ICAPP Liaisons Conference
Friday, August 18, 2006
Chancellor Erroll B. Davis Jr.
Performing Arts Building, Macon State College
Macon, Georgia
Thank you Joy. I appreciate the work and leadership Joy Hymel brings to our economic development efforts. And I also want to thank each of you here for your work on behalf of the state’s economic growth. You are part of a key group in our System and I was eager to accept this assignment when Joy invited me to speak.
Let me also thank those presidents attending meeting — it is important to send the signal that institutional leadership understands and supports economic development efforts. So much of what we do in leadership positions is about sending the right signals. I also appreciate the theme of this workshop — “Collaborating for Results” — more on this later.
The USG is truly the engine driving the state’s economic growth, Our latest assessment is that we motivate about $23 billion of economic activity annually as a System. We also have made good progress in honing our economic-development skills over time.
The establishment of Office of Economic Development at System Level in the mid 1990’s was significant in that we sent a message to both the state and business community that we were serious about bringing the complete resources of the System to bear on economic development. Subsequently, the development of the Intellectual Capital Partnership Program (ICAPP) and model has proven to be highly successful in facilitating rapid USG responses to identified state needs for knowledge workers.
Today the University System is working closely with Commission for a New Georgia. Joy plays a key role in this collaboration. Our participation is important, as the Commission has identified six strategic industries — agribusiness, aerospace, eldercare and healthcare, energy and environmental, life sciences, and logistics and transportation — as strategic priorities for the state. The USG will be working to understand its role in promoting/developing these industries. We can — and will — bring much to the table in this effort.
But, like every other endeavor, to be more effective in this and other economic development efforts, we will need to undertake some strategic shifts — to make some changes. To understand where to go, you must first understand where you are - your strengths and weaknesses — in short, where are your GAPs.
To begin to understand where we are, I toured all 35 campuses, plus Skidaway. I came away very impressed with the overall talent and quality on the campuses. But I also came away believing that it is somewhat uneven — there is a lack of consistency across our System. Feeding that lack of consistency is a lack of a strong sense of System. We do operate more as a confederation.
We also have a tendency to look inward — introspective — and are not very customer focused. Why? Partly this is a result of our structure/processes. And partly it’s the result of a lack of strong connections and tie-in between institutional aspirations and System goals/needs. We must create stronger connections and incentives to build a stronger System and more even quality across institutions.
This will require a culture shift from a sense of the institution to a sense of the System in terms of meeting the state’s key priorities. I am committed to implementing changes to create a stronger sense of System and a greater sense of collaboration.
There are a number of things we will be implementing in this regard. But the one that is of interest to each of you lies in your area: economic development. That is because economic development offers us a great opportunity to create a more System-level approach. That is because economic development is a key intersection point — between institutions and the System — between institutions — and between institutions and the business community. It can be a model for the type of culture we want to create throughout the System, one that unites institutions in a holistic effort to meet the state’s economic development needs.
So your theme “Collaborating for Results” plays into our drive to increase these connections and work more as a System. Your theme also highlights what we have sold for years as ICAPP’s main strength; the ability to quickly mobilize System resources anywhere in the state. But we need to move to a more unified approach, to get beyond the impact of one institution to the impact of the System.
There are many needs in Georgia, so, leveraging System resources is the only option to be successful in meeting those needs if Georgia’s workforce is to remain globally competitive.
You have each heard of Tom Friedman’s “The World Is Flat.” It’s a message that does have significance for Georgia and for what we must do in the University System to create greater opportunities for Georgians. If you haven’t read the book, now you have the opportunity. Joy and her staff have copies for each of you. There is a pertinent quote by Sun Tzu: “Opportunities multiply as they are seized.”
So given our current culture and the national and global pressures that create a need for a strategic shift, our next step will be to review and update our strategic plan for the System. The key message we are sending and will reinforce with our plan is that in the future we will align our resources with our strategic priorities. And economic development must be one of those key priorities.
We will be providing more responsibility to campuses to accomplish these priorities. But with responsibility comes accountability. There will be strong accountability/performance measures built in. This is true for presidents and true for everyone in the organization. We will be asking our institutional presidents to take greater ownership for economic development activity and results.
Coupled with this is that I want to address a culture that too often looks at funding and budgets as entitlements. There are no entitlements. Funding must be justified and it must produce measurable results.
What are some today’s strategic priorities? Obviously one priority we have identified is in the healthcare professions. The Healthcare Task Force released its report. And to respond to its key recommendation that we need a more coordinated, System-level response, I have appointed Dr. Dan Rahn to head up our work. We will be looking at this from a System — rather than institutional — perspective.
ICAPP obviously has a strong track record of identifying healthcare professions needs and responding with timely, targeted programs. Many of you are critically involved in the very successful ICAPP Healthcare Professions Initiative. I appreciate your good work. It is making a difference in many communities across the state.
While this will continue to be a key focus, it is time to step outside/beyond healthcare. Many other opportunities exist. Earlier I outlined the Commission for a New Georgia’ six strategic industries. We will be looking to ICAPP — and you — to identify opportunities in these six critical industries.
There are others. The question that we will be looking to you to help answer is “what are they?” That’s your role. Frankly, we need you to get out of your comfort zone and get us the answers. The healthcare workforce shortage is a straightforward issue. You know the opportunities and challenges. You know the local players. It is not difficult to create needed proposals and programs. But now we need you do expand your horizons. So I do challenge you to fulfill your workshop theme: “Collaborating for Results.”
Let me ask you some questions. When was the last time you convened local business leaders to discuss economic development issues and opportunities? When was the last time you surveyed this audience to ascertain or update your knowledge of the current and emerging economic development issues in your area? And if you have met and have surveyed these key audiences, does the frequency meet customer expectations?
How many of you know and have solid working relationship with local economic development officers at the state or county level? How many of you have weekly or monthly meetings with these and System counterparts? How frequently do you set up appointments with local community/business leaders/owners? Do you meet with your president to update him/her on all of the issues?
If we are going to ask our presidents to take a greater ownership role in economic development activities, this relationship will be very important to each of you, and your president. If your answer to any of these questions is “no” or “not sure,” then you have some opportunity available to you.
If we are going to truly connect System resources with the state’s economic development needs, we will need you out there, establishing the contacts, making the connections, assessing the issues and the opportunities. In short, you are the front line in the process of “collaborating for results.”
Under our revised evaluation system, presidents are going to be held accountable for results in economic and community development. As you are the point person on the campus, your president will be coming to you for programs, ideas and action. It is a chance to make her/him look good — or bad.
This is a great opportunity to stretch. It is an opportunity to expand your activities and opportunity to help create a new synergy in our overall economic development efforts. We will be asking more from each of you. We also will be asking our presidents to invest more in you — and all staff. There is no question we will need to provide professional development to give you the tools to accomplish the tasks.
I am confident you are up to the challenge. And I know you will be stars in our efforts to create a more educated Georgia that fuels economic growth. Thank you.