Innovate Now! To Begin First Phase With Focus On Manufacturing
CHICAGO – Gov. Rod R. Blagojevich’s top economic development official announced today $1 million in Opportunity Returns funding for a new initiative to promote innovation to spur economic development and new jobs in the Chicagoland region. Innovate Now! is a partnership between the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (DCEO), the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and World Business Chicago to advance innovation in several key sectors of the economy and to help make the Chicagoland region, and eventually the entire state of Illinois, a globally recognized center of innovation. The first phase of the initiative will focus on manufacturing and promoting innovation with leading small and mid-sized manufacturers in the region. DCEO Director Jack Lavin announced this new initiative during a speech today at the City Club of Chicago.
“To face the challenges of today’s global economy head-on, it is absolutely critical that we continue to find new ways to help our companies create new jobs by increasing their efficiency, productivity and competitiveness. This new approach will begin by promoting innovative strategies and methods that can drive sustained economic growth in Illinois. Innovate Now! is an investment in the future of our state that will provide manufacturers, and other key industries, with the tools they need to continue meeting the demands of their customers, which is going to help put more people to work,” Gov. Blagojevich said.
Innovate Now! will be guided by a leadership team of business, union, education, government and civic leaders to advance the assessment and implementation phase and to recruit other leaders to participate. The Co-Chairs of the Leadership team are John Edwardson, Chairman and CEO of CDW, James Tyree, Chairman and CEO of Mesirow Financial, Robert Zimmer, President of the University of Chicago, and Robert McIlvaine, President of The Royal Group.
As part of the first phase of this effort, DCEO will provide $1 million to promote innovation in manufacturing through a series of meetings and forums in the Chicagoland region over the next several months, beginning in August, highlighted by a Chicagoland Innovation Summit on October 24th. This initiative will complement current efforts to promote new business start-ups through the Illinois Entrepreneurship Network and related technology commercialization efforts. It will also build on and expand current workforce initiatives, including the Governor’s Critical Skills Shortage Initiative (CSSI). The Innovate Now! efforts in manufacturing will be expanded to other regions of the state through regional meetings and forums. In addition, the next phase of this initiative in future years will target other sectors in the Chicagoland region in sectors such as financial services and transportation and logistics.
Innovate Now! will focus on four major strategies:
• Promote business innovation leadership: Showcase up to 100 leading innovative manufacturers who are developing new products and services and developing new processes and supply-chain solutions; and conduct 6 to 8 CEO peer-to-peer regional forums to promote the sharing of best practices among leading Chicagoland manufacturers. This also will promote the use of leading business metrics for measuring innovation capacity and performance; pioneer the development of state and regional measures for innovation performance for guiding and evaluating economic development initiatives; and recognize performance excellence through state and regional information dissemination and recognition and award events.
• Expand the use of proven innovation approaches and tools that get results: Provide direct assistance to businesses in adopting proven approaches and tools to innovation in all aspects of their business, especially in products and services, business models, markets, and processes. This will be supported by CEO forums and workshops and training funds that manufacturers can use to adopt and implement these proven approaches and tools.
• Promote open and collaborative networks: Encouraging manufacturers to develop collaborative approaches to innovation in partnership with other manufacturers, customers, suppliers, universities and government in the region, and build closer and more effective innovation networks between public and private organizations. This includes improving linkages between small and mid-sized manufacturers and expertise in universities, federal labs, and public and private organizations to promote the use of leading technologies in product and process innovation.
• Expand the innovation talent pool: Building on the efforts of CSSI, help leading innovative manufacturers find the home-grown talent they need to compete at all levels, including managers, engineers, and front-line workers; and promote new business strategies to attract and retain the best talent from around the world.
“Illinois and the Chicago region are already home to some of the top innovators in a variety of sectors, and Innovate Now! will leverage the work of these leaders so they can share strategies and methods to help other businesses meet the demands of our global economy,” said Gerald Roper, President of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce. “In addition to the focus on manufacturing, Innovate Now! will take a big-picture look at what the business community should be doing to ensure our region has the tools and resources we need to grow and thrive. We’ll be assessing our strengths and shortcomings and laying out a proactive agenda at the Chicagoland Innovation Summit in October to help make Chicagoland the innovation capital of the United States.”
“With Gov. Blagojevich, World Business Chicago understands that the best way to help manufacturers and other industry sectors meet their constantly changing needs and stay productive and profitable in the marketplace is to provide hands-on support. Innovate Now! will work on a number of levels to enhance the efficiency and competitiveness of companies throughout the region, and eventually throughout the state, which will ultimately keep our economy moving full-speed ahead,” Paul O’Connor, Executive Director of World Business Chicago, said.
Earlier this month, Gov. Blagojevich announced more than $3.1 million as part of the Critical Skills Shortage Initiative (CSSI) to help meet projected shortages in the manufacturing and transportation, logistics and warehousing sectors in Northeast Illinois. CSSI is a nationally-recognized job training program, which is being replicated in Indiana and has been recognized by the US Department of Labor, that has been lauded as a model for helping people on a regional basis learn the skills they need to get ahead across Illinois.
“There is a new manufacturing industry emerging that is driven by innovation and advancements in technology, budding with well-paying job opportunities and as vital to keeping the Illinois economy growing today as ever before. Building on the efforts of Gov. Blagojevich’s CSSI initiative, this important collaboration with the Chicagoland Chamber and World Business Chicago will continue to equip Illinois businesses with the knowledge they need to get ahead and unleash the growth potential we have statewide through innovation,” DCEO Director Jack Lavin said.
Gov. Blagojevich’s Opportunity Returns regional economic development strategy is the most aggressive, comprehensive approach to creating jobs in Illinois’ history. Since a one-size-fits-all approach to economic development just doesn’t work, the Governor has divided the state into 10 regions – each with a regional team that is empowered and expected to rapidly respond to opportunities and challenges. Opportunity Returns is about tangible, specific actions to make each region more accessible, more marketable, more entrepreneurial and more attractive to businesses. It is about upgrading the skills of the local workforce, increasing the access to capital, opening new markets, improving infrastructure, and creating and retaining jobs. Opportunity Returns is about successfully partnering with companies and communities, both large and small, to help all of Illinois reach its economic potential.