GFMEDC Smart Brief

Fargo Moorhead MSA has an unemployment rate of 3.0% (not seasonally adjusted) compared to the U.S. unemployment rate of 5.2%. To see the GFMEDC's latest economic indicators, please check out the following link.

March Economic Indicators

President's Report - Workforce Study committees finalizing recommendations

The first quarter is quickly coming to an end, and as always, the issues and opportunities keep pushing us forward.

Excitement and success keep coming in all three of our key strategic functions: business, entrepreneurial and workforce development.

We just participated in our area's fourth Start Up Weekend, an opportunity to create a new company or concept in a dynamic 54-hour marathon.

Our own John Machacek was one the organizers, and I really enjoyed being one of the finals judges on Sunday night. I really enjoy watching people pitch ideas on Friday night and then going back again on Sunday night to see how far these groups have come. It's truly incredible. I can say the entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in the FM area.

The workforce committees are finalizing their recommendations which will be submitted to the board and project investors in early May. The committees have come up with some dynamic ideas and concepts to really make a difference in our workforce battle here in the FM Area

Business development continues to have impact in the UAS industry and the regional growth in the Distribution industry. Our Smart Move Sector Summits continue to provide needed dialogue between education and industry and help them grow. We recently held the manufacturing and engineering summits, both with great outcomes.

2016 will clearly be the year of implementation and change. The EDC will need your continued support to make these and other changes happen!

Inspiring future engineers: GFMEDC/NDSU pilot project pairs K-12 students with NDSU engineering students

"We're going to play a really fun game today."

Mackayla Headlee, a senior in electrical engineering at NDSU has spent the last couple months with nine second graders at Ed Clapp Elementary in Fargo. Headlee works with the students on projects that help advance classroom lessons. Headlee is one of two NDSU students from the College of Engineering who spend 30 minutes twice a week with small groups of students. Headlee and her counterpart help students learn to apply their current math content to examples representing real life situations.

The students use a process Headlee calls think, pair and share. The second graders think about the problem, pair up with a partner to talk about solutions and then share with the group. The process helps them learn to work together and see different ways to solve a problem.

"These are the same problem solving skills I use in college," said Headlee.

The pilot program was started in 2015-2016 thanks to a collaboration among the GFMEDC, NDSU and Fargo Public Schools. Two engineering students are spending ten weeks at Ed Clapp teaching a total of 20 students who range from level one to five in terms of math competency. The GFMEDC is providing the college students' stipends.

Along with inspiring the students to learn different ways to tackle math concepts (and hopefully to love math), the program aims to create pathways to careers like engineering. The NDSU students act as role models, sharing their love of math with the kids and planting the seed in their minds that they too can pursue STEM fields. This program has the potential to reach more students getting them excited about learning math from role models who use it in their everyday lives

"I loved math and a big reason was because I saw how math could be applied to the real world," said Headlee. With her grandfather and fath

er as engineering role models, engineering was a natural choice for her.

The two engineering students will also spend time at Fargo North helping in a mechanical engineering class.

Leaders in engineering focus on challenges and opportunities during a recent Smart Move Summit on Engineering

Kicking off a four-hour engineering summit, NDSU leaders discussed the need for stronger pathways to increase interest and exposure to engineering. Representatives from area engineering firms shared successful strategies for recruiting.

More than 30 people attended the recent Engineering Summit organized by the GFMEDC.

Presentati

ons by higher education institutions and industry leaders were followed by roundtable discussions. The four-hour event created an opportunity for education and industry to come together to focus on challenges and opportunities within the engineering sector.

Contact our office at (701) 364-1900 to get involved with a committee or for information on upcoming summits.

FM Welcome Party aims to help local companies with employee retention

Food, check.

Swing dancers, check. Hosts, check. New residents, check!

More than 150 people recently headed to Ecce in downtown Fargo to learn more about Fargo Moorhead and meet new people.

The EDC hosted the FM Welcome Party as a way to support retention at local companies. We provide collateral materials giving information about things to do, education, and we even tell then how to get to "the lake". From swing dancing to a number from an upcoming FMCT musical, performances every half hour provided a taste of local attractions.

The EDC recruited ten volunteer hosts who answered questions and made sure no one was standing alone.

"It was wonderful to see so many connections take place in such a short amount of time. In today's digital world, nothing re

places the opportunity to cross paths with someone and bond first with a new, shared geography, and then with common interest or experience," Brittany Sickler, SBA and FM Welcome Party host.

Smart Move Ambassador Program Launches with more than 200 registered Ambassadors

The GFMEDC recently launched it's Smart Move Ambassador Program. More than 200 people have signed up to be an ambassador. Ambassadors can choose to share fun content to their social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. Ambassadors can earn points to win prizes.

The program is designed to provide people with weekly content they can easily share giving them way to help amplify messages raising the regional profile.

The Smart Move Ambassador program is run through a service called Social Toaster.

In the last 30 days, the program has boasted an engagement rate of about 80% with more than 82,000 total impressions on social media.

Women's Startup Weekend

April 22 - 24

Build a Startup in 54 Hours

Fargo.up.co for more information

Fargo Moorhead Magazine - request your copies today!

Stories highlight Fargo Moorhead's quality of life, business climate, attractions, restaurants and must-do activities. Articles focus on how Fargo Moorhead residents enjoy the proximity to the lakes country; the cultural and economic impact of the region's colleges and universities as well as the area's growing business sectors and the local initiative to recruit, retain and develop the talent to support them.

Other articles highlight the quality-of-place amenities that attract people to the Fargo Moorhead region including high-quality

public and private schools, top-rated health-care facilities and a robust business climate.

For a free digital version of the magazine optimized for iPads, tablets and other mobile devices, visit

http://www.livability.com/nd/fargo/digital-magazine.

GFMEDC Annual Report

Our annual report is available. Please request hard copies or check it out online.

If you would like to glance at our Annual Meeting Slides, click here.

A spotlight on our strategic plan...

Here at the GFMEDC, we recently took a little time to review challenges and opportunities within the regional economic landscape. We developed a five-year strategic plan that provides a framework for five new priorities. You can see the complete plan on our website under What We Do.

GFMEDC Strategic Plan

Priority 1: Facilitate the Attraction of Talent to the Region

Priority 2: Encourage the Expansion and Increase the Awareness of Technical Training, Higher Education, STEM Education and Associated Career Opportunities

Priority 3: Advance an Advocacy Agenda and Communicate Economic Impact

Priority 4: Leverage Existing and Emerging Regional Industry Base and NDSU Research and

Technology Park resources for Business Retention, Expansion and Start-up

Priority 5:

Continue the Development of the Region's Entrepreneurial Eco-System

Do you have news to share?

If you have news items you would like included in an upcoming newsletter, please send the ideas or articles to Lisa Gulland-Nelson at lgnelson@gfmedc.com. Thank you!

The mission of the GFMEDC is to grow and diversify the economy in Cass County, ND and Clay County, Minn. through the attraction, retention and expansion of primary-sector employers.

A primary-sector company is one that brings new wealth into the community through the sale of its goods and services outside the trade area. This new wealth circulates and supports all other sectors of the local economy, thus making the primary sector the principle driver of economic growth.

Thank you for your continued support of the Greater Fargo Moorhead EDC and economic development. We look forward to your feedback.