Utah selected for national Policy Academy to strengthen manufacturing

Pete CodellaNews

The Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Development has been selected to participate in a Policy Academy design to help grow and strengthen manufacturing in the state. The state teams will meet today in Washington D.C. with policy experts to develop and further refine strategies to bolster manufacturing.

“Manufacturing is vital to Utah’s economy,” said Val Hale, executive director of the Governor’s Office of Economic Development. “We look forward to working with other states as we strengthen manufacturing nationwide and build upon Utah’s success.”

The three states selected to participate in the Policy Academy include Utah, Kentucky and New Jersey, along with U.S. territory, Puerto Rico. Each team consists of representatives from the governor’s office, state economic development department, manufacturing extension partnership center, manufacturing trade association and other manufacturing centers.

The year-long Policy Academy will guide the states through a planning and implementation process to identify important manufacturing-related partnerships and policies to move their economic development strategies forward. Each participant will receive customized assistance through access to national experts and collaboration with colleagues in other states. They may choose to focus on addressing skill gaps, accelerating start-up growth, expanding their market, improving their supply chain or other priorities the state teams identify.

The Policy Academy is being coordinated by two national organizations — SSTI and the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) – with support from the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) based at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). SSTI works to strengthen initiatives to create a better future through science, technology, innovation and entrepreneurship. CREC works to provide policy-makers from around the world with the information and technical assistance they need to formulate and execute innovative, regional, job-creating economic strategies. NIST MEP’s mission is to enhance the productivity and technological performance of U.S. manufacturing which it does through 51 MEP Centers located in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, and more than 1,300 manufacturing experts at over 400 service locations, providing any U.S. manufacturer with access to resources they need to succeed.