Collaborating with Business: Roles Businesses Play in Achieving MIG Outcomes

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Collaborating with Business Roles Businesses
Play in Achieving MIG Outcomes
NCHSD

• National Consortium for Health Systems
  Development
• Fall MIG Technical Assistance Conference
• November 8, 2006
• Barbara Otto, Health Disability Advocates/NCHSD

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Goals for the Plenary Session

• Learn directly from a businessperson and a MIG
  project director about collaboration between
  business and MIGs.
• Understand the different roles businesses play in
  achieving MIG objectives.
• Talk to each other about how MIGs and businesses
  across the country are collaborating to reach
  mutual goals.

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Roles Businesses Play

• Educators and Evaluators
• Teach us about the labor market, such as key
  growth industries and needed skill sets.
• Tell us their information needs around the ADA,
  work incentives, etc.
• Give us their judgment on the service systems
  effectiveness, so we understand the perspective
  of business as a customer.
• Help us identify attitudinal and other barriers
  to employment.

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State Examples

• Vermont evaluating the effectiveness of the
  workforce delivery system
• Missouri identifying business needs the MIG can
  address

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Roles Businesses Play

• Planning Partners
• Provide leadership in strategic planning
  processes and strengthen support for
  implementation activities.
• Inform decisions about infrastructure change.
• Identify strategic priorities for program and
  service development.
• Identify opportunities to achieve sustainability.

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State Examples

• Connecticut participating in a statewide needs
  assessment
• Maine helping set strategic priorities for the
  states workforce and disability systems

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Roles Businesses Play

• Outreach Partners
• Provide expertise to develop outreach and
  education strategies that will be effective with
  businesspeople and others.
• Disseminate information to employees about
  working with people with disabilities,
  sensitivity and universal design.
• Reach the business community with messages about
  employment and disability and reasonable
  accommodations.

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State Examples

• Florida BLN in Miami created a targeted
  business to business marketing campaign titled
  My Ability to educate on disability and
  employment
• Oregon - Business Leadership Network (BLN) is
  targeting business clusters through a marketing
  campaign
• Wisconsin - Employer Disability Resource Center
  is communicating accurate information about
  disability issues businesses are concerned about

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Roles Businesses Play

• Allies in Achieving Systems Change
• Use their voices to convince state decision
  makers that systems change is needed.
• Lead the business community in supporting
  employment systems infrastructure development.
• Demonstrate by example that systems change can
  achieve results.
• Enlist state government as a model employer.

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State Examples

• Maryland - business leaders/BLN and state
  government collaborating to sponsor new
  infrastructure and events to inform and educate
  all stakeholders
• Others?

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Roles Businesses Play A Framework

• Educators and Evaluators what do businesses
  need, how successful is the service system?
• Planning Partners making tough decisions about
  change
• Outreach Partners getting the message out
  effectively
• Allies real work to achieve real systems change

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Presentations

• Mr. John Metcalf, Wisconsin Manufacturers and
  Commerce
• Dr. Amy Porter, CT MIG Director

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Discussion

• Businesses as educators and evaluators
• How many of you have surveyed businesspeople, or
  involved them in focus groups? How many are
  planning to do that in the coming year?
• Are there some other ways to learn from
  businesspeople?
• What do you think about what businesspeople say
  about people with disabilities? About the
  service system? Do you think you are learning to
  understand their perspective better?

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Discussion

• Businesses as planning partners
• How many of you have businesspeople on your
  advisory council or planning group?
• Do they participate regularly? Do they
  participate in a meaningful way?
• What is a reasonable expectation for the
  involvement and engagement of business in your
  planning work? What strategies can make it easier
  for businesspeople to participate in planning
  activities?
• How do you respond to businesses interests?

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Discussion

• Businesses as outreach partners
• What kinds of outreach activities have you
  targeted towards businesses?
• We usually see businesses as an outreach need,
  rather than an outreach partner. Why is that?
• Why would businesses be interested in being an
  outreach partner, how would it benefit them?
• What do businesses need from MIGs for them to
  successfully reach and educate others?

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Discussion

• Businesses as allies in systems change
• Do policymakers in your state care about the
  needs and concerns of business?
• How do state decision makers usually learn about
  the business perspective, how do businesses make
  their voices heard? How can MIGs tap into this?
• Are there ways that MIGs can facilitate
  businesses to participate in systems change?