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MadREP Report: May 31, 2018
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575 attendees joined MadREP & ULGM for this year's Summit. |
5th Annual Madison Region Economic Development & Diversity Summit Draws Record Number of Attendees
Thank you to the record crowd of approximately 575 business and community leaders who joined us on May 16 at the fifth annual Madison Region Economic Development and Diversity Summit, held in partnership with the Urban League of Greater Madison. The day-long event was packed with important conversations about how to embrace diversity as we grow our workforce, communities, and businesses. Special thanks go to the many sponsors that made the event possible.
"Our goal, which we accomplished, was to convene individuals and organizations that are committed to advancing talent, opportunity and growth for all the region's citizens," said Gene Dalhoff, MadREP V.P. of Talent & Education. "We believe this unique collaboration with the Urban League positions the Madison Region to be a national model for economic growth and economic inclusion."
Feedback from the varied offerings of plenary and breakouts speakers was very positive the day of the event, as ideas, strategies, and tools were discussed to help organizations move their diversity and inclusion efforts forward. A few of the presentations from the Summit are available for sharing. If you are interested in receiving the presentation for a particular speaker or breakout session, please contact Gene Dalhoff at
[email protected]. Attendees are encouraged to respond to the follow-up survey sent out earlier, as feedback received on that form will help to drive the agenda for the 2019 Summit.
If you missed it, check out the conversation on twitter at #madsummit as well as photos from the day. We are grateful to everyone who helped make this continued collaboration a success. And, don't forget to save the date for next year:
May 17, 2019.
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MadREP Releases 2018
Workplace
Diversity & Inclusion Survey Findings
Building on the success of its groundbreaking Workplace Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) Surveys from 2015 through
2017, MadREP launched its fourth D&I Survey in early 2018.
As with the earlier editions, this year's survey was used to capture quantitative and qualitative data about workforce demographics, supplier diversity programs, and community engagement while providing companies with a vehicle to self-assess strengths and opportunities relative to diversity in their workforce.
The inclusion of a diverse workforce is vital to the sustained economic growth of
the region, and assessing the progress of diversity and inclusion efforts by Madison Region employers is a critical step in improving our practices.
- 69% of respondents do not have a written diversity statement (down from 77% in 2017).
- 77% of respondents do not have workforce demographic goals (down from 84% in 2017).
- 96% of respondents do not have a supplier diversity program (down from 97% in 2017)
- 61% of respondents do not offer employees the option to formally self-identify their sexual orientation (down from 64% in 2017).
While these survey results reveal significant opportunities for improvement, they help us understand where to focus our workplace diversity & inclusion efforts both at the individual company and broader regional level. With continued growth and implementation of these initiatives, the Madison Region will be positioned to become a model for economic inclusion.
The survey was sent to a random sample of 1,903 employers (drawn from 7,520 organizations with 10 or more employees) between February - March 2018 and received 367 responses, for a confidence interval of plus/minus 5.00%.
Read It Here
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Infastructure:
Detour: Wisconsin farmers cope with new bridge restrictions
New weight restrictions were placed on nearly 200 Wisconsin bridges - most on county and town roads in the western part of the state - this spring as highway engineers try to account for the strain from newer trucks that use tightly-spaced axles to carry more weight in a smaller frame.
As a result, farmers and truckers have been forced to take detours to get their products to market and haul half-filled loads from "landlocked" fields.
New Business Development:
Brewery coming to downtown Beaver Dam
Ooga Brewing Company will take the space of a former used car dealer and auto shop at 301 S. Spring St., with a goal to start serving beer by the end of the year. The name "Ooga" pays tribute to the site's previous use, as in the sound an old car horn would make: "AH-OOOOO-GA!"
Innovation:
Delta debuts new uniforms made by Lands' End
On Tuesday, Delta's 64,000 employees debuted the uniforms at the airline's ticket counters, airplanes and hangars worldwide.
It is the largest project to date for Lands' End's uniform division, both in terms of the number of people to be outfitted and the revenue it will provide, said Joe Ferreri, senior vice president and head of Lands' End Outfitters.
New Business Development:
New hotel could fill 'gap' in extended stay inns in Janesville
When the Marriott TownePlace Suites, an extended-stay hotel, opens on Janesville's northeast side next year, it could help newcomers find stopgap living arrangements as they look for new digs in town...The Marriott is under construction now just south of the re-developed former Menards, tucked between North Pontiac Drive and Interstate 90/39. Freitag and others said during a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday afternoon that the new hotel will fill a "gap" in the local lodging market.
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Tech & Biotech:
Venture Investors is raising money for new investments
Venture Investors, a Madison venture capital organization known for supporting young technology and health-related companies in the Madison area, is raising a new fund. According to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Venture Investors plans to raise $100 million for what it calls Venture Investors Health Fund 6 Limited Partners.
Agriculture:
'Alice' Finals to be Hosted by Green County in 2018
Green County will host the 72nd annual Alice in Dairyland Finals in May 2019. State Assistant Deputy of Agriculture Secretary Keith Ripp made the announcement Saturday during the Finale event for the selection of the 71st Alice in Dairyland in Adams County.
A new Alice is selected each year from a group of finalists during a months-long public job interview.
Green County will hold its finals activities on May 9-11, 2019.
Infrastructure Update:
Highway 89 Roadwork Postponed
The planned reconstruction of a portion of U.S. Highway 89 in Lake Mills has been postponed until March 2019 due to lack of bids on the project.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (DOT) held a meeting Wednesday night at the Lake Mills Municipal Building and Community Center, laying out the details of the postponed project. About 20 people were in attendance, not including local and DOT officials.
New Business Development:
New stores open at Outlets at the Dells
It was a ribbon-cutting week for the Outlets at the Dells as the opening of Michael Kors and Columbia stores were celebrated, leading to the reutilization of 12,000 square feet of merchandise space.
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The 2018 BUILD Act & EPA Brownfields Program, June 6
The Brownfields Utilization, Investment, and Local Development Act (BUILD Act) was recently enacted. The BUILD Act amends the 2002 Brownfields Law and authorizes changes to EPA's Brownfields program. Join us for a webinar that will feature members of EPA's Brownfields and Land Revitalization Program who will provide an overview of how the BUILD Act changes some aspects of EPA's brownfields grants, ownership and liability requirements, and State & Tribal Response Programs.
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CultureCon USA 2018, June 6-7
CultureCon is a day and a half event focused on workplace culture and happening right here in Madison on June 6 & 7, 2018!
Throughout the event there will be 4 keynotes, 26 breakout sessions, DisruptMSN, The Innovation Hall, a Philanthropy Hackathon, and much more.
If you care about workplace culture you should be at CultureCon. Use our special discount code: MADREP18
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Morgridge Entrepreneurial Bootcamp, June 11 - June 15
The Morgridge Entrepreneurial Bootcamp (MEB) is a one-week intensive training program in technology entrepreneurship for graduate students in the sciences, engineering, and math.
MEB is co-sponsored by the Initiative for Studies in Transformational Entrepreneurship (INSITE) and the Weinert Center for Entrepreneurship
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Things to Consider When Selling or Buying a Business, June 12
When selling or buying a business there are many things to consider - price, terms, allocation of price to various assets, covenants not to compete, extended consulting after the sale, and several other things. In this presentation we will go over each of these with some depth. Plenty of time of questions and answers.
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Energy Storage Global Innovation Forum, June 12-13
M-WERC presents our 2nd Annual Energy Storage technical conference.
Based on the success of our event in 2017, we have expanded the event to two full days and have partnered with Chicago-based Smart Grid Observer to make this a regional event, to take place in downtown Milwaukee.
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Design Thinking for Business Innovation, June 20
You don't need to be a designer to think like one. The design thinking principles can be applied to any situation to create successful business strategies. This workshop introduces and elaborates on the tools and practice modes of Design Thinking and the theory behind it with an emphasis on business innovation and the desired outcomes for the customer.
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Cooperatives and Affordable Housing Needs, June 21
Communities often face challenges in developing affordable housing options for some of its residents.
This webinar will highlight how the cooperative model is being used to provide benefits of home ownership to manufactured home residents and to seniors.
Conversion of mobile home parks from private ownership to cooperative ownership has provided economic security to manufactured home owners across the country, including Wisconsin
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A Strength-Based Approach to Negotiation, September 26
Did you know 70% of woman lose almost $2 million over their lifetime as they try to climb the leadership ladder? WHY?
Because they do not negotiate.
In this session, we will help you identify your specific talents (using Gallup's StrengthsFinder) and teach you the art of negotiating.
Whether you never have negotiated or you're a pro this action-oriented session is for you!
Register Here
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New Markets Tax Credits
Lift Wisconsin, Inc. was established by the Wisconsin Housing & Economic Development Authority (WHEDA) and a coalition of Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) with a mission to invest in severely economically distressed areas of Wisconsin communities and to serve as a catalyst for economic development and job creation.
In order to compete for New Markets Tax Credits we are soliciting projects to include in our application with the U.S. Department of Treasury.
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THANKS TO OUR INVESTORS
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Thank you to all our investors
who support our region's economic future through their generous financial contributions.
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