Issue link: http://www.insightdigital.biz/i/425993
20 | I NSIGH T • D e c e m b e r 2 0 14 international next-generation research and advisory group. e future vitality of Northeast Wisconsin depends on attracting and retaining this group and its economic power, say those involved in workforce development. at means creating a unique sense of place, fostering greater acceptance of talent with diverse backgrounds, encouraging greater civic engagement and enhancing the entrepreneurial atmosphere — all without losing the region's current strengths, such as its safe, family-friendly heritage and affordable lifestyle. "If you create an amazing place, people will want to come to it," says Adrienne Palm, director of leadership for the Fox Cities Chamber of Commerce, responsible for Pulse, the young professionals group, and Cultivate, an annual conference seeking to build the creative economy. "If you are doing interesting and creative things, everyone benefits." is begs the question, "Are we doing enough to attract and retain the best talent to keep the economy and lifestyle vibrant here?" Wisconsin demographic trends show the 25- to 44-age group will decline 8.3 percent in Wisconsin by 2025. While the population centers in the New North fare better than the state as a whole, Outagamie County, for example, will see slight declines in segments of this important demographic group by 2040, according to U.S. Census data. As a group, members of the creative class aspire to be entrepreneurial and will oen create their own jobs or companies rather than work for a business they don't believe values their contribution, says Cheryl Perkins, founder and president of Innovationedge, a Neenah-based, global consulting firm that advises Fortune 50 clients and others on innovation and growth. Where and how they live is generally more important to them than working for a particular company, she adds. Arts, culture, demographic diversity and civic engagement are also key factors for them. Without those V ibrant vision c o n t i n u e d "I just love the outdoor lifestyle and the music scene is really starting to heat up. I've been able to find a like-minded community." – Mark DesJardin, Sales and Marketing Coordinator, C3 Corporation elements of attraction, they will look elsewhere. "I just love the outdoor lifestyle and the music scene is really starting to heat up," DesJardin says, explaining why he stayed. "I've been able to find a like-minded community and there is a startup culture here that might be small, but it is active." DesJardin and his wife, Beth, put down roots. She owns and operates Trove Photography and he has taken on a new role as the sales and marketing coordinator for C3 Corporation, where he is encouraged to use his entrepreneurial skills and instincts to build new business opportunities for the Appleton-based manufacturer of automated packaging and other industry equipment. Now, he knows he can be a difference maker. THE CREATIVE LANDSCAPE Just what makes up the creative economy depends a lot on who you ask. Its definitions vary from one tied strictly to arts and culture to a broader definition that includes creating companies and jobs. e key word in all of them? "Creative." Richard Florida, who coined the term more than a decade ago in his book, "e Rise of the Creative Class," takes a broad view. In a 2012 interview with "U.S. News," Florida says it includes any job that has a creative element, from artists to engineers to cra brewers to hair stylists. He cites research showing two critical skill sets: cognitive skills coupled with social skills — the brain power to create and the ability to manage in an entrepreneurial setting. He estimates the creative class nationwide at about 40 million. CREATING A COOL SPACE Jennifer Stephany favors a broader definition, noting that a creative economy almost always has a strong arts and cultural movement that draws the creative class. "People need to feel they are part of a place," says Stephany, executive director of Appleton Downtown, Inc. and a member of the Arts Wisconsin board of directors. e core for Appleton is its downtown, where the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center and Building for the Arts are the center of a series of concentric circles, much like ripples on a pond, radiating outward. "We are the arts-and-cultural center of the community," Stephany says. (She was proud to identify as one of the "zealous nuts" that urban planner Fred Kent of the Project for Public Spaces said a community needs to champion the creative economy during his talk at Insight's 2014 InDevelopment conference.) In Appleton and Green Bay — the population centers of Northeast Wisconsin — the triggers sparking the fledgling creative economy are both tied to place making. In Appleton, with a population of more than 72,500, it was the construction of the PAC. For Green Bay, with a