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7 Rivers Region Alliance

• Who We Are • What We

Celebrate • What We Work

Towards

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7 Rivers Region

• Region Defined • Borderless

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7 Rivers Region Alliance

• Who We Are – Regional Economic

Development – Borderless – Connect Businesses

Inspire Innovation Strengthen the Region

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Michael Porter: Effective Regions

• Link innovation assets – people, institutions, capital and infrastructure – to generate robust, localized ecosystems that turbo-charge a region’s economy.

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What We Celebrate

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• Annual Meeting • Buy Regional • Go Global • Counties

Collaboration • Cluster Meetings

12/yrs. • Economic

Development Professionals (4/year)

CONNECTING: Conferences/Meetings

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CONNECTING: Communication

Seeing a Significant Increase in Wanting to Connect

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

2009 2011

Newsletter Subscribers

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

500

2009 2010 2011 2012

Social Media Friends

LinkedIn Group Members Facebook Likes Twitter Followers

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STRENGTHENING: 62 Compact Signers Economic Development Partners Allamakee County Economic Development Chamber of Commerce-La Crosse Area Community and Economic Development

Associates Downtown Mainstreet, Inc. Juneau County Economic Development Corp. La Crescent Chamber of Commerce La Crosse Area Development Corp. (LADCO) La Crosse County Economic Development Fund La Crosse Medical Health Science Consortium Mississippi River Regional Planning

Commission Vernon Economic Development Association

Government City of La Crosse City of Onalaska City of Sparta City of Tomah County of La Crosse Town of Holland Town of Onalaska Town of Shelby Village of Bangor Village of Holmen

Village of Rockland Village of Trempealeau Town of Washington Village of West Salem La Crosse County Solid Waste Department Port Authority of Winona Redevelopment Authority of the City of La

Crosse

Non-Profit Organizations Couleecap Family & Children's Center Gundersen Lutheran Iowa State University Extension-Reg. 4 La Crosse Area Builders Association Mayo Clinic Health System Franciscan

Healthcare-La Crosse Minnesota State College-Southeast Technical Riverland Energy Cooperative Rushford Institute of Nanotechnology School District of La Crosse Western Technical College Winona Workforce Investment Board Workforce Connections Western Wisconsin Workforce Development

Private Businesses AgStar Allergy Associates of La Crosse CenturylLnk Coulee Bank Credit Bureau Data, Inc. First Supply LLC GEA Consulting Gerrard Hoeschler, Inc Hiawatha Broadband Health Tradition Health Plan Johns, Flaherty & Collins Kwik Trip New Albin Savings Bank Organic Valley Rainbow International Restoration and Cleaning River Valley Newspaper Group Spierings Specialty Molded Products, Inc Synergy Leadership Group Wieser Brothers General Contractor, Inc. Xcel Energy

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Took to Minnesota and Iowa

INNOVATION: Lean Training

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INNOVATION: Regional Grants

• Partner: AIM2WIN’s $438,000 food grant

• Supporter: Sustainability Grant

• Lead: AIM2WIN Supply-Chain Research – tied into our Buy Regional Campaign

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INNOVATION: Buy Regional

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INNOVATION: Buy Regional B2B

• Crank the faucet

• Stir the Barrel

• Plug the pipes

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What We’re Working on

2012

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CONNECTING: Database • Pilot:

Shared database • Start:

Workforce Development Could Be:

• Economic Development Partners

• Education • & Beyond

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ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT 101 Grant Funding:

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Business Retention & Expansion

• Surveying • Partnership with

Economic Development Partners – Who that Is

• Goal: pulse, compare, remove barriers, share information

• We fill gaps

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MARKETING: Properties Database

• Ensuring full use of properties listing sites

• WI, MN and IA • Used by people looking

for property – Demographics

• Wages • Education levels • Household expenditures • Age

– Commute travel time – Airport, rail, interstate

distances – Job Growth

• We will fill gaps

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LIMITED FUNDING: Access to Capital

• Regional Revolving Loan Fund (Gap Financing) • “Localvesting”

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NOT FUNDED: Connecting

• Buy Regional • Address Regional Issues

– Employee Attraction & Retention • IT • Small City Lifestyle

– Silent Sports for High-Skill, High-Wage • Cluster Development

– Composites – Metal Manufacturing – Food Processing

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NOT FUNDED: Counties Collaboration

• Transportation: Getting our food global

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INNOVATING: Global

The world has 20x the population of the U.S. •New markets •High Competition

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WHERE DO WE NEED TO BE

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The Innovation Platform

Input

• Assets • Networks • Culture

Output

• Innovation • Productivity • Prosperity

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3 Critical Outcomes

• Open, Resilient Regional Partnership • Flexible Strategic Action Plan • Shared Set of Investment Priorities

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See the Benefits

Leverage critical resources

Broaden set of assets

Expand recognition in the marketplace

Increase competitiveness to attract, retain, and expand industries

BENEFITS REGIONALISM OPPORTUNITIES

Locality

Workforce Industries

Region

Quality jobs and pipeline of talent

Increased productivity

Expanded tax base

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What Can You Do

• Sign the compact • Join as a member (+) • Cash or In-Kind

– People-power – Meeting Space – Graphic Design

• Open doors • Seek out & encourage collaboration

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THANK YOU!

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Pyramid Award