Project Updates

The Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) is requesting proposals from interested parties to serve as a facilitator for team discussions in a Policy Academy over a period of ten months – April 1, 2023 to January 31, 2024.

The scale of the current pandemic‐driven economic crisis is unprecedented. What does the future hold for businesses, workers, and jobseekers as states move forward with reopening the economy? Can we expect a speedy recovery? During this digital town hall, President Barkin will share his perspectives on the economy and prospects for recovery, followed by an opportunity for participants to ask questions and share assessments about their own regional challenges.

CREC hosted the second webinar in its cybersecurity series to discuss the DoD’s effort to leverage the network of Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Centers to build awareness among defense suppliers about cybersecurity requirements and compliance. Through an inter-agency agreement (between NIST and DoD), the DoD’s Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSDR&E) […]

OEA engaged the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) and Entreworks Consulting to review various efforts funded by the OEA Industry Resilience program to strengthen the manufacturing supply chains and strengthen the defense industrial base in your regions and states. This webinar included a briefing on the paper developed outlining these activities, OEA Support for Defense Supply Chains: Many Successes and Lessons Learned, followed by an opportunity for discussion and comments. 

CREC hosted a webinar to discuss the National Defense Industry Association’s recent paper “Beyond Obfuscation: The Defense Industry’s Position within Federal Cybersecurity Policy” (https://www.ndia.org/policy/cyber/2019-cybersecurity-report). This report examines recent cyberbreaches, the evolving regulatory environment governing cybersecurity, and analyzes a survey of 300 defense suppliers and their experiences with cybersecurity. Furthermore, the report provides recommendations for government and industry based on their findings.

Ron Kelly attended a joint meeting convened by the Workforce Data Quality Campaign and Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education in Chicago, Illinois.

Ron Kelly, on behalf of the LMI Institute, attended the National Association of Workforce Agencies (NASWA) Labor Market Information Committee meeting in Denver, Colorado.

Mark White and Randall Arthur traveled to Grand Rapids, Michigan to present preliminary findings to stakeholders as a part of an ongoing project with the W.K. Kellog Foundation and the City of Grand Rapids.

Martin Romitti traveled to Reno, Nevada to meet with the Program Managers for the Nevada State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI).

Jennie Allison and Lindsay Johnson attended the 16th Annual Local Employment Dynamics (LED) Partnership Workshop hosted by the U.S. Census Bureau in Washington D.C.