Northern Michigan Policy Conference 2021
Date and Time
Friday Jan 15, 2021
9:15 AM - 2:00 PM EST
Friday, January 15th 2021
9:15 AM - 2:00 PM
Location
This conference will be virtual with additional details to follow
Fees/Admission
$25 per person
Contact Information
Molly MacGirr
Send Email
Description
Northern Michigan Policy Conference
Presenting Sponsor
The Northern Michigan Policy Conference is a regional economic development conference led by the Northern Michigan Chamber Alliance. The Alliance is a coalition of 16 chambers and economic development organizations and over 7,000 member businesses from all across northern Michigan. The partnership exists to advocate for rural northern Michigan and move forward rural-centric business policy.
Now in its third year as a policy conference after serving as the Alliance's annual agenda-setting meeting for years, the Northern Michigan Policy Conference is designed to leverage diverse strategies to enhance the northern Michigan region's standing as a world-class place for business, residents, visitors, and students of all ages. This year's policy conference will be a collaborative, business-driven experience delivering actionable goals to energize and provide vision. Conference content will focus on the Alliance's four policy areas in the context of economic recovery. Speakers will address chronic issues surrounding business development, talent, housing, and childcare and discuss innovative approaches.
We hope to see you there!
Take a look at our Agenda!
9:15 - 10:00 AM: Coffee with Northern Michigan's Legislators
10:00 - 10:30 AM: Welcome Remarks & Alliance Recap
10:30 - 11:00 AM: Federal Update - Neil Bradley, Executive Vice President and Chief Policy
Officer of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
11:00 - 11:45 AM: Keynote - Economic Development - Jeff Finkle, President & CEO of the
International Economic Development Council
11:45 - 12:00 PM: Break
12:00 - 12:45 PM: (Pick one to attend live - both will be recorded)
Remote Worker Session OR
Infrastructure Session: Infrastructure After a Pandemic
1:00 - 1:45 PM: (Pick one to attend live - both will be recorded)
Childcare Session: Childcare Panel OR
Housing Session: Building Communities One House at a Time
1:45 - 2:00 PM: Thank You Remarks
Remote Worker Session: Led by Lance Robbins, Director of Economic & Workforce Development with Distribute Consulting
About: A comprehensive, community-driven, ecosystem building approach is a necessary investment in leveraging long-term tourism and relocation of remote workers as an economic development strategy. While municipal marketing efforts are newsworthy and incentive-based programs have had success, prioritizing the infrastructure and community pieces will be critical to the sustained success of any talent or business attraction campaign. Starting with the resources and employees in your community lays the groundwork and foundation for continued growth and success.
Infrastructure After a Pandemic: Led by Jon Roberts, Principal with TIP Strategies, Inc.
About: Mr. Roberts will address infrastructure needs in a post-coronavirus environment. Emphasis will be on the cascading economic and social effects caused by the pandemic. The presentation will consider the impact on telecommunications-related to remote work and its effect on transportation and commercial office space.
Questions to consider:
- How robust is our broadband infrastructure in northern Michigan?
- How vulnerable are we from a cybersecurity standpoint?
- Will economic development require different strategies to accommodate off-site workers?
- What are the social implications surrounding our existing infrastructure networks?
Housing Session - Building Communities One House at a Time: Led by Dawn Crandall, Political Affairs Director with Home Builders Association of Michigan
About: While the state of Michigan enacted a statewide building code in the 90's, local communities continue to impact the process of homes being built through their local units of government. Some communities welcome builders and new neighbors into their area, while others hinder development growth though zoning ordinances or by delaying the process. What are the barriers and developers face, and how can they be corrected?
Childcare Panel Discussion: Lead by Alexa Kramer, Director of Government Affairs with Grand Rapids Chamber with panelists:
- State Representative Greg VanWoerkom, District 91, Michigan State House of Representatives
- State Senator Curt VanderWall, District 35, Michigan State Senate
- State Representative Jack O?Malley, District 101, Michigan State House of Representatives
- Mary Manner, Great Start Coordinator / 5toOne Project Manager with United Way of Northwest Michigan
About: Join our legislative leaders and advocacy partners to discuss the state of childcare in Michigan and especially northern Michigan. Legislators will share their success in securing $1 million in the Fiscal Year 2021 budget for tri-share childcare pilot and talk about their individual childcare-related priorities for the next legislative session. Quality childcare is an enormous and daunting problem and it does not have a single solution. The panel will discuss all the work being done to chip away at success to quality childcare.
