8/9/2019 9:30:00 AM
Commissioner Steve Grove
In my first six months as Commissioner of DEED, I've had the opportunity to listen and learn from many Minnesotans across the state. There's so much to be optimistic about – we have a diverse economy, a strong business climate, and an extraordinary workforce founded on Minnesota values of hard work and integrity.
Yet no one would say that the growth of the Minnesota's economy is inevitable. We have a severe workforce shortage that threatens our ability to attract and retain strong businesses. Many communities face barriers to employment that restrict our economy from performing at its peak. And the fast-changing nature of our global economy – driven by the opportunities that technology and automation present – require that we look thoughtfully at the future and ask ourselves if we're ready for what's next.
For these reasons, we believe we're at an inflection point in our state's economy. What we do next to encourage economic growth will affect generations to come and define the future of Minnesota. That story will be written by the businesses, entrepreneurs, and workers who power our economy every day. And we believe government has a critical role to play, too.
To meet that mission, we partner with organizations and communities all across the state to tackle the challenges our economy faces, focusing on doing things that the market is not incentivized to do.
In the past few months, we've spent time building a plan for the next year that will guide our work. Rooted in the goals of Governor Walz and Lt. Governor Flanagan, informed by the legislature and the 2019 legislative session, and shaped by conversations with hundreds of the people and partners we serve, this plan will guide our work in the coming year.
We wanted to share it with the public, both for transparency and to inspire further engagement.
We set three main objectives for DEED's work for the next year (in addition to two internal objectives on growing our agency culture, and our trust and reputation with the public). For each objective, we attached a few simple "key results" - measurable outcomes we can use to determine our effectiveness.
These metrics will stretch us, and we may not hit every single one. But they give us a clear sense of direction and will push us to do better for the people of Minnesota.
Serving each objective are a series of strategies – the "how" of our plan. You'll see some of them listed below. The list is not exhaustive. Strategies will continue to evolve throughout the year, and we look forward to working with partners and other organizations to adapt and add to the list.
As a large state agency, DEED does far more than you'll see reflected in this plan. And like any plan, it doesn't cover every activity of the department – individual divisions and teams also have their own goals as well. The point of these three department-wide goals is to sharpen the focus of DEED at this critical inflection point in our state's economy.
We are hitting the road this fall to discuss these goals and strategies, and we'll circle back throughout the year with updates on our progress, here in the blog and in other venues.
We look forward to your feedback as we work to empower the growth of the Minnesota economy, for everyone.
Economic Development
