Responding to the Need for Collective Effort

The Council of Great Lakes Governors was created in 1983 as a forum through which the region's governors could address common economic and environmental challenges. The governors of the Great Lakes states -- Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, New York, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin -- direct Council staff and personally establish the agenda of the Council through informal consensus voting. Over the last two and a half years, the Council has focused its efforts to creating linkages between individual state policies related to building high-performance manufacturing infrastructure. The Council also has developed a highly effective relationship with the Canadian province of Ontario. The Council's goal is to foster regionwide collaboration, representing more than the sum of individual state and provincial policies.

The members of the Council have identified six areas for collective effort. These include

• Telecommunications
• Workforce quality
• Educational technology
• Pollution prevention
• Recycled product market development
• Regional tourism.

In each of these areas, partnerships between the public and private sector provide a foundation for the region-wide transition to a sustainable, high-performance economy.

Initiatives to Enhance Collective Competitiveness

Under the leadership of the region's governors, the Council has initiated a number of successful programs oriented toward building an effective high-performance infrastructure. A new regional collaborative, the Great Lakes Pollution Prevent Challenge, seeks to change the focus of environmental management from regulating wastes at the end of the pipe to encouraging pollution prevention at the source. Source reduction can be achieved by reducing the number and concentration of toxic materials in production processes. This approach achieves greater economic efficiency and offers greater protection to the environment. Moreover, a company that uses high-performance, clean production technology is likely to become more competitive in the global marketplace.

The Challenge encourages pollution prevention in two specific ways. First, it builds public/private partnerships, focused on specific industries; second, it provides a way for individual businesses to evaluate their own environmental performance. The Great Lakes Governors have established voluntary clean production partnerships with the Big Three auto-makers and with the major trade association of the printing industry. These innovative partnerships are creating a new environment, supporting the productivity and environmental sustainability of Great Lakes businesses.

The Governors also have worked with the Council of Great Lakes Industries to create a Total Quality Environmental Management Matrix. Companies can use this management tool to enhance environmental protection and efficiency. Leading industries within the region have been recruited to demonstrate this matrix and to improve on a continuing basis its applicability and use.

An initiative called Great Lakes Recycle employs collective market power to improve economic development and environmental protection in the region. Through a coordinated effort, the states purchase quality recycled products at volume prices. The effect is to increase both materials recycling and recycled products manufacturing thus decreasing the flow of materials to regional landfills. To date, this award-winning program has coordinated the nation's largest joint bids for recycled products, including more than 60 million pounds of recycled copy paper. Re-refined oil, soft paper products, computer forms, and retread tires are also being purchased.

Great Lakes Recycle has established a regional Materials Board, which includes representatives of industry, government, and the environmental community, to ensure that the state procurement activities strategically expand and strengthen the market for recycled and recyclable products.

As the marketplace changes, workers must adapt their skills to remain in tune with internationally competitive, high-performance strategies. The Council's Workforce Quality Initiative creates a new model for meeting this challenge. In partnership with the National Tooling and Machining Association, the Council received a major grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to develop and implement new occupational standards for the metalworking industry. A similar partnership has been established with the Printing Industries of America. In each case, industry identifies the skills that its workers need, while the states collaboratively create a skills certification "passport" that is accepted throughout the Great Lakes region. Thus, skilled workers can easily move across state borders and regional labor markets.

The Great Lakes Information Highway will link the Great Lakes states' research, education, and computer networks to the rest of the country and to the world via the Internet. This effort creates a backbone for growth of the regional economy. It builds a common

The Council has initiated a number of

programs aimed at building an effective

high-performance infrastructure.

regional resource and creates access to the global marketplace for individuals, governments, educators, and industry. The Information Highway will be to the 21st century what railroads and canals were to the 19th century: a means through which businesses communicate with customers, suppliers, and designers. It is also a delivery system for new, information-based products and services. It has two components: first, a short-term strategy to provide "gateways" to the Internet for state government agencies in partnership with education and research networks; and second, a broader, long-term, multi-million-dollar partnership to deliver advanced information infrastructure, services, and specific user applications.

Access to technology can become an important educational tool to make the teaching and learning processes more effective. In addition to enhancing the educational process, technology-based education prepares students to use technology in the workplace. Pioneering Partners, a cooperative partnership between the Council and GTE North, is one example. This initiative has invested over $3 million in regional schools to support innovative applications of education technology, including computer-aided teaching. Pioneering Partners has created a core group of more than 100 teachers, linked electronically, who are willing to share with surrounding schools the lessons and skills they have acquired through the program.

In a high-performance, clean production economy, industry and tourism can flourish together. Recognizing this, the region's governors recently launched a tourism campaign, The Great Lakes of North America, geared to attract a world-wide market. The campaign organized the first-ever Great Lakes World Tourism and Trade Show in Detroit, Michigan, in September 1993. The show was designed to build excitement and momentum for the World Cup soccer matches that would be held in the region in 1994. The show brought together 200 tour operators from the region with over 100 travel buyers from at least 20 countries. The region welcomes world travelers to enjoy the beauty of the Lakes, as well as to see that the Great Lakes region is open for international high-performance business.

State Policies

Each of the Great Lakes Governors has developed policies to foster high-performance economic development. Their strategies emphasize developing the infrastructure and climate for business success rather than simply using tax incentives and abatements to bring in new businesses. Over the long term, well-educated workers, advanced transportation systems, utilities, and telecommunications, and a supportive business climate can help industry more than quick-fix strategies can.

Illinois

Illinois Governor Jim Edgar's strategy focuses on highlighting and developing the state's industrial, transportation, and human infrastructure, to help existing Illinois businesses to grow and to attract new, high-performance industry. This strategy includes helping companies train and retrain workers for increasingly efficient, quality production. A component of this plan is called COMPETE: Coalition for Manufacturing Performance Through Technology. It is a partnership of universities, trade associations, and manufacturers that will give even the smallest factories access to world-class technical talent. Governor Edgar also has initiated a pilot student apprenticeship program modeled after the German system that combines classroom education and hands-on experience. His administration is organizing a school-to-work task force to determine how education and training programs can be applied more effectively in the workplace. To take advantage of the information revolution, the Governor has launched a major distance-learning telecommunications program to link Illinois schools with expert instruction that might be located in other schools, institutions, or industrial settings statewide.

Indiana

Indiana Governor Evan Bayh focuses his attention on job creation and ensuring that Indiana workers have the skills required by high-performance industry. Under his leadership, Indiana has set world-class education standards, defining what every student must know in science, math, reading, and writing. In 1995, Indiana students will take a new generation of achievement "exit" exams to demonstrate their proficiency. Students who do not pass the exam will receive intensive remedial instruction and additional opportunities to pass. To ensure that these skilled students can find suitable jobs, the Indiana legislature passed Governor Bayh's Economic Development for a Growing Economy (EDGE) program, an initiative that targets quality jobs in manufacturing and non-manufacturing industries.

Michigan

In the past seven months, Michigan has added nearly 40,000 new manufacturing jobs. The economic downswing of the 1980s has reversed dramatically. To maintain this trend, Michigan Governor John Engler created the Michigan Jobs Commission, a new agency that consolidates 35 worker training programs from eight agencies. The Commission facilitates school-to-work transition, welfare-to-work, and dislocated worker training. It is the largest state-run program of its kind in the nation. The Commission aims to give workers the advanced skills needed in high-performance manufacturing jobs. The result is enhanced business retention and expansion. The responsibility for business attraction is placed with a private sector, non-profit organization, Michigan First. In addition, the Governor has developed an initiative that looks toward future job development by giving young people advanced skills in technology and telecommunications. To accomplish this, an agreement has been negotiated that will lead to an investment in excess of $25 million for distance-learning networks in Michigan. The funds become available under terms of a settlement between the Michigan Public Service Commission and the Michigan Bell Telephone Company, which allowed excess profits to be invested in projects that would deliver high-performance training opportunities to schools, colleges, and universities, as well as to the general public.

Minnesota

Minnesota Governor Arne Carlson is working to promote high-performance development through a strong education system, small business initiatives, and a positive business climate. In education, Governor Carlson offers different models for delivering training. He has proposed increasing the number of charter schools, emphasizing youth apprenticeship and school-to-work programs, and he supports establishing graduation standards with measurable, quantitative outcomes. Entrepreneurial small and minority-owned businesses are targeted through loans. He is proposing a capital equipment sales tax exemption on equipment replacement costs, to increase investment in equipment that increases efficiency and productivity. He is maintaining current tax levels, which allows business to focus their spending on upgrading equipment, processes, and worker skills. Further, workers compensation reform would protect individuals on the job while lowering costs for businesses.

New York

New York Governor Mario Cuomo is working to create a regulatory environment that is conducive to high-performance industrial development and job creation. His administration is organizing a top-down review of all substantial business regulations, to eliminate those that are unnecessary or outdated. Just as businesses must adapt to the new economy, so must the government's regulatory system. Like many of his fellow Great Lakes governors, Governor Cuomo has also focused state efforts on assisting smaller companies to become more productive. In his 1994 State-of-the-State Address, he proposed establishing five new Centers for Advanced Technology at universities around the state. These Centers would help develop agile young companies to specialize in evolving technologies. New York state government is establishing a high-tech "incubator" in Rochester to encourage local start-up firms. Planning for development of the Buffalo Metro Medical Corridor builds upon the success of the existing Rosewell Park Cancer Center. In the area of education, the proposed Excelsior High Schools each would be associated with a state university campus, offering gifted students the chance to excel in math, science, and technology.

Ohio

Governor George V. Voinovich outlined his economic plan in Ohio 2000/Ohio First: A Practical Vision for Ohio's Future. The plan focuses on four major areas of public policy concern: management of state government, improvement of educational results, renewal and expansion of the state's economy, and improvement of key quality-of-life indicators, including environmental quality, crime-free communities, and access to affordable health care. At its heart, Ohio 2000 is designed to give Ohioans and their children the opportunity and ability to find quality jobs in the high-performance workforce of the 21st century. Toward this goal the plan outlines four strategies. The first is focused on increasing productivity through advancing new technologies and products. The second strategy is focused on developing a coordinated, market-sensitive training environment. Existing training programs will be evaluated, modified and, in some cases, consolidated. New programs and approaches will be added, too, based on changing market needs. The third strategy involves minimizing or eliminating government disincentives to business development. This includes the recent reform of Ohio's workers compensation laws. The fourth strategy calls for expanding markets for Ohio-made products. State government is committed to working with the business community to encourage existing Ohio companies to take advantage of new opportunities for business expansion. Governor Voinovich addressed this objective through two job bills. Jobs Bill I, enacted in 1992, provides tax credits for research and development, export expansion, and investment in new equipment. The recently enacted Jobs Bill II provides both existing businesses and emerging industries and trades with a variety of tools, such as tax credits for training, a sales tax exemption for agricultural structures, defense conversion assistance, and investment tax credits. A study of assessment rates in the telecommunications industry is underway, geared to promote investment in the development of an advanced communications infrastructure that is at once competitive and equitable. Lastly, Governor Voinovich supports Ohio's participation in a regional approach to economic development, working through the Council of Great Lakes Governors and other cooperative forums with state and provincial partners within the region.

Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Governor Robert P. Casey's policies for advancing the high-performance economy begin with reorganizing how the commonwealth directs its economic development efforts. He created a Governor's Response Team of interdepartmental economic development specialists. The Team expedites assistance to companies that are expanding or relocating in Pennsylvania. Governor Casey's administration also oversaw the creation of an Economic Development Partnership Board, a group including leaders from business, labor, academia, and government, which recommends practical, long-term economic development goals. In support of its long-term vision, Pennsylvania is building industrial research centers to help small manufacturing and service industries access technical aid and assistance. Governor Casey also has launched an accelerated infrastructure construction program, to build highways, bridges, and improved water and sewer systems. This program is creating jobs now and as it prepares the physical foundation for long-term industrial growth.

Wisconsin

Wisconsin Governor Tommy G. Thompson has focused his attention on infrastructure development and job creation. Recently, job opportunities, particularly in manufacturing and construction, have increased in Wisconsin at almost twice the rate of the rest of the nation. One of the major reasons for this growth has been Wisconsin's success in implementing strong workforce development programs, including some based on the German apprenticeship model. These programs emphasize workplace applications of classroom learning. To better prepare Wisconsin to compete in the world market, Governor Thompson introduced legislation based on the recommendations of his Blue Ribbon Task Force on telecommunications. The task force identified three key strategic areas for action: managing the transition to a competitive communications marketplace, removing barriers to the effective use of telecommunications, and stimulating private-sector deployment of an enhanced telecommunications infrastructure. Its recommendations include having the Public Service Commission expand its traditional role to facilitate more competition in telecommunications; funding the delivery of universal service and new service features; eliminating rules, statutes, and tax codes that inhibit competition; and having the state sponsor pump-priming applications and training programs. Distance-learning, rural health care delivery, public safety, environmental protection, and industrial systems improvements should be stimulated through the development of Wisconsin's telecommunications infrastructure.

Policies of Ontario

In partnership with the Great Lakes governors, Ontario Premier Bob Rae is actively pursuing regional reindustrialization. Creating jobs and putting Ontario back to work through a range of jobsOntario program initiatives are cornerstones of his approach to economic renewal and to competing in a global economy. The Ontario government is committed to investing in the province's infrastructure, which includes education and training, technology, and telecommunications, as well as roads, buildings, and bridges.

During the past year, the government has invested nearly $4 billion in this infrastructure, including more than $600 million invested through the jobsOntario Capital program. For example, at Lambdon College, $4 million in jobsOntario Capital funding is helping to establish a new center for advanced process technology, which will provide skills training in the local petrochemical industries.

The government recently announced $350 in jobsOntario funding over the next two years for more than 190 water and sewage projects across Ontario. These projects will create more than 13,000 jobs, as well as improving Ontario's environment, including its drinking water and its lakes and rivers. Ontario also has joined the Canadian federal government in funding the two-year Canada-Ontario infrastructure program. In addition to improving infrastructure, this program will create 20,000 to 25,00 jobs.

The government of Ontario has played a direct role in protecting or creating 300,000 jobs. The $1.1 billion three-year jobsOntario Training Fund program is creating opportunities for the estimated 100,000 people. At the same time it helps Ontario industries increase employment and upgrade the skills of their new and existing workers. Ontario believes that its workforce is its greatest resource. In order to compete with the best, it must continue to invest in that resource through lifelong education and training.

Recognizing that local communities drive economic growth, Ontario has recently established the jobsOntario Community Action program. This program brings community resources and knowledge into action to create jobs and long-term economic opportunities. To date, Community Action has helped create more than 2,400 jobs by providing over $48 million in assistance to 360 communities bringing the total investment to about $145 million.

The Ontario Investment Service promotes Ontario as a good place in which to do business. The $150 million Sector Partnership Fund has been established to bring together business, labor, and others in various sectors to strengthen their industry. A telecommunications strategy already has been adopted. Considerable work is underway in tourism, aerospace, auto parts, computing, and plastics.

The information highway is under construction in Ontario. The province has set aside $100 million for the Ontario Network Infrastructure Program (ONIP) to support the development of Information networks, with participation from the private sector. A feasibility study on using advanced fiber optics technology to create a network linking leading telecommunications companies and government and academic institutions in the Ottawa area will be the first of its kind in Canada.

A Regional Vision

Each of the Great Lakes governors and the premier of Ontario has a vision for transforming his state or province to a high-performance economy. These visions are similar in many ways. All build on strengths shared regionwide, including workforce resources, cutting-edge technology development, and a core of high-performance industries and supply networks. All seek to bring the high-performance infrastructure to scale, to benefit the communities they serve. The projects that the Great Lakes governors and the premier of Ontario have selected for collective action demonstrate the nexus among individual policies. Working individually and together, they have taken strides to support and hasten the full development of a sustainable high-performance economy for the entire region.