Nurturing Americas Growth in the Global Marketplace Through Tale

Reports Upjohn Research home page 1-1-2009 Nurturing America's Growth in the Global Marketplace Through Talent Development: An Interim Report on the Evaluation of Generations II and III of WIRED Nancy Hewat Public Policy Associates Kevin Hollenbeck W.E Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, hollenbeck@upjohn.org Follow this and additional works at: https://research.upjohn.org/reports Citation Hewat, Nancy and Kevin Hollenbeck 2009 "Nurturing America's Growth in the Global Marketplace Through Talent Development: An Interim Report on the Evaluation of Generations II and III of WIRED." Report submitted to U.S Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration https://research.upjohn.org/reports/2 This title is brought to you by the Upjohn Institute For more information, please contact repository@upjohn.org 119 Pere Marquette Drive, Suite 1C Lansing, MI 48912-1231 (517) 485-4477 Fax: (517) 485-4488 www.publicpolicy.com Nurturing America’s Growth in the Global Marketplace Through Talent Development An Interim Report on the Evaluation of Generations II and III of WIRED Submitted to U.S Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration November 23, 2009 300 S Westnedge Ave Kalamazoo, MI 49007-4686 (269) 343-5541 Fax: (269) 343-3308 www.upjohninstitute.org Submitted by Public Policy Associates, Incorporated W.E Upjohn Institute for Employment Research Authors of this Report Primary Authors Nancy Hewat, Ph.D., Project Director Kevin Hollenbeck, Ph.D., Principal Investigator Contributing Authors Public Policy Associates, Inc Nicholas Armit Colleen Graber Jeff Kaplow David McConnell Nancy McCrohan, Ph.D Jeff Padden Lawrence Rosen, Ph.D Nathalie Winans Scott Southard (Editor) W E Upjohn Institute for Employment Research George Erickcek Brad Watts This project has been funded, either wholly or in part, with Federal funds from the Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration, under Contract Number DOLJ071A20606 The contents of this publication not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Labor, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations imply endorsement of same by the U.S Government Acknowledgments We would like to acknowledge the many people involved in the Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development Initiative for their commitment to engaging regional stakeholders in collaborative efforts to transform their regional economies and for their ongoing cooperation with the evaluation Our deep appreciation goes to Eileen Pederson and Dan Ryan of the U.S Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration for their commitment to conducting a thorough and thoughtful evaluation They have provided valuable input and insights about the Initiative and the key role of the evaluation in capturing the lessons learned throughout the implementation process We would also like to thank the staff of Berkeley Policy Associates and the University of California, San Diego for their willingness to share information and insights gained through their work as evaluators of the Generation I regions participating in the Initiative Of course, the evaluation of the Generations II and III regions would not be possible without the involvement of the many regional stakeholders that participated in the data collection process Their willingness to provide feedback about their experiences in the early implementation of their efforts to transform their regions enriches the evaluation and enables a thorough examination of the Initiative from the perspective of participants Finally, we would like to thank members of the evaluation team that have contributed their skills and energy to this project from both Public Policy Associates, Inc (Nicholas Armit, Colleen Graber, Ferzana Havewala, Jeff Kaplow, David McConnell, Nancy McCrohan, Jeff Padden, Laurence Rosen, Scott Southard, and Nathalie Winans) and W.E Upjohn Institute (Randy Eberts, George Erickcek, Sarah Klerk, Jason Preuss, and Brad Watts) Table of Contents Executive Summary i Evaluation Design and Data Collection ii Summary Findings iii Context for Collaboration iii Governance iii Effective Engagement v Planning v Communication vi Use of Data vi Resources and Sustainability vii Activities viii Social Networking ix Conclusions and Next Steps x I Introduction A Background B ETA’s Investment Strategy Three Generations Required Partners Sector Focus Allowable Activities Promoting Regionalism C Evaluation of ETA’s Investment Strategy D Baseline Data 10 E Organization of this Report 11 II Theory of Change 13 III Keys to Success: A Cross-Cutting Examination of the Early Implementation of Regional Transformation Efforts 17 A Context for Collaboration 17 Introduction 17 Analysis 17 Regional Characteristics 19 Regional Partners 24 Business and Industry 26 Education 27 Economic Development 29 Government 30 Other Partners 31 Communications 32 Summary Observations 33 B Governance and Decision-Making 34 Introduction 34 Analysis 34 Governance Structures 35 Leadership 36 Vision 39 Integrity of the Decision-Making Process 40 Governance Supports 42 Changes in Planned Governance Structures 43 Summary Observations 44 C Effective Engagement among Collaborators 45 Introduction 45 Analysis 46 Summary Observations 52 D Planning 54 Introduction 54 Planning Activities Conducted 54 Proposals and Planning Partners 54 Asset Mapping and Planning 56 Ongoing Planning Activities 58 Additional Themes and Illustrations 58 Summary Observations 60 E Communication 62 Introduction 62 Communication Purposes 62 Communication Methods 64 Measurement 65 Effectiveness 66 Summary Observations 66 F Use of Data 67 Introduction 67 Analyses 67 Use of Data to Identify Target Sectors 67 Asset Mapping 70 Performance Monitoring and Sustainability 71 Tracking and Reporting Progress 73 Summary Observations 73 G Resources and Sustainability 75 Introduction 75 Allocation of Initiative Funds 75 Expenditure Status 80 Leveraged Funds 83 Sustainability 86 Demonstrating and Communicating Value 87 Building on the Momentum of Increasing Regionalism 88 Venture Capital 88 Summary Observations 88 H Activities 91 Activities as a Dimension of the Theory of Change 91 Analyses 93 Types of Activities 95 *Data for this table came from available implementation plans submitted by the regions and site visit interviews 101 Summary Observations 102 I Social Networking 105 Introduction 105 Social Networking Data 105 Results of the Social Networking Analysis 106 Network Structure 110 Summary Observations 113 IV Summary and Next Steps 114 A Key Initial Findings 114 B Issues for Further Research 116 Bibliography 118 Overview of Generation II and III Regions Appendix A Social Network Graphs by Regions Appendix B Nurturing America’s Growth Through Talent Development Evaluation Interim Report Tennessee Valley Social Network Figure B-12 Public Policy Associates, Incorporated W.E Upjohn Institute for Employment Research B-12 Nurturing America’s Growth Through Talent Development Evaluation Interim Report Wasatch Range Social Network Figure B-13 Public Policy Associates, Incorporated W.E Upjohn Institute for Employment Research B-13 Nurturing America’s Growth Through Talent Development Evaluation Interim Report Central Kentucky Social Network Figure B-14 Public Policy Associates, Incorporated W.E Upjohn Institute for Employment Research B-14 Nurturing America’s Growth Through Talent Development Evaluation Interim Report Central New Jersey Social Network Figure B-15 Public Policy Associates, Incorporated W.E Upjohn Institute for Employment Research B-15 Nurturing America’s Growth Through Talent Development Evaluation Interim Report Greater Albuquerque (NM) Social Network Figure B-16 Public Policy Associates, Incorporated W.E Upjohn Institute for Employment Research B-16 Nurturing America’s Growth Through Talent Development Evaluation Interim Report Minnesota Triangle Social Network Figure B-17 Public Policy Associates, Incorporated W.E Upjohn Institute for Employment Research B-17 Nurturing America’s Growth Through Talent Development Evaluation Interim Report North Oregon Social Network Figure B-18 Public Policy Associates, Incorporated W.E Upjohn Institute for Employment Research B-18 Nurturing America’s Growth Through Talent Development Evaluation Interim Report Pacific Mountain Washington Social Network Figure B-19 Public Policy Associates, Incorporated W.E Upjohn Institute for Employment Research B-19 Nurturing America’s Growth Through Talent Development Evaluation Interim Report South Central & South West Wisconsin Social Network Figure B-20 Public Policy Associates, Incorporated W.E Upjohn Institute for Employment Research B-20 Nurturing America’s Growth Through Talent Development Evaluation Interim Report South-Central Idaho Social Network Figure B-21 Public Policy Associates, Incorporated W.E Upjohn Institute for Employment Research B-21 Nurturing America’s Growth Through Talent Development Evaluation Interim Report South-Central Kansas Social Network Figure B-22 Public Policy Associates, Incorporated W.E Upjohn Institute for Employment Research B-22 Nurturing America’s Growth Through Talent Development Evaluation Interim Report Southeast Missouri Social Network Figure B-23 Public Policy Associates, Incorporated W.E Upjohn Institute for Employment Research B-23 Nurturing America’s Growth Through Talent Development Evaluation Interim Report Southeastern Mississippi Social Network Figure B-24 Public Policy Associates, Incorporated W.E Upjohn Institute for Employment Research B-24 Nurturing America’s Growth Through Talent Development Evaluation Interim Report Southeastern Virginia Social Network Figure B-25 Public Policy Associates, Incorporated W.E Upjohn Institute for Employment Research B-25 Nurturing America’s Growth Through Talent Development Evaluation Interim Report Southern Arizona Social Network Figure B-26 Public Policy Associates, Incorporated W.E Upjohn Institute for Employment Research B-26 ... members In these cases, the core leaders saw their key contributions as keeping the initiative organized, bringing information to the leadership group, and administering the decisions of the group... Employment Research v Nurturing America’s Growth Through Talent Development Evaluation Interim Report The planning process was still the dominant activity at the time of the site visits in the summer of... completed asset mapping and were using the results for planning activities The asset mapping in most of the remaining regions was in process or being planned In only two regions did there seem to be