Northern Michigan and Eastern Upper Peninsula Knowledge Economy Indicators
Category	Indicator
Talent	Public High School Graduation Rates ACT Composite Scores ACT Writing Scores Certificates Conferred in the Regions College Degrees Conferred in the Regions Undergrad Enrollment in MI Public Universities Grad/Prof Enrollment in MI Public Universities
Innovation Capacity	Patents Venture Capital Firms High-Tech Firms High-Tech Jobs Annual High-Tech Wages
Knowledge Sector Jobs	ICT Jobs Annual ICT Wages Health Care Jobs Annual Health Care Wages
Digital Economy	High-Speed Internet Access Providers Wireless Hotspots
Globalization	Airport Enplanements H-1B Visas Granted Exports Foreign Trade Zones Ports of Entry Imports
Economic Dynamism	Job Turnover Rates: All Industry Sectors Job Turnover Rates: Health Care Sector Certified Business Parks

The MSU Center for Community and Economic Development (CCED) project team and three regional planning agency partners-Northeast Michigan Council of Governments (NEMCOG), Northwest Michigan Council of Governments (NWMCOG), and the Eastern Upper Peninsula Regional Planning and Development Commission (EUPRPDC)-sought to adopt a set of knowledge economy indicators to assist their stakeholders in understanding where these Northern Michigan and Eastern Upper Peninsula regions stand in the rapidly-evolving knowledge economy. The project team and partners started this six-month long process with an examination of the MSU CCED's 2006 Michigan Knowledge Economy Index: A County-Level Assessment of Michigan's Knowledge Economy (LaMore, Melcher, Supanich-Goldner, & Wilkes, 2006). It became immediately evident that a new set of knowledge economy indicators would have to be developed because of the regional focus of this project. Large regional data gaps for previously identified indicator measures were identified, as the preponderant majority of relevant public data is generated for use at the state or national levels.

After extensive review and analysis by the project team, partners, and external experts, 27 regional knowledge economy indicators were identified or developed in six categories: Talent, Innovation Capacity, Knowledge Sector Jobs, Digital Economy, Globalization, and Economic Dynamism. Five measures were also identified to provide the demographic and economic context of the three Northern Michigan regions. The indicators are designed to create a new set of lenses for this and future assessments and measurement of the regions' progress in the knowledge economy. Although some proxy indicators are distinctly less than ideal, the entire set of indicators in addition to the traditional common datasets used in the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies process can provide regional leaders with valuable new insights to guide the creation of innovative economic development strategies and help communities succeed in the global knowledge economy of the 21st century.

Our Northern Michigan and Eastern Upper Peninsula regional assessment, then, is subject to the constraints of available relevant data and our current understanding of the knowledge economy. We do not pretend to know exactly how the knowledge economy will evolve in the future so these indicators will no doubt be supplemented and in some cases replaced by new indicators to better understand the future evolution of the global and Northern Michigan/Upper Peninsula knowledge economies.

While it is recognized that the knowledge economy is increasingly important to the future prosperity of Michigan and the Midwest, regional strategic planning focused on developing the knowledge economy has been limited. In developing CCED's 2006 Michigan Knowledge Economy Index (LaMore, Melcher, Supanich-Goldner, & Wilkes, 2006), it was found that neither predictors nor investments critical to the knowledge economy were identified in traditional regional and local economic planning.

This Regional Assessment is designed to leapfrog that error and help regional planners ramp up their Comprehensive Economic Development Strategies to create new knowledge economy jobs and businesses. This Assessment can be used by regional leaders to better prepare for high-value, innovative regional economic development in the 21st century global knowledge economy.

In spite of facing significant methodological barriers, the project team identified or developed 27 regional knowledge economy indicator measures that are readily obtained from available data sets. Planners throughout the state and Midwest can replicate this methodology and use these indicators to assess the performance of their regions in the knowledge economy. Instructions on retrieving specific data sets for these knowledge economy indicators are available on the project web site (KnowledgePlanning.org). Access to these instructions will enable planners, citizens, and leaders to obtain data and apply these knowledge economy indicators to their regions.

Major Findings of the Northern Michigan/Upper Peninsula Knowledge Economy Assessment

The three regions have substantial talent assets, as evidenced by several Talent indicators. The three regions compare extremely well with the average state public high school graduation rate and ACT scores (both composite and writing). In fact, Northeast Michigan's and Northwest Michigan's graduation rates are over 80%, exceeding the average state graduation rate by four and nine percentage points, respectively. Only 13 states have graduation rates of 80% or better. For ACT composite scores, Northwest Michigan exceeds the average state score by .7 (19.5 compared to 18.8), Northeast Michigan's score is identical to the average state score, and the Eastern UP is just .4 below the state average.

The three regions also perform well compared to the statewide average in public university undergraduate enrollments although they lag behind in graduate enrollments. Northeast Michigan exceeds the state and the other regions in certificates conferred. The Eastern Upper Peninsula, the only region of the three with a four-year public university, is also the only region that exceeds the state average in the number of college degrees conferred. The other two regions lag significantly behind the state average for this indicator.

This talent base is extremely important in the knowledge economy. Talent is needed to do the current and future work of local entrepreneurs, skilled workers, and visionary leaders in the Northern Michigan/Upper Peninsula knowledge economy. Talent and an ongoing willingness to learn are key to embracing mind-set change poised for competing successfully in the global knowledge economy.

All three regions are comparable to the state in the number of high-tech firms, but lag behind in the number of high-tech jobs and level of high-tech wages. The number of high-tech firms in the three regions is a strong positive indicator. Job creation and talent retention and attraction will be critical in improving this measure of the knowledge economy.

For the number of venture capital firms, Northwest Michigan is equal to the statewide average. Venture capital firms are not found in the other two regions. Creating and expanding capital networks and flow is needed.

For Digital Economy indicators, all three regions lag behind the state average in the number of high-speed Internet providers and lag significantly behind in the number of wireless hotspots. As broadband is the backbone of the knowledge economy, expanding high-speed Internet or broadband coverage is an objective the regions may want to consider. The regions' long-term economic vitality in the knowledge economy may be at stake.

Economic Dynamism indicators assess a region's ability to adapt to a changing economy. Both job turnover for all industry sectors and health care job turnover were higher in Northern Michigan than the state as a whole, indicating higher numbers of people are entering new jobs and leaving or losing existing jobs. This performance is likely a positive indicator of the regions' economic resilience and adaptability. All three regions lag behind the state in the number of certified business parks, a relatively weak proxy indicator.

All three regions lag behind the state in the number of information and communications technology (ICT) jobs as well as lagging behind in annual ICT wages. Northwest Michigan compares favorably with the state level of Health Care jobs and annual Health Care wages, but the other two regions trail Northwest Michigan and the state for this indicator.

Regional Collaborative Actions to Compete Successfully in the Global Knowledge Economy

The economic development challenge to Northern Michigan and the Eastern Upper Peninsula, as with any region in the country, demands a new foundation of collaborative partners-economic development agencies, local governments, all types of private companies, community colleges, school districts, work force development agencies, civic organizations, nonprofit agencies, and universities-to work in new and perhaps even uncomfortable ways. These new networking relationships ("swarms") and candid conversations are essential to creating dynamic new collaborative models.

The use of these knowledge economy indicators coupled with the ongoing project's innovative co-learning plans is intended to facilitate constructive dialogues, innovative new networking, and strategic planning to position the regions for success in the global knowledge economy. Bold leadership is required to reject traditional economic development models that clearly no longer work. The focus for the future must be on creating and implementing intelligent economic development strategies that will support innovation and risk-taking across the board through aggressive networking, vital collaboration, constant learning, and flexible adaptation.

Final Note

The project team welcomes your feedback and suggestions for improving the measures and indicators described in this regional assessment. Our intent is to provide the best possible information to assist our Northern Michigan and Eastern Upper Peninsula partners (and other similar regions) to align their economic development priorities to successfully compete in the global knowledge economy. The rapid ongoing evolution of the knowledge economy creates a shifting environment in which numerous new questions will arise that may challenge the meaningfulness of selected indicators and the accuracy or relevance of selected measures. The project team cannot anticipate these questions with any degree of certainty. We look forward, then, to any feedback that can help create a better set of regional knowledge economy indicators. We seek indicators and measures that will assist development of effective regional knowledge economy strategies. Finally, we invite readers outside of Northern Michigan and the Eastern UP to visit our Web site (KnowledgePlanning.org) where assistance is available to assist you in applying the indicators to other regions.