West Michigan Regional Prosperity Alliance

West Michigan Prosperity AllianceCommunity Conversation Regarding the Future Prosperity of West MichiganMarch 17, 2014Ballroom C, DeVos Place2:15 4:00

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Michigan State Senate Districts

Michigan State House DistrictsMichigan Municipal League

Michigan Township Association

Michigan Association of Counties

Some Simple Statistics About Our Region13 Counties341 Units of Government1,532,851 people (15.5% of Michigan)757,540 Labor Force (+1.5% since 2009)7.4% Unemployment Rate ( 4.7 % since 09)

8,163 square miles, about the same size as the State of New Jersey130 Miles of Lake Michigan Shoreline and extends 75 miles to the heart of Michigans lower peninsula10,000 employers,$5.7 billion in economic outputBetween 2000-2012 our population gained 86,575 or 6% while overall Michigan lost 55,500 residents.Over 90,000 people commute into our region for work and over 114,000 residents leave the region for their jobs.Employment has recovered from the Great Recession

Between 2009 and 2012, payroll jobs in the West Michigan Prosperity Region grew by 50,025 or 8.6%percent, more than twice that of the 4.0%percent growth statewide 90+ school districts, 13 major colleges and universities, 70,000 college students

What are the Required Deliverables?A 5 Year Regional Prosperity Plan including and economic development blueprintA performance Dashboard and measurable annual goals.Monthly meetings to consider and discuss issues leading to a common vision of economic prosperity including economic development, talent and infrastructure.

West Michigan Prosperity AllianceSteering CommitteeAt Large/ Private BusinessWorkforce DevelopmentEconomic DevelopmentAdult EducationHigher EducationRegional Transportation and PlanningJohn Weiss - GVMCDave Bee - WMRPCErin Kuhn - WMSRDCSteve Bulthuis - MACC

Paul Griffith - Michigan Works! West CentralDeb Groeneveld - Michigan Works Muskegon-Oceana Jacob Maas - Kent-Allegan Michigan Works!

Mike OConnor - Adult Edu. of Zeeland P.S.Kathleen Sullivan - Adult Learning Partners of West MichiganDoug Wood - Orchard View Schools Adult EducationBruce Adair - Lakeshore AdvantageValarie Byrnes - Barry County Economic Dev.Ed Garner - Muskegon Area FirstRick Chapla -The Right Place

Fiona Hert - GRCCJulie VanDyke - WSCCDan Rinsema-Sybenga - MCCSimone Jonaitis - GVSU

Linda Brand - Model Community InitiativeJim Fisher - PadnosRoger Safford - MDOTAndy Johnston - West Michigan Chamber Coalition Jim Sandy - Mecosta County Dev. Corp.Bill Raymond - Ottawa County Michigan Works!Kevin Stotts -Talent 2025

Steering Committee CommitteesAlliance CommunicationsPublic CommunicationsThe Prosperity PlanCommunity Conversations

September 26, 2013125 Regional Representatives Attend Informational MeetingCommunity ConversationsCan We Agree on 5 Projects of Significant Regional Economic Importance?MarchJuneSeptemberCommunity Conversation Regarding the Future Prosperity of West MichiganWe would like your feedbackWhat do you think about the proposed project criteria?Are these the right criteria?Do you have others to add?How do you weight these criteria? Which are most important?

We have an opportunity here to help decide whats best for West Michigan?30Together, We are Creating a Strategy ScreenA strategy screen is a set of criteria by which to choose a particular strategy or project. It should be developed before considering which projects to select.Must be conceived carefully.Ensures that the selection of an emerging project is consistent with goals and strategic direction.Simple powerful tool for decision making.

The West Michigan Prosperity AllianceThe West Michigan Prosperity Alliance (WMPA) will solicit projects from across the region and from across interests. The WMPA will evaluate each project based on criteria established by the Alliance. The following list of criteria is a suggested starting point for the discussion. 10 Proposed Prosperity InitiativeProject Criteria for Selecting Projects Long-term impact of project Sustainability of project Proportion of the Region potentially impacted by the projectImpact on various employment sectors (manufacturing, agriculture, tourism, etc.)Creation of high tech jobs

10 Proposed Prosperity InitiativeProject Criteria for Selecting Projects Overall employment creationUse of existing capacity before creating new facilitiesBuilds on Regions strengths and addresses Regions challengesProject readiness and feasibilityPublic and private support for project

Discuss at Your TablesTwo handoutsList of ten proposed criteriaWorksheet with three questions to be considered at your tablesThen we will report outGroup Report OutHow did you react to the 10 proposed criteria?What were your top three criteria? What criteria did you add?Do you have any questions or concerns for the committee to consider? Next Steps/Nomination of ProjectsForms are available in the back of the roomA written communication will be sent in the coming weeks with opportunities to nominate projectsAnalysis of the nominated projects will be conductedWe will meet again in June to determine the final list of Projects of Significant Economic Importance.