1. 7 Rivers Region Alliance
• Who We Are
WWW.7RIVERSALLIANCE.COM
• What We
Celebrate
• What We Work
Towards
2. 7 Rivers Region
• Region Defined
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• Borderless
3. 7 Rivers Region Alliance
• Who We Are
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– Regional Economic
Development
– Borderless
– Connect Businesses
Inspire Innovation
Strengthen the Region
4. Michael Porter: Effective Regions
• Link innovation assets – people, institutions,
capital and infrastructure – to generate
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robust, localized ecosystems that turbo-
charge a region’s economy.
7. CONNECTING:
Conferences/
Meetings
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• Annual Meeting
• Buy Regional
• Go Global
• Counties
Collaboration
• Cluster Meetings
12/yrs.
• Economic
Development
Professionals
(4/year)
8. CONNECTING: Communication
Seeing a Significant Increase in Wanting to Connect
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Social Media Friends Newsletter Subscribers
2500
500
450 2000
400
350
1500
300
1000
250
200 500
150
100 0
50 2009 2011
0
2009 2010 2011 2012
LinkedIn Group Members Facebook Likes Twitter Followers
9. STRENGTHENING: 62 Compact Signers
Economic Development Partners Village of Rockland Private Businesses
Allamakee County Economic Development Village of Trempealeau
AgStar
Chamber of Commerce-La Crosse Area Town of Washington
Allergy Associates of La Crosse
Community and Economic Development Village of West Salem
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Associates CenturylLnk
Downtown Mainstreet, Inc. Coulee Bank
La Crosse County Solid Waste Department
Juneau County Economic Development Corp. Port Authority of Winona Credit Bureau Data, Inc.
La Crescent Chamber of Commerce First Supply LLC
Redevelopment Authority of the City of La
La Crosse Area Development Corp. (LADCO) Crosse GEA Consulting
La Crosse County Economic Development Fund Gerrard Hoeschler, Inc
La Crosse Medical Health Science Consortium Non-Profit Organizations Hiawatha Broadband
Mississippi River Regional Planning Health Tradition Health Plan
Couleecap
Commission Johns, Flaherty & Collins
Family & Children's Center
Vernon Economic Development Association Kwik Trip
Gundersen Lutheran
New Albin Savings Bank
Iowa State University Extension-Reg. 4
Government Organic Valley
La Crosse Area Builders Association
Rainbow International Restoration and
City of La Crosse Mayo Clinic Health System Franciscan Cleaning
City of Onalaska Healthcare-La Crosse
River Valley Newspaper Group
City of Sparta Minnesota State College-Southeast Technical
Spierings Specialty Molded Products, Inc
City of Tomah Riverland Energy Cooperative
Synergy Leadership Group
County of La Crosse Rushford Institute of Nanotechnology
Wieser Brothers General Contractor, Inc.
Town of Holland School District of La Crosse
Xcel Energy
Town of Onalaska Western Technical College
Town of Shelby Winona Workforce Investment Board
Village of Bangor Workforce Connections
Village of Holmen Western Wisconsin Workforce Development
10. INNOVATION:
Lean Training
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Took to
Minnesota and
Iowa
11. INNOVATION: Regional Grants
• Partner: AIM2WIN’s
$438,000 food grant
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• Supporter:
Sustainability Grant
• Lead: AIM2WIN Supply-
Chain Research – tied
into our Buy Regional
Campaign
17. Business Retention & Expansion
• Surveying
• Partnership with
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Economic Development
Partners
– Who that Is
• Goal: pulse, compare,
remove barriers, share
information
• We fill gaps
18. MARKETING: Properties Database
• Ensuring full use of – Commute travel time
properties listing sites – Airport, rail, interstate
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distances
• WI, MN and IA
– Job Growth
• Used by people looking
for property • We will fill gaps
– Demographics
• Wages
• Education levels
• Household expenditures
• Age
19. LIMITED FUNDING: Access to Capital
• Regional Revolving Loan Fund (Gap Financing)
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• “Localvesting”
20. NOT FUNDED: Connecting
• Buy Regional
• Address Regional Issues
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– Employee Attraction & Retention
• IT
• Small City Lifestyle
– Silent Sports for High-Skill, High-Wage
• Cluster Development
– Composites
– Metal Manufacturing
– Food Processing
21. NOT FUNDED: Counties Collaboration
• Transportation:
Getting our food global
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25. 3 Critical Outcomes
• Open, Resilient Regional Partnership
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• Flexible Strategic Action Plan
• Shared Set of Investment Priorities
26. See the Benefits
REGIONALISM OPPORTUNITIES BENEFITS
Region
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Locality
Increase
Expand competitiveness
Leverage Broaden recognition in to attract, retain, Workforce
critical set of Industries
the and expand
resources assets marketplace industries
Increased productivity
Quality jobs and
Expanded tax base
pipeline of talent
27. What Can You Do
• Sign the compact
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• Join as a member (+)
• Cash or In-Kind
– People-power
– Meeting Space
– Graphic Design
• Open doors
• Seek out & encourage collaboration