Policy Academy teams meet to strengthen manufacturers

As part of an official kick-off for a yearlong Policy Academy, interdisciplinary teams from around the country met in Washington, D.C., last week to advance policies that strengthen their manufacturing sectors. The four state participants – Kentucky, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and Utah – are comprised of leadership from governor’s offices, state economic development departments, Manufacturing Extension Partnership centers, manufacturing trade associations, and other manufacturing centers. In addition to facilitated working groups, the event featured speakers from Deloitte, The National Center for the Middle Market, NIST, MForesight, New America, and the National Governors’ Association.

“On behalf of the State of Utah, we are thrilled to embark on this journey helping the rural and urban manufacturing industry,” said Ginger Chinn, the Managing Director of Urban & Rural Business Services, at the Utah Governor's Office of Economic Development. “We look forward to creating more economic prosperity for the citizens of our state by driving growth in the manufacturing sector by the quality of the workforce, activating workforce and connecting companies to enhance the supply chain.”

In the coming weeks, states will meet with an extended team of stakeholders to build on discussions from the kickoff meeting. A second convening of the state teams will be held in Spring 2019.

SSTI is coordinating the Policy Academy alongside the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC), and with support from the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) based at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).