Wisconsin to join cohort of states in Policy Academy on Strengthening Your State’s Manufacturers

MADISON, WI. AUG. 14, 2019—Wisconsin has been selected to participate in the year-long Policy Academy on Strengthening Your State’s Manufacturers. Wisconsin will join Arizona, Colorado, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Vermont for a collaborative and custom-built experience to assist manufacturers.

The Policy Academy on Strengthening Your State’s Manufacturers is a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Manufacturing Extension Partnership program organized by the State Science and Technology Institute (SSTI) and the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC). The academy is designed to help selected states collaborate in order to build upon existing strategies, leverage resources and create new approaches to major challenges and opportunities within the manufacturing sector.

The policy academy will guide state teams through a planning and implementation process based on state-specific needs and goals in order to identify relevant manufacturing-related practices, partnerships and policies to move their economic development strategies forward. Each team of four to ten members will receive customized facilitation and additional assistance, with access to national experts, like-minded colleagues and other resources.

“Manufacturing is a central and vital aspect of Wisconsin’s economy,” said Tricia Braun, chief operating officer of the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC), the state’s lead economic development organization. “We are thrilled to be selected for the academy and look forward to collaborating with other states in order to build upon Wisconsin’s successful manufacturing base and develop new initiatives and strategies to improve manufacturing across the country.”

Participating states were required to submit a proposal including a letter of application; a home team composition with a list of confirmed members; and a narrative that describes manufacturing issues to be addressed in the state, policy academy objectives and a plan for implementation.

Wisconsin’s proposal was drafted in collaboration between WEDC and the Wisconsin Center for Manufacturing & Productivity. The state’s application, which was signed by Governor Tony Evers, featured four major themes facing Wisconsin: economic growth, stronger supply chains, improved rural manufacturing, and identification of opportunities to leverage limited resources.

“Manufacturing is the economic engine of Wisconsin, making it a necessary priority for public, private and academic organizations to work together to develop and implement policies and best practices to help ensure the continued economic growth of our state,” the application said.

Representatives from relevant Wisconsin state agencies, academia and private industry will make up the Wisconsin team, which will be traveling to Washington, D.C., for a kickoff meeting Aug. 19-20.