies Underway to Increase Jobs and Employment Opportuni3es in the Region
Over the last several months, remarkable work has begun in Central Indiana. New networks are forming
and vibrant “hot spots” of innova)on are emerging fueled by investments from the private, public, and
nonprofit sectors. The following are some of the strategies underway that are transforming the region’s
economy.
Building Open Networks to Accelerate Regional Innova)on: Indiana WIRED
Indiana WIRED was one of 13 “genera)on one” WIRED ini)a)ves in the U.S. and in subsequent years, a
total of 39 WIRED ini)a)ves were launched over the source of three years. The NCI WIRED strategic
goals focused on (1) industry innova)on in three target industries, (2) entrepreneurship, (3) 21st Century
workforce talent, and (4) regional civic leadership.
Deploying new network‐based approaches to economic and workforce development created and
executed by the Purdue Center for Regional Development (PCRD), Indiana WIRED used federal funds as
seed investments in a remarkable porbolio of transforma)ve ini)a)ves. This strategic framework applies
a rigorous defini)on of “transforma)ve” to mean ini)a)ves that have the probability of being replicable,
scalable and sustainable across a mul)‐county region. Using these disciplines, Central Indiana has
become a na)onal leader in demonstra)ng how regions can move toward innova)on‐led growth. PCRD
‐‐ with ini)al partnerships at Penn State Univesity, Oklahoma State University, Northern Illinois
University, The University of Akron and the University of Oklahoma ‐‐ is now using this model to build a
na)onal network of universi)es to replicate this success.
Building Clusters in Manufacturing, Logis)cs, and CleanTech Development
Many of these new strategies are occurring in the area of clean technologies and industry innova)on.
Clean technologies, or ‘cleantech’, is the collec)on of industries that bring energy innova)ons to
consumers – from puMng hybrid and plug‐in electric vehicles on the world’s highways to building the
‘smart grid’ and other advances that make renewable energy a realis)c op)on for families and
businesses. Cleantech sub‐sectors like wind and solar power, plug‐in/hybrid electric vehicles, second
Policy Memo - Central Indiana
genera)on biofuels, distributed power genera)on, and systems integra)on are each projected to grow
to more than $70 billion over the next ten years, collec)vely accoun)ng for a more than $350B global
market. Indiana has a unique opportunity to seize a leadership posi)on on the cuMng edge of this
energy revolu)on.
Conexus Indiana and the Indiana Energy Systems Network (ESN) are leading the development of industry
clusters strategies by seMng policy agendas, and aligning resources to support the growth of these
interrelated sectors of the Indiana economy. More than twenty years ago, GM and others engineered the
first electric vehicle (the EV1) in Indiana – today, the Hoosier State is home to firms working on nearly
every key component of hybrid and plug‐in vehicles, from engines and transmissions to advanced
bameries. Indiana is also a leader in biofuels, clean coal technology, and benefits from the presence of
innova)ve u)lity partners focused on the development of ‘smart grid’ technologies that will help
consumers bemer control their power use and supply.
Central Indiana is fortunate to have both established and emerging firms in this cluster. Kokomo’s Delphi,
for instance is expanding its engineering capaci)es to manufacture green technologies. An $89.3 million
investment from the U.S. Department of Energy is helping to support this work. Enerdel which designs
and produces lithium‐ion bameries has made significant investments in Indiana with three facili)es in the
state.
Redefining the Higher Educa)on’s Role in Regional Economic Development
The higher educa)on sector is beginning to launch new technologies into the marketplace and redirect
the region’s produc)on capaci)es. Purdue University, for instance, has one of the na)on’s top university
research commercializa)on systems with a network of campus‐based facili)es, research parks in four
loca)ons throughout the state, and support services that are having a significant impact on the Indiana
economy. Campus‐based centers par)cularly relevant to this discussion include those focused on energy,
the environment, advanced manufacturing, and e‐commerce.
Purdue is pioneering new approaches to “link and leverage” university assets to support regional
development. By developing new disciplines of strategic doing, the university is demonstra)ng how
partner networks can invest strategically in transforma)ve ini)a)ves. These new strategic disciplines are
prac)cal, replicable and scalable.
Strategies Primed and Ready for Federal and Philanthropic Investment
The Central Indiana vision is clear ‐ The Central Indiana’s economy will be transformed by open networks
of innova:on with universi:es, community colleges, cluster‐suppor:ng organiza:ons like Conexus, and
innova:ve companies like Enerdel anchoring these networks. In Phase One of the region’s transforma)on
effort, Central Indiana tested new models of strategy designed to create and guide transforma)ve
ini)a)ves in loosely‐formed networks. Success was realized at a regional scale demonstra)ng that these
frameworks are applicable across strategic focus areas from training and educa)on to innova)on and
entrepreneurship. Ini)a)ves developed within this framework are fast, scalable, and have a high
probability of being sustainable.
Central Indiana stakeholders are now developing the business plan for Phase Two of this regional
transforma)on and federal and philanthropic partners are invited to par)cipate. In the coming months,
the Hoosier Heartland Ini:a:ve will be launched ‐ an effort that builds on the founda)on of investments
made during the WIRED effort and rooted in successful regional innova)on strategies focused on high‐
impact clusters, entrepreneurship, 21st Century talent, and suppor)ve civic networks.
Within these areas the Central Indiana partners are designing replicable, scalable, and sustainable
ini)a)ves targeted toward:
1) Development of re‐engagement networks for people displaced by the economic
downturn, especially the region's highly talented technical and engineering
professionals;
2) Applica)on of open innova)on strategies that link and leverage the assets of
community colleges and universi)es to support startups, clusters and high‐growth,
second‐stage businesses; and
3) Strengthening of civic leadership networks commimed to open innova)on and
collabora)on across poli)cal and organiza)onal boundaries.
Phase Two will build from the founda)on of Phase One using the federal Small Business Innova)on
Research (SBIR) program as a model of phased investment. This model was also used in Phase One in
which more than 40 partners launched over 60 ini)a)ves. Each ini)a)ve reported against a clear set of
performance metrics. Partners amracted an addi)onal $16 million in leverage funds and as a testament
to sustainability and capacity‐building, over 80% of the ini)a)ves con)nue beyond the ini)al WIRED
investment; and NCI WIRED far surpassed all metrics established by the DOLETA.
This network‐based strategy of open innova)on also minimized administra)ve overheads; the en)re
regional transforma)on network required one full‐)me professional to manage metrics across the
network. The following are the region’s outcomes as of the 3rd quarter of 2009:
• 22,133 unemployed and incumbent workers trained
• 1,525 degrees or cer)ficates earned
• 3,230 unemployed workers placed in target occupa)ons
• $2.1 million saved in industry cost savings
• 19 business plans developed
• 8 new products/services launched
• 10 new businesses launched
Addi)onal noteworthy outcomes achieved during Phase One:
• Development of a “Green Collar” Cer)fica)on
• Healthy workforce ini)a)ve that for the first )me extends the needed support for
employee wellness ini)a)ves to small and mid‐sized companies;
• Largest concentra)on of Project Lead the Way high schools of any region in the country;
• The leading rural model of New Tech High, a project‐based learning model for high
school;
• A collabora)on with Kauffman Founda)on to launch 10 new businesses (with an equal
number in the pipeline) led by engineers laid off from Delphi Electronics in August 2008.
With addi)onal support from the federal government and philanthropy, Central Indiana can increase
these outcomes by a factor of two to three over the next three years. (Actual performance will depend
on the level and mix of investment in various ini)a)ves.) The following are three cri)cal challenges
an)cipated for Phase Two of Central Indiana’s transforma)on agenda.
The principal focus of the public workforce system is transac)onal. Workforce programs are designed to
help individuals prepare for jobs and find employment. They adopt a social service case management
approach and this fundamental orienta)on drama)cally lowers the produc)vity of the federal
government’s workforce investments. Equally important, it is not a scalable model. For example, the
volume and variety of disloca)ons taking place in Kokomo alone can overwhelm the tradi)onal system.
Communi)es in Central Indiana is experimen)ng with a new approach, developing re‐engagement
networks and providing local economic and workforce development professionals with a “re‐
engagement tool box.” Early results are promising. In response to the layoff of 600 engineers by Delphi
Electronics, partners quickly designed and built networks to support the launch of 10 new companies.
(See: hmp://vimeo.com/9259109).
Applica)on of open innova)on strategies that link and leverage knowledge‐based assets to support
startups, clusters, innova)on, and high growth, second stage businesses.
Generally speaking, federal and state economic and workforce development incen)ves are transac)on‐
based. They focus on the individual worker, facility or business firm. They are not designed to support
the development of civic networks that can accelerate innova)on and promote clusters of high‐impact
businesses. DOLETA and EDA are moving toward more cluster‐based policies, but it is unclear how to
integrate federal resources at a regional level. In Europe, policy‐makers talk about the “triple helix” of
university, government and business interac)on needed to accelerate innova)on.
These policy ques)ons cannot be addressed in the abstract. They require the design of new local, state,
and federal strategies and learning what works by launching new experiments. Much can be learned by
this approach. In Phase Two of Central Indiana’s transforma)on, new approaches will be developed to
iden)fy and support emerging clusters of high‐impact companies. This Phase Two work will begin with
several ini)a)ves, including the deployment of new technologies. In developing new approaches to form
and support clusters, Central Indiana is collabora)ng closely with Southeast Wisconsin. The Milwaukee 7
region used the techniques of strategic doing developed in Central Indiana to launch its new Water
Council in fresh water technology. Using the “link and leverage” strategies generated by strategic doing,
Milwaukee 7 has launched a dynamic cluster of diverse partners from government, business and higher
educa)on. (See hmp://vimeo.com/7472624).
PCRD, supported by EDA, has also been developing a new set of analy)c tools to accelerate these
experiments. In partnership with Indiana University and others, PCRD has developed the first Regional
Innova:on Index, a set of tools to iden)fy business clusters quickly, and a set of tools to iden)fy
occupa)onal clusters within a region. (See hmp://www.statsamerica.org/innova)on/). The occupa)onal
cluster tool is helping workforce professionals to map career pathways. These pathways are not just
cri)cal for high school students. Gary Burtless, a labor economist at the Brookings Ins:tute notes in the
recent issue of The Atlan:c, “In a sense every )me someone’s laid off now, they need to start all over.
They don’t even know what industry they’ll be in next.” At the same )me, Central Indiana partners,
Strengthening of civic leadership networks commimed to open innova)on and collabora)on across
poli)cal and organiza)onal boundaries
Accelera)ng regional innova)on and developing entrepreneurial and resilient communi)es requires new
approaches to civic leadership and regional governance. Mee)ng these challenges forms the star)ng
point to regional transforma)on. In an innova)on economy, wealth is created through networks, yet
these networks oten disrupt tradi)onal organiza)onal and poli)cal arrangements. Current civic
leadership programs are not up to the task of guiding complex, transforma)ve ini)a)ves across poli)cal
and organiza)onal boundaries.
In Phase One, Indiana University‐Kokomo established a regional leadership ins)tute to start the process
of developing a new genera)on of civic leaders comfortable with thinking in terms of broader systems
and inter‐rela)onships. This work will con)nue in Phase Two with a par)cular focus on seMng up a
durable governance structure for the Hoosier Heartland Ini:a:ve and how to design a sustainable
business model for regional leadership organoza)ons.
Key Barriers to Full Implementa3on and Scaling of Strategies
In developing these regional transforma)on strategies, the following barriers have been encountered.
The boundaries of the federal economic development districts in Indiana are inflexible, and it has been
very difficult to develop a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) that fits the truly
dynamic nature of regional economies. Without a CEDS in place, it is difficult to access EDA funding.
The WIRED ini)a)ve enabled the region to develop a flexible, accountable system of workforce and
economic development investment that encouraged innova)ve, sustainable ini)a)ves. The region now
faces the difficulty of sustaining momentum with the current system of less flexible categorical
workforce and economic development funding streams. The region is now back to cobbling together
different funding streams in an amempt to support con)nued innova)on.
There is limle ongoing effort to share the learning of WIRED ini)a)ves across regions. Great benefit
would result in the ability to access the good ideas from other regions that might accelerate the
transforma)on in the Central Indiana including the review and adop)on of innova)ons that have been
tested elsewhere. The current plaborm (Workforce 3 One web site) for sharing insights and informa)on
does not work very well.
The federal government is in an ideal posi)on to support innova)ons across the en)re Great Lakes
Region. Thus far, federal engagement seems to have been largely limited to conduc)ng mee)ngs and
compiling lists of available programs. For instance, an effort to develop innova)ve solu)ons across auto
communi)es would be helpful. How can ci)es like Flint, Youngstown, and Kokomo share insights and
strategies to cope with the deep transforma)ons taking place? All of these ci)es are shrinking and must
now build a new economic founda)on. It is difficult to address 21st Century compe))ve challenges with
a patchwork of uncoordinated statutes that are thirty, forty and fity years old.
The current public workforce system does not effec)vely account for or reward innova)on. Fragmented
legisla)ve authority and segregated funding streams for workforce programs lead to diffuse
accountability; and make it very difficult to finance experiments in funding re‐engagement networks.
Federal laws limit our ability to integrate workforce programs and address problems of divided authority
or segregated funding. For example, North Central Indiana used WIRED funding to develop and launch
Un)l this mee)ng, most na)onal founda)ons have shown limle awareness of network‐based strategies
that can significantly improve the produc)vity of the federal government’s workforce development
investments. In the past four years, Indiana has developed a lean, scalable model for genera)ng
innova)ons in strategic focus areas. Na)onal founda)ons have been slow to help scale these kinds of
innova)ons both inside and outside Indiana. One excep)on is the Edward Lowe Founda)on in Michigan
that has supported the development of open innova)on models of strategic doing with workshops to
develop “train the trainer” materials.
Sugges3ons for How Federal Government and Philanthropic Programs Could Increase Effec3veness
Create a Great Lakes Opportunity Fund
One significant role for the federal and philanthropic partners would be to pool resources into a regional
innova)on fund to support auto community ini)a)ves that are replicable, scalable and sustainable. In
Indiana, a third of WIRED resources were used to develop an Opportunity Fund to iden)fy and support
workforce and economic development innova)ons. This successful model was designed ater the federal
government’s SBIR program. A coali)on of federal agencies and philanthropies could design and manage
a similar fund using Indiana’s Opportunity Fund as a model.
Establish a Great Lakes Innova)on Collabora)ve
Another role would be to create a federal/philanthropy/higher educa)on collabora)on to support
regional innova)on networks. Regional innova)on networks can bring federal, state, and local resources
closer to the entrepreneurs, researchers, companies and investors who drive innova)on. These networks
are open (in that no one “commands and controls” them) and anchored by community colleges and
universi)es. Regions that build their transforma)on strategies around these innova)on networks will be
more compe))ve. They will learn faster, spot opportuni)es faster, align resources faster, and act faster.
Indiana’s understanding of how to form these networks and accelerate their development is at an early
stage. The suggested collabora)on could quickly deepen that understanding quickly. Central Indiana and
a number of other regions hit hard by the auto industry restructuring provide a valuable test bed for
developing, pilo)ng and evalua)ng new approaches to accelerate regional innova)on. Moving forward,
focused and sustained partnerships will be needed to support this work and develop leadership capable
of thinking beyond par)san poli)cs.
Ques:ons about this Policy Memo and requests for addi:onal informa:on may be directed to:
ScoO Hutcheson
Purdue Center for Regional Development
Purdue University
1201 W. State Street
West LafayeOe, Indiana 47907‐2057
765‐494‐4277
hutcheson@purdue.edu