The Alaska Forward Initiative is a program of action that is providing Alaska’s policy and decision makers with on-going private sector inputs and engagement for sound economic development. Building from a Phase I Situational Analysis published in early 2010, the Alaska Forward Initiative has engaged over 200 industry representatives in facilitated working groups, Alaska Forward has identified 16 initiatives and 5 policy recommendations for further action.
Alaska Forward Initiatives were drafted using a cluster working group method. Each industry: Mining, Logistics, Clean Energy, and Tourism were represented by industry leaders who proposed areas of possible development within their respective fields. Initiatives were then championed by leaders within the industry. Alaska Forward facilitates support and communication to move all initiatives into plans of action. For more information on how you can participate in an initiative project, please contact us at: akforward@alaskapartnership.org
Direct links to details of these initiatives and policy recommendations are found in the sidebar for easy reference.
Project History
Phase I:
The situational analysis generated by the project research team recognized that Alaska is experiencing accumulating levels of future risk and declining economic resiliency due to:
- Continuing declines in oil production (source of 85% of state revenue)
- Uncomfortable trends in other natural resource sectors (regulations, environmental concerns)
- Aging workforce
- Outmigration
- Weak culture of entrepreneurship
- Remoteness and related infrastructure challenges including high energy and transportation costs
As a business and governmental community, we have examined the problem endlessly. It is time to take action to improve the competitiveness of our key industries in the international economy. Recommendations of the consulting team focused on moving Alaska’s economic development discussion into an industry cluster development model.
Phase II: Implementation
Phase II of the Alaska Forward Initiative implements the recommendations made at the conclusion of Phase I. Researchers identified 11 established traded clusters in Alaska, with an additional 12 seed clusters, or potential clusters to look to for future development. The next step is to facilitate and track active conversation within these clusters.
Learn more about developing and investing in Industry Clusters by following any of the links in the DEVELOPING INDUSTRY CLUSTERS section, to the right.
