Grow Utah Ventures

REGIONAL
ENGAGEMENT
PRIORITIES
Spring 2011
DSC Regional Engagement Priorities
Introduction
Through the summer and fall of 2010, President Stephen Nadauld
invited select business, civic and community leaders from Washington County to join in an effort of setting economic engagement priorities for the region. In the spirit of regional stewardship, Pres. Nadauld convened and charged these leaders to set the priorities
guiding economic expansion throughout the region.
These priorities, developed with the valuable input from this broad
based committee, are presented in this report. They define significant areas of economic opportunity as well as focus areas for improvement. They also serve as a guide for Dixie State College’s interface and engagement within the regional economy and business
community. Direction is given on how best to leverage the unique
resources and capacity of DSC in ways that will expand the regional
business base and drive the future development of the regional
economy.
These priorities constitute the first phase of a multi-phased effort
that is part of the Dixie State College-Utah Cluster Acceleration
Partnership. The final objective of this initiative is to accelerate the
expansion of economic clusters that will result in increased businesses and job growth.
The following three specific areas of focus comprise the Regional
Engagement Priorities and are described in the report:
•
Accelerate Emerging Economic Clusters
•
•
Enhance Work Force Skills
Dixie State College Business and Economic Engagement
Spring 2011 2
DSC Regional Engagement Priorities
Participants
Members of the Executive Strategy Committee
Linda Baker- Workers Compensation
Fund
Cameron Martin- Utah System of
Higher Education
Debra Bryant- Dixie State College
Stephen Nadauld- Dixie State College
Donna Dillingham-Evans- Dixie State
College
Kelle Stephens- Dixie Applied Technology College
Jill Elliss-USTAR/ SEED Dixie
Jan Thompson- Department of Workforce Services
Scott Hirschi- Washington Economic
Development Council
Steve Vance- Dixie Regional Medical
Center
Lecia Parks Langston- Department of
Workforce Services
T. Craig Bott- Grow Utah Ventures/
Project Consultant
Members of the Regional Industry Committee
Eli Baird- DSC Student Government
Don Ipson-DATS Trucking/ State Representative
Russell Behrmann- Chamber of
Commerce
Josh Little- Durham Jones & Pinegar
Josh Bevans- Design to Print
Owen Olsen- Utah Manufacturing Association
Kris Braunberger- Hinton Burdick
Jon Pike-Dixie Regional Medical Center
Brett Brown-Questar Gas
Steve Caplin-Steton Technologies
Lani Puriri-Dixie State College
Bill Christensen-Dixie State College
Steve Radmall-Savage Esplin & Radmall
David Clark-Zions Bank/State Representative
Charles Reeve-Hurricane Electronics
Lab
Randy Cosby-Infowest
Brandon Dansie-Viracon
Jim Eardley- County Commissioner
Rick Rosenburg-Rosenburg
Engineering/Santa Clara City Mayor
Mike Empey-US Congress Field Representative
Lowry Snow-Snow Jensen & Reece
Mike Stucki-Washington County Planning Commission
Chris Engstrom-Durham Jones & Pinegar
Kolby Traveller-Traveller Development
Len Erickson-Small Business Development Center
Stephen Urquhart- State Senate
Paul Valenzuela- Blue Bunny
Alan D. Gardner-County Commissioner
Dennis Wilding-Wilding Wall Beds
Randy Wilkinson-Wilkinson Electric
Mark Henriksen-Henriksen Butler Design Group
Vickie Wilson-Dixie Regional Medical
Center
Danny Ipson-DATS Trucking
Marc Wittwer- Wittwer Management
Spring 2011
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Engagement Priorities
DSC Regional Engagement Priorities
Accelerate Entrepreneurial Development
Accelerate Entrepreneurial Development
Expand the regional economy by accelerating
the expansion of entrepreneur-led businesses
in emerging economic clusters with the potential for high growth and job creation.
Recommended Actions
Target Entrepreneurial Development
In conjunction with SEED Dixie and the
Dixie Business Alliance, target entrepreneurial initiatives designed to encourage and
support the creation of entrepreneur led
businesses in the following clusters:
‣
Monitor Emerging Economic Clusters
Monitor the emergence of the following
strategic economic clusters in the region:
‣
Food Production and Processing
Production and processing of speciality
foods and natural products that benefit
from the region’s low manufacturing
costs, geographic location, elevation,
access to key suppliers, and proximity
to major markets.
‣
New St. George Airport Related Development
All businesses and industries that are
directly benefited by access to the improved air transportation provided
through the new airport facility.
‣
Health Wellness and Natural Services
Businesses providing natural health and
wellness services, programs for youthat-risk, speciality medical services and
clinics for the aging population, and
general physical fitness and nutritional
service centers.
Technology Centered
Technology-centered businesses that
develop software, design mobile applications, provide cloud-based computing, services and related technology.
‣
Digital Media/ Entertainment Services
Producers of digital media content,
post-production service providers, and
developers of technical tools addressing
digital media market needs.
‣
Foster Business Incubation
Foster business creation and expansion
by increasing the availability of effective
business incubation resources, facilities
and services.
Spring 2011
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Engagement Priorities
DSC Regional Engagement Priorities
Workforce Skills
Enhance Workforce Skill Opportunities
Enhance the skills and abilities of our current
workforce and ensure a future pipeline of
skilled labor.
Recommended Actions
Workforce Skills Needed
Enhance workforce skills by increasing capacity in the skill sets including:
‣ Collaboration leadership
‣ Six Sigma
‣ Lean manufacturing
‣ Operational management
‣ Mechanical engineering
‣ Industrial maintenance
‣ Web optimization
‣ Certification in specific machines/
technology
‣ Basic education
‣ Communication skills
‣ Customer service
Spring 2011
Improve Balance Between Academic
Training and Real-World Experience
Improve the training provided to the workforce by balancing academic education
with real-work experiences provided
through student internships, cooperative
education, practicums, on-the-job training,
and other alternative field and workforce
experiences.
Support from Parents for Technical
Skills
Encourage parents to support their children
acquiring meaningful technical skills as well
as academic degrees.
Increase Technical Degrees/ Certifications
Increase the offerings for technical degrees
and certifications particularly in the following disciplines:
‣ Electricians trained in green construction methodologies
‣ Plumbers trained in green construction
methodologies
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Engagement Priorities
DSC Regional Engagement Priorities
DSC Business/ Economic Engagement
Dixie State College Business/Economic
Engagement
Effectively leverage the resources of Dixie
State College to support, stimulate and expand
regional businesses and the economy.
Recommended Actions
Engage DSC Students and Faculty with
Regional Businesses Incubation
Working in close coordination with the Dixie
Business Alliance and SEED Dixie, fully engage business faculty and students in assisting and supporting regional business
incubation.
Continue Regional Economic Leadership
Continue exercising economic leadership
across the region by hosting leadership forums, strategy work sessions and on-going
review of regional economic drivers.
Market Aggressively DSC Media Services to Businesses
Market aggressively the DSC Media Department services to regional businesses,
providing students with practical experiences and benefiting the regional businesses.
Students and faculty can provide consulting
and research services to incubated regional
businesses and directly assist in resolving
specific business issues that directly benefit
the business and provide the students with
practical experiences.
Create Life-Science Partnerships with
Higher Education Institutions
Create partnerships between DSC and the
other medical, health care, research and
pharmaceutical institutions within the
State’s system of higher education for the
purpose of enhancing student education
and improving student job placement.
Increase the overall opportunities for student internships and other experiential
learning with incubated and emerging businesses across the region.
Facilitate Private/Public Research
Partnerships
Facilitate research partnerships between
regional businesses and DSC faculty.
Spring 2011
Integrate DSC Computer Media Institute with State’s Digital Media Cluster
Expansion
Effectively integrate DSC’s growing expertise in digital media with the cluster expansion efforts underway for Utah’s digital media industry.
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