Governor Releases Strategy to ‘Build Wisconsin’

Wisconsin Governor Scott McCallum announced his Build Wisconsin
economic development strategic plan http://comgis1.commerce.state.wi.us/buildwisconsin/ that will improve the state’s business
and tax climates, and maximize its human resources.

Contact: Paul Kalomiris
Economic and Technology Policy Studies – NGA

Broadly, the plan will
promote targeted investment in the state’s 11 identified industrial clusters,
establish regional business incubators to help entrepreneurs commercialize
their research, provide student loan forgiveness tied to state residency, recruit
college seniors to remain in the state after graduation, and also reduce the
state personal income tax.

More specifically in the area of cluster development, the plan will establish
initial funding for up to nine cluster initiatives and require agencies to
incorporate cluster development strategies into existing policies. These efforts
will tie state assistance to cluster growth and wage-per-job growth
benchmarks, and create more small business development technology
transfer centers. The state’s 11 clusters are: biomedical research/informatics;
business services/supply chain management; finance/insurance; health care;
information technology/data processing; machinery
manufacturing/automation; manufacturing/materials/plastics;
papermaking/forestry products; printing; and tourism.

The Wisconsin Department of Commerce will direct the Build Wisconsin plan,
which was developed through meetings with hundreds of residents and
leaders from the business, education, economic development, labor, and
government sectors.

http://www.nga.org/center/frontAndCenter/1,1188,C_FRONT_CENTER^D_4026,00.html