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Participate in Southern Growth’s 2012 Chairman's Conference and Workforce Initiative Register now to participate in two opportunities related to Southern Growth ’s 2012 Workforce Initiative: The Southern Growth Policies Board’s 2012 Chairman’s Conference: Re-imagining Workforce Development, hosted by Governor Bill Haslam of Tennessee, will examine job and workforce trends, with a view towards reimagining tomorrow’s educated worker. This will include exploring tough questions, such as: How can we determine the skills needed for future jobs when we’re not sure what those jobs will be? How can we raise awareness of potential career paths and opportunities? What are the implications for P-16? What is the business perspective and what role will the business sector play in this preparation? And, perhaps most importantly, how do we connect the dots between different players – from K-12 to community colleges to universities to industry? In addition to exploring these and other important questions, the conference will also highlight new models and ideas in the areas of education and workforce skill development. Southern Growth Policies Board has long considered workforce issues to be key to regional prosperity. As the Southern Growth Policies Board celebrates its 40th Anniversary, this conference gives us the opportunity to take a look back at what we’ve accomplished in this area of work, what has changed, and how we need to prepare for the future. Please plan to join us June 25-26, 2012 in Chattanooga, Tennessee for this important regional conference. For more information, click here.
SAFER Bioeconomy Case Study Series: To borrow a quote from Shakespeare, “What’s in a name?” In the case of the Mississippi Technology Alliance’s Strategic Biomass Solutions (SBS), an evolving organizational mission has meant a name that has also changed over time. While the original focus was on looking for ways to expand the market for Mississippi’s agricultural products via the energy sector, the organization’s strategic direction has taken a more entrepreneurial bent in recent years and goes far beyond the borders of Mississippi. View and download this new case study here. SAMTA/SAMPE Carolinas Survey to Promote Advanced Materials in Transportation Industry The Advanced Materials industry is vital to the economic future of the South, especially to the region’s burgeoning automotive and aerospace sectors. If you work for a materials or transportation company, are a public or private researcher, or work in a nonprofit that supports these industries, we need your help to find actions to promote your industry.
New Report: The clean technology sector grew at a faster rate than the rest of the Arkansas economy over the last eight years and shows the greatest potential for continued growth, according to a recent report by the Southern Growth Policies Board and released by the newly-formed Arkansas Advanced Energy Association (AAEA). The “Arkansas Clean Technology Primer” is the first comprehensive overview of the state’s clean tech sector, which has grown from a handful of companies in 2003 to more than 80 companies today employing thousands of Arkansans, according to the report. “The Primer shows that the clean tech sector represents a significant growth opportunity for our state’s economy,” said Steve Patterson, AAEA Executive Director. “Global demands for energy are rising rapidly and those states that diversify energy resources are most likely to attract new jobs and prosper.” The Primer cites recent studies by Brookings Institute and the Pew Center on States that agree that while Arkansas endured an overall decline in jobs between 2001 and 2010, the clean tech sector grew from between 7.8 percent and 16 percent depending on methods used to define clean tech. Recent advanced energy job growth in the state includes wind component manufacturers like Nordex USA, Inc. in Jonesboro and LM Wind Power in Little Rock and FutureFuel Chemical Co., a biodiesel manufacturer in Batesville. Read the executive summary and full report. New Commentary – Discovering Bioenergy Research at Oak Ridge National Laboratory Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) conducts research all across the bioenergy supply chain. Biologists, ecologists, chemists, material scientists, geographers and economists have teamed up over the past 35 years to better understand and quantify the potential of bioenergy and to advance bioenergy technologies. While research dollars are flat to decreasing in this time of fiscal austerity, the need for research to enable the promise of bioenergy has not diminished. ORNL is leveraging its research dollars, teaming with other institutions and moving forward. The needs for bioenergy—energy security, rural development, reduction of greenhouse gases has never been greater. Click here to read the entire commentary, written by Robin Graham, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and SAFER Advisory Council Member. STC Releases the Top Ten Policies for the Innovative State With innovation being a leading weapon in the fight for new jobs and companies, the Southern Technology Council has released the top ten policies for building an innovation economy. The policies fall into five areas:
Targeting industries is a theme running through the recommendations. As states struggle to be more effective with their economic development funds, targeting industries offers a way to leverage investments. The policies rest on the multiple actors needed for innovation: universities, angel and venture capital investors, legislators, private companies. One of the capstone characteristics of an innovative state is a well-funded organization responsible for promoting innovation within the state. To view the policies commentary, click here. New Commentary – Play Nice to Win: Maximizing Competitiveness through Collaboration In these times—where collaboration is both a competitive advantage and a challenge—we find many organizations are searching for better ways to work together to achieve those things that they cannot accomplish alone. Ted Abernathy, executive director of Southern Growth Policies Board, was asked to write the cover article for Chamber Executive Magazine on the topic of collaboration. Click here to read the entire commentary.
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Southern Growth Policies Board, P.O. Box 12293, Research Triangle Park, NC 27709
Phone: (919) 941-5145, Fax: (919) 941-5594, Email: info@southern.org