State of Washington (2)
Abstract
The Washington State Department of Commerce ? Defense Industry Adjustment Program (WA DIA) has become a critical component of economic growth for WA defense contractors. Over the first two years of funding support from the Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA) we were able to create sustainable program, map our supply chain, and provide critical assistance to overly reliant defense contractors. We also generated future recommendations that are now included in this year 3 funding request. Through this Defense Industry Adjustment grant, we will be able to integrate critical recommendations from the first two years of our program, and, provide a bridge to sustainability of the WA DIA program as state supported following the 2017 legislative budget session in Olympia. Working closely with the Department of Commerce?s Business Services Division and Washington Military Alliance partners focused on industry, we believe a highly successful and sustainable program specific to defense companies and the challenges they face has been created and we would like to share the success of the first two years with the supply chain we have identified. To fully transition the successful portions of the WA DIA program to state and locally supported financing, we will use year 3 to continue to enhance our capacity to assist in-state communities, businesses, and workers that may be affected by reductions in Department of Defense spending; support local adjustment and diversification; and stimulate cooperation between statewide and local adjustment and diversification efforts. By developing opportunities specific to Washington?s defense businesses, we will maintain the industry advisory council within the WMA, we will further map Tier 2 & Tier 3 of the WA defense supply (including improvement to our economic modeling tool, use best practices developed under the original grant to continue assistance to individual contractors, and convene cybersecurity contractors to develop a roadmap for collaboration on future missions. We will also ensure that as Commerce continues supporting our local partner?s efforts for targeted outreach, counseling and support. We expect that this third year of OEA funding will allow us to maximize the important work that has been done in the first two years and build a bridge to a locally sustainable WA DIA program within the Washington State Department of Commerce. Together, the outcomes of this project will benefit the Department of Defense by fostering successful diversification and retention of the defense industry in Washington and strengthening the defense sector businesses and workforce that make Washington their home and support national defense interests.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Sep 18, 2017
- Source ID
- HQ00051610208
Entities
People
- Kristin Reeves
Organizations
- Office of Local Defense Community Cooperation
- Office of the Secretary of Defense
- Washington State Department of Commerce