Go Topeka Honorable mention
Go Topeka wins honorable mention as an organization of Economic Development by Business Facilities, The Location Advisor.
(April 2012)Business Facilities has introduced a new annual series of Economic Development Awards to honor the agencies and organizations that have established and consistently executed the best practices in our industry, bringing measurable success in targeted economic development to the locations they represent.
We have created more than a dozen new awards categories, including overall economic development excellence awards, best practices awards that cite achievements in specialized programs like workforce training and incentives, and awards for marketing excellence in the use of new media (including social networks and video).
The finalists for our new overall Economic Development Excellence awards were asked to prepare a detailed submission that summarized the most productive project development in their locations and gave our judges an overview of the economic development strategy they have deployed to ensure sustained long-term growth. The information provided to the judges included the top projects (initiated since the beginning of 2011), in terms of capital investment and job creation. These projects included new facilities, expansions, relocations or corporate headquarters.
In their strategic narratives, finalists identified the growth sectors they are targeting and described the specialized tools being deployed to achieve growth in these sectors. We encouraged them to specify their approach to workforce training, specialized incentives and the support they provide to the development of start-ups, small businesses and other entrepreneurial initiatives. Our judges assessed the diversity and scope of the agency's overall economic development program (in terms of the expansion of existing industries as well as the attraction of new ventures).
Today, we are pleased to announce the winners of our Economic Development Excellence Awards.
Our Honorable Mention in the 200k – 500k category goes to GO Topeka/Greater Topeka Chamber of Commerce.
GO Topeka's efforts on behalf of Topeka and Shawnee counties yielded a combined capital investment of $250 million in 2011. The "icing" on Topeka's economic development cake came from Mars Chocolate's decision to build its first U.S. factory in more than 35 years in Topeka. The $250-million factory, which is expected to have an economic impact of $3.24 billion over the next 10 years (creating 425 new jobs), garnered an honorable mention in our 2011 Economic Development Deal of the Year Awards.
In addition to food manufacturing, GO Topeka is targeting new development in biomedical, back office/financial services, logistics and distribution and clean technology.
Washburn University/Washburn Tech Awarded $20 Million Grant
Washburn University/Washburn Tech awarded $20 million grant
TOPEKA (Sept. 28, 2011)-- Washburn University and its affiliate, Washburn Institute of Technology, were recently awarded a $20 million grant from the U.S. Department of Labor to support the collaborative effort of seven community and technical colleges in Kansas to provide workers with academic and industry-recognized credentials and training to meet the need for a skilled workforce.
The grant will also expand and improve the provision of training opportunities to a large geographical pool of eligible applicants. The training programs will be student-, worker- and employer-centered, rather than centered with an institution.
Read more: Washburn University/Washburn Tech Awarded $20 Million Grant
