Strategic Goals

Based on the reform principles in Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration has developed a vision for the impact of Local Workforce Development Boards in transforming and improving the workforce system and building a sustainable system for board excellence. Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act establishes Local Workforce Development Boards which connect employers and job seekers together to strengthen the local economy. Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act outlines four strategic roles that all local workforce development boards must play to ensure the system accomplishes its intended purpose. Each role has a set of tasks that when performed by the Local Workforce Development Board help to ensure the effective delivery of a workforce system aimed at meeting the needs of workers and businesses in the local area. The four roles include manager, convener, strategist, and optimizer.

Manager Role Objectives

The role of Manager requires the Board to effectively manage the funds, appropriately select or procure service providers including the one-stop operator and adhere to effective board practices. Within this role, there are three major objectives for the Board including managing funds, local contracts, and board procedures.

1. Develop practices, policies, and procedures to effectively steward funds allocated to the local workforce development area.

2. Involve board members in establishing strong management practices and controls for the proper expenditure of funds.

3. Develop competitive procurement processes, policies, and procedures (Request for Proposal)

4. Involve board members in establishing strong management practices and controls of the executed contracts, to ensure all expectations of the contractor are met.

5. Establish an organizational structure that supports the board’s strategic and operational goals.

6. Establish committees that ensure board objectives are met, provide members an opportunity to engage in the work of the board, and offer space for detailed action steps to be discussed, managed, and assigned.

Convener Role Objectives

The role of Convener requires boards to build and nurture strong local partnerships with community organizations, including business, education, one-stop partners, and economic development. Implied in the Convener role is the premise that the Local Workforce Development Board is not the only entity responsible for building a world-class workforce system. The board’s power lies in being able to set the vision and convene the appropriate partners to broker a comprehensive set of solutions for businesses and job seekers. Within this role, there are four major objectives for the Board including developing: Memorandum of Understanding, Infrastructure Funding Agreement, Local Plan, and approving non-mandatory partners.

1. Develop and execute a Memorandum of Understanding between the Local Workforce Development Board and the one-stop partners, with the agreement of the Chief Lead Elected Official, relating to the operation of the one-stop delivery system in the local area.

2. Develop a Local Plan outlining how the Local Workforce Development Board will develop, align, and integrate innovative service delivery strategies across programs that lead to solutions for businesses and job seekers.

3. Develop a financial plan to fund the services and operating costs of the one-stop delivery system.

4. Assess each partner’s funding as it is essential for each partner to financially contribute to the foundation of an integrated service delivery system and necessary to develop and maintain high standards of service.

5. Identify infrastructure costs for each partner program: non-personnel costs necessary to run the one-stop center:

   • Rent of facility

   • Utilities and maintenance

   • Equipment

   • Technology to facilitate access

6. Develop relationships with organizations interested in being a partner in the one-stop delivery system that are not required by Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act.

7. Develop processes to ensure partner complies with the same requirements as the mandated partners and receive approval from the Local Workforce Development Board.

Strategist Role Objectives

The role of Strategist ensures that the work of the board is strategic, not aspirational. South Central Iowa Workforce Area will strategically plan for and implement regional talent pipelines, understanding the demand picture and responding through an integrated set of services that focus on the long-term success of students and job seekers. The board sets the agenda with a bigger picture of community success in mind and the board is the local backbone of the workforce system, helping to create a collective vision, and coordinating organizations to implement it. Within this role, there are three major objectives for the Board including research and labor market analysis, designing the system, and system oversight and policy development.

1. Conduct research and analysis of the labor market to understand the needs of business and industry in the local area.

2. Develop and execute strategies and systems to ensure that the collection and examination data is ongoing, accurately reflects the needs of small, medium, and large businesses, and includes analysis of strengths, weaknesses, and capacity of the workforce system to meet business needs.

3. Develop relationships with the business community, as well as organizations such as Chambers of Commerce, and economic developers to understand the needs of the labor market.

4. Develop and continuously review an operational design plan that meets the needs of the customer, individual, or business experiencing the IowaWORKS Centers including topics:

   • Number of IowaWORKS centers (comprehensive and satellite)

   • Ensure outreach and services are available to all rural areas

   • Partners located in or accessed through the centers

   • Integrated services for all customers are reflected in the Memorandum of Understanding and Infrastructure Funding Agreement

   • Customer flow through the center

   • Functional alignment of staff

5. Develop sector partnerships

6. Establish career pathways

7. Set a vision that encompasses all partner programs within the system.

8. Develop processes to ensure each partner is fulfilling its regulatory requirements, and all programs are working toward the same vision set forth by the Local Workforce Development Board.

9. Develop a unified business service plan.

Optimizer Role Objectives

The role of Optimizer empowers boards to continuously monitor performance and make policy or service adjustments to foster continuous improvement. Boards as Optimizers use data to examine macroeconomic trends, looking for patterns that will impact the workforce system and ensure quality outcomes. As an Optimizer, the Local Workforce Development Board’s role is to determine appropriate additional measures that support success for the local area, including ways to position and attract additional investments into the workforce system and community. Within this role, there are three major objectives for the Board including One-Stop Certification, Performance Measures, Leverage and Solicit Funding from Non-Federal Sources.

1. Work with the state workforce development board and chief elected officials to establish objective criteria and procedures for Local Workforce Development Boards to use when certifying one-stop centers.

2. Develop and establish performance metrics and make policy or service adjustments for continuous improvement.

3. Identify areas where the board can supplement public investment with commitments from industry, labor, public, and community partners to implement innovative ideas and strategies.

4. Develop procedures and protocols to support the award of additional dollars.