Conexus Indiana is only as effective as its network of industry, academic and public-sector partners. For nearly 15 years, we have aligned our mission and vision with what our stakeholders say they need to grow their companies and employ Hoosiers for long-term economic prosperity. With more than 130 Conexus Indiana Advanced Industries Council partners providing the “big picture” strategies, we have even more partners who dig deep into the tactics as part of the Conexus Indiana Working Groups.
Today, Conexus Indiana has 10 Working Groups organized under three areas of focus – economic development, talent and research. The working groups welcome subject-matter experts from Indiana businesses, education and the public-sector to create and implement tangible solutions with measurable outcomes.
The 2023 Working Groups include: public policy, small business, regional partnership, advanced mobility, public-private partnership, regional skills alignment, supply chains of the future, workforce and wages, EV supply chain analysis and environmental sustainability.
“The Conexus Indiana Working Groups are vital to our mission, serving as the boots-on-the-ground subject matter experts who help us deliver programs and projects for maximum impact,” said Sonya Snellenberger, Conexus Indiana’s Director of Industry Engagement. “While we identify priorities each year for Working Groups work, we also react to market disruptions and form new Working Groups to tackle real-time challenges.”
For example, as COVID-19 forced many workers to abandon the workplace, a return-to-work working group was formed to develop an employer guide for bringing Hoosiers back to their jobs. In that same period, a working group addressed pandemic-related supply chain issues. More recently, a healthcare cost management working group tackled the rising cost of providing health insurance to workers in smaller firms. That group led to the development of the Indiana Advanced Healthcare Plan by Henriott Group, a plan that provides competitive benefits and rates for firms with 30-150 employees.
Employers that commit one of their subject matter experts to the Working Groups benefit from gaining a voice in the discussions about the future.
The individual participants get the chance to have a real impact by offering their expertise. They also gain experience beyond what they might get in their daily roles and collaborate with peers they otherwise might never meet.
And Hoosiers get a vehicle for ensuring that big ideas are transformed into tangible action, that the energy generated by the Conexus Indiana Advanced Industries Council gets diffused into workplaces and communities across the state, and that Indiana continues on its trajectory toward ongoing economic prosperity.
In coming blog posts, we’ll focus more closely on individual working groups. If you’re interested in being part of a working group, contact Conexus at admin@conexusindiana.com to discuss your organization’s participation in the Advanced Industries Council.