National case study highlights QSRT research tools
September 29, 2008
The success story of the SW MO WIB’s assistance to Miami Oklahoma’s effort to land new jobs in solar cell manufacturing is now part of a national case study. Economic Modeling Specialists, Inc. (EMSI) published the case study September 24th to a nationwide audience of economic development professionals.
Case Study Overview (from EMSI)
When the Belgian high-tech materials company Umicore decided to expand its germanium wafer production to the U.S., its search led it to three cities. Two were not surprises (Phoenix and Albuquerque), but one was off the beaten path in the tiny town of Quapaw, Oklahoma (pop. 966), near the Ottawa County seat of Miami (pop. 14,485). Umicore’s Opticals division has an existing plant in Quapaw, so it knew the cost of business would be low, but it needed proof that the surrounding region could provide the necessary workforce for the new plant.
- Download the full Case Study (PDF)
- Project Overview on EMSI’s Blog
- Media Coverage from Oklahoma Department of Commerce and Miami News Record
Audio Available for September 9th Leadership Meeting
September 18, 2008
Committee members and leaders met September 9th in Joplin to report on status and collaborate on progress of the eight committees in the regional transformation movement. Links to download mp3 files of the summit presentations are provided below.
- Healthcare/Social Services report by Tracy Lemmons (.3 mb)
- Regional Economic Development report by Marsha Wallace (2.41 mb)
- Tourism report by Jean Prichart (.6 mb)
- Education report by John Bode (1.47 mb)
- Marketing/Branding report by Jasen Jones (.76 mb)
- Asset Mapping Report by Jasen Jones (1.84 mb)
- Community Enhancement report by Cindy Morris (1.53 mb)
- Next Steps for Legislative Outreach; Meeting Closeout from Rob O’Brian (.87 mb)
- Full 29:00 audiocast (7 mb - compressed 32-bit mono mp3 file)
Advice on downloadable audio: For each audio link, most users will likely want to right click the link and select “save as” then open the file in their audio player of choice. Clicking the link directly may work as well, but could take longer since the files typically range up to 7 MB in size.
Regional Transformation Mission Continues to Spread
September 17, 2008
Momentum continues to build for Quad-States Regional Transformation. QSRT enjoyed the spotlight at a recent statewide conference and a local HR association meeting and will soon debut at the Four-State Regional Technology Conference with Pittsburg State University.
The project received publicity at the Missouri Governors Economic Development Conference in Kansas City September 10-12. Statewide Division of Workforce director, Dawn Busick, plugged QSRT in two general sessions at the conference. The first event on Thursday morning profiled QSRT along with the WIRED projects in Kansas City and Southeast Missouri in a session titled, Transforming the Workforce System Using WIRED Principles. The General Closing Session Friday Morning, titled United Development Efforts, provided regional insights to advance common goals to join together the strengths of workforce development and economic development.
Jasen Jones, Executive Director of the Southwest Missouri WIB, introduced QSRT to the members of the Tri-State Human Resources Association September 17th. Jones’ presentation highlighted the basics of regional transformation and provided specific projects of interest to HR professionals. The focus included development of a competency framework to improve skill preparation and career ladders for occupations in the region’s targeted industry sectors. The group also discussed ways to improve the alignment of business needs with decision-makers in all levels of education.
The HR presentation on the 17th led to connections made for Jones to expand this message to a larger audience at the upcoming Four-State Regional Technology Conference at Pittsburg State University. Strengthening Ties to Corporate America is the theme of the conference, slated for November 20-21 at the Kansas Technology Center on the PSU campus. The conference serves as a clearing house of technology and industrial-based institutions, equipment, supplies and ideas for educators, administrators, counselors and students from K-12 schools, technical colleges, community colleges, universities and corporations.
