We'll start this month's newsletter with some excellent news! The three University of Wisconsin System universities in the Momentum West region have been given approval by the UW System to plan new engineering programs.

UW-Stout has received approval to plan a bachelor of science degree in Mechanical Engineering, UW-Eau Claire will be allowed to plan for a Bachelor of Science degree in Materials Science Engineering, and UW-River Falls will be allowed to plan for a Bachelor of Science degree in Agricultural Engineering.

"This is great news for the businesses and industries of northwest Wisconsin who have told us they need more engineers in their workforce," said Chancellor Bob Meyer. "We have worked really hard with our faculty and staff to get to this point, and I want to thank everyone for their dedication to this issue."

Meyer said he also wanted to thank UW System Provost David J. Ward, UW System President Ray Cross and the Board of Regents for listening to the needs of employers in northwest Wisconsin as they worked through this issue.

"Our business and industries made a great case for our proposal," Meyer said. "I am very glad that it resonated with the UW System leadership and the Regents."

"Thanks to the foresight of our faculty, UW-Eau Claire is poised to proceed with a Materials Science Engineering degree that is cost-neutral," said UW-Eau Claire Chancellor James Schmidt. "That is possible because current and recently hired faculty have engineering expertise and credentials, and also because our science labs, thanks to faculty securing grants and other funds, are already equipped with the sophisticated instrumentation necessary to teach the curriculum. The business community in the Northwest region has been telling us for years they need more engineers to compete with the nearby Twin Cities of Minnesota, and Materials Science Engineering at UW-Eau Claire will help address that need."

"UW-River Falls is excited to build upon its strengths in agriculture and STEM fields to launch an outstanding degree program in Agricultural Engineering," said UW-River Falls Chancellor Dean Van Galen. "This program will address workforce needs expressed by our regional business partners such as Oxbo and economic development partners such as Momentum West.  Our collaboration with UW-Stout and UW-Eau Claire will ensure that these new engineering programs are delivered efficiently and meet the needs of students and businesses in northwest Wisconsin."   

The campuses will be able to come back to the Board of Regents starting in April 2015 with the final step in the process, authorizations of the new programs.

The three universities joined to form the Northwest Wisconsin Engineering Consortium, which will include a core engineering curriculum that will be shared across the three institutions.

The three universities will be recognized for this effort and additional significant contributions to the economic development of the region at the March 11th Momentum West annual meeting.

Momentum West and the NWITA (Northwestern Wisconsin International Trade Association), a new offering of Momentum West, are in the early stages of bringing in the WEDC Trade Reps from Canada, China, Brazil, Chile, South Korea and the Middle East tentatively scheduled for May 5th. We're looking at a group presentation with individual meetings available after that.

The WEDC Trade Reps can serve as the eyes and ears of Wisconsin companies in foreign markets.  They currently have 14 Trade Reps providing services in 54 countries around the world and can provide Market Assessments that look at a firm's potential in a market:

�         How big is the market?

�         Who are the competitors?

�         What are prices and how do duties and taxes affect them?

�         What are the channels of distribution?

If signs are positive, they can identify potential agents, distributors, or end-users and arrange meetings with promising candidates.  They can also provide tips on the local business culture and what to expect in meetings and business negotiations.

The Trade Reps would be able to give an update on market conditions and opportunities in the countries and then meet with the businesses to answer specific questions.  Whether a company is just considering a market, looking for advice on strategies to pursue, or suggestions on how to improve their efforts in a market, those meetings can be very valuable.

I had the privilege of attending the WEDA's annual Governors Conference on Economic Development February 12th and 13th with several other board members and local ED professionals. The primary focus this year was talent, or unfortunately the lack thereof. I encourage you to go to the US Chamber Foundations website, or to thetalentsupplychain.org, to download a copy of the whitepaper produced by the Chamber. They've compiled some valuable information including implementable initiatives for addressing the talent issues. Our newly formed Talent Attraction Committee has begun the process of formulating plans to address this on a regional level in conjunction with other organizations and existing initiatives. There is obviously much work to be done in this area.

In the recently released draft budget for the State of Wisconsin, there are plans to designate money based on regional population for economic development.  Most of you are aware of The Regional Business Fund, founded in 2007 as a result of tireless work to consolidate the numerous municipal funds in the region and administered by the WCWRPC.  This is an excellent model of a regional revolving loan fund, arguably the best in the state, and I urge you to support our regions present structure if approached for input.

Thanks to all of you that attended the January 30th transportation forums in New Richmond and Eau Claire. Thank you also to the Dunn County Economic Development Corporation and BMO Harris Bank for sponsoring these two events. These forums, originally planned for each quarter, appear to be headed toward becoming monthly forums. Please send me an email if you have issues you'd like to see us focus on.

Momentum West participated in both the Chippewa Valley Rally January 28th and the Greater St. Croix Valley Legislative Day February 11th in Madison. Key issues included sustainable, balanced transportation funding, talent issues including the engineering programs, proposed higher education cuts, reciprocity, the Confluence Project, broadband, as well as other key items. Nice job to the area chambers and EDC's for putting these together. I encourage you to participate next time around. It really is a rare opportunity to bend the ears of legislators and their staffers and focus their attention on our part of the state.

The annual meeting will be at 29 Pines, just north of Eau Claire on Hwy 29, on March 11th. Registration will begin at 11:30, with Lunch and presentations to start at noon. This year's keynote will be from Mark Stoering, President and CEO of NSP - Wisconsin, a division of Xcel Energy. We also expect a visit from Lt. Governor Kleefisch. As mentioned earlier in this newsletter, the three UW System universities in the region will also be recognized for their significant contributions to economic development in the region. We hope to see many of you there.

Thanks,

Steve

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Steve Jahn

Executive Director Momentum West