The North Central Indiana (NCI) WIRED network will bring together partners, regional stakeholders and resources to accelerate structural changes necessary for an economic renaissance in the region.
Strategies carried out by the NCI WIRED network will be organized around three major regional change efforts:
NCI Entrepreneurial Collaborative
NCI "Next Practice" Cluster Initiative
Maturity Matters Older Worker Initiative
The NCI Entrepreneurial Collaborative will:
Make entrepreneurship a vibrant, mainstream part of the region's economic and educational culture.
Further develop regional cooperation across multiple jurisdictions in North Central Indiana.
Nurture early-stage ventures from start-up through survival and success, creating direct and indirect employment.
Establish networks for peer support and learning for entrepreneurs and for community leaders and policy makers who support them.
Increased innovation, sales and job growth among NCI firms in the advanced manufacturing, advanced materials, and agri-business/food processing/technology clusters.
Aligned regional workforce, economic development, and education systems to support growth in these clusters.
Maturity Matters Older Worker Initiative will:
Increase post-secondary education attainment rates among the region's mature residents, especially low skilled, mature incumbent workers in declining industries.
Prepare businesses in the region for the demographic reality of the aging population and the mature workforce.
