By Donald R. Belk, AICP, Regional Planner,
Fort Bragg/Pope Air Force Base BRAC Regional Task Force
On March 1, over 70 representatives from workforce development boards, economic development commissions, county and municipal governments, school system administrations, community colleges, universities, private colleges, and elected officials from the 11-county BRAC RTF region met in Spring Lake, N.C. to discuss the transformation of the regional economy and developing the workforce of the 21st century.
The impetus for this impressive gathering was the recent notice of grant proposals for the WIRED Initiative. WIRED stands for Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development, a Department of Labor (DOL) program that will award $5 million each to 13 regions across the country. The goal of WIRED is to expand employment and advancement opportunities for American workers and to spur the creation of high-skilled, high-paying jobs in regional economies.
Fortunately for the Fort Bragg/Pope Air Force Base area, the 2005 BRAC mandates, including the relocation of the U.S. Army Forces Command (FORSCOM) Headquarters and the U.S. Army Reserve Command Headquarters (USARC) Headquarters, present an outstanding opportunity to begin the regional collaboration needed to achieve the enormous task of economic and workforce transformation. The BRAC RTF staff is preparing a proposal, with technical assistance funded by the eight ‘first tier’ RTF counties, for a WIRED grant award.
The timing of the WIRED grant solicitations and the early work of the BRAC Regional Task Force are advantageous to building the regional partnerships that will be required to respond to the rapid changes of BRAC, which project upwards of 20,000 new soldiers, airmen, their families, and civilians. First, the Department of Labor requires applicants to demonstrate the ability to network “innovation assets” – people, institutions, capital and infrastructure – to generate growth and prosperity in the region’s economy. No single county, town, or municipality has all the assets necessary to respond to the challenges of BRAC. Besides, economic regions rarely correspond to geographic boundaries or political jurisdictions. Therefore, the successful applicant, according to grant submittal guidelines, will implement “creative, collaborative, and innovative regional approaches to economic development…. by leveraging and integrating all available economic, educational, and institutional assets to support talent development and growth”. In other words, the ideal WIRED region will initiate programs that will ‘grow our own’ workforce, educational, and economic development infrastructure to compete in today’s global economy, where “companies, workers, researchers, entrepreneurs and governments come together to create a competitive advantage.”
Secondly, this ‘third generation’ WIRED grant application cycle represents a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity to develop a regional transformation strategy, since DOL is expected to give favorable consideration to a BRAC growth region. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the regional and collaborative effort required for the WIRED grant application process will build a foundation for the comprehensive, regional planning effort to come, which is the purpose of the BRAC Regional Task Force.
For additional information, visit the BRAC RTF Website at: www.bracrtf.com or call the BRAC office at (910) 436-1345.
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