The Itasca Project

The examples of completed action, below, will provide a sense of how Itasca project approaches and helps advance solutions to barriers that threaten our regional competitiveness and quality of life.

Building a Stronger University-Business Partnership

Why it matters:

	•		Universities are a primary economic engine for successful regions

	•		Peer regions lead Twin Cities in industry-sponsored research and development by 2:1 margin

	•		University of Minnesota officials and corporate leaders saw opportunity for improvement

What Itasca did:

	•		Convened teams of loaned executives and University officials

	•		Developed recommendations to:

	•		create a “front door” to the U that would facilitate stronger cooperation with business

	•		improve process to commercialize intellectual property

	•		strengthen the U as a talent magnet

Results:

	•		A new Office of Business Development focuses on effective partnerships

	•		An online “Front Door” has improved access to the U’s vast resources

	•		New commercialization processes are in place

	•		Relationship managers serve as liaisons between the U and large employers

	•		The new model for business and University interactions has received national attention

Addressing Socio-Economic Disparities

Why it matters:

	•		Despite overall economic strength, the Minneapolis/St. Paul region has three stark and growing socio-economic gaps – race, class, and place – that threaten our future

	•		Closing these gaps now is not just the right thing to do, but also the smart thing to do

What Itasca did:

	•		Commissioned and released a study that presented the facts around disparities as well as demographic trends that showed a dramatic widening of the gap without positive

	•		Launched a “Close the Gap” campaign to educate businesses and others on the issues and their significance

	•		Showed organizations how to take immediate actions to address disparities

	•		Collectively committed to five actions within Itasca participant organizations

	•		Agreed that all future Itasca initiatives would address disparities

Results:

	•		Distributed more than 6,000 “Close the Gap” toolkits to metro employers

	•		Speakers bureau presented findings to more than 10,000 Twin Citians at hundreds of gatherings

	•		Hired more than 200 Minneapolis youth for local summer jobs program

	•		Fully funded metro operations of ServeAmerica early literacy program, which leveraged our investment 4:1.