Item:
Title
FY20-21 Service Agreement ($200,000) with Made in Durham
Body
Date of BOCC Meeting: October 12, 2020
Request for Board Action:
Agenda Text
The Board is requested to approve the attached service agreement with Made in Durham for FY20-21 and authorize the County Manager to execute it.
Made in Durham (MID) was founded in 2013 principally through the advocacy of MDC, and Durham County has been one of Made in Durham’s principal, public sector supporters since its inception. Within a year or two of its founding it was re-created as an independent 501(c)3. The work of MID has been to work with other stakeholders to create and strengthen better education to career pathways for young people in Durham.
The MID Board of Directors, on which the Durham County Manager serves, and Advisory Team, on which the Durham County Chief of Staff serves, include strong public and private sector and youth representation. Recent work of the organization has included a skilled trades pathway involving DPS, DTCC, and employers, facilitating broader work-based learning (WBL) programming for DPS students, and the more recent BULLS initiative to create more workforce opportunities in the biotechnology field.
Funding for MID was pegged at $101,000 per year for the first several years. It was increased to $125,000 in FY18-19 and $200,000 in FY19-20, though last year only $150,000 was paid out because MID did not come back with a mid-year report and request for that additional, performance-based installment. $200,000 for Made in Durham was included in the FY20-21 Durham County budget.
Made in Durham is one of the founding members of the BULLS (Building Up Local Life Sciences) initiative, a public private partnership that outlines programmatic and capital investments necessary to strengthen the life science pathway so that more Durham residents can compete for excellent career opportunities recruited by the County and fulfill the needs of our growing workforce. In June, Commissioners approved $60,000 in funding to support Durham’s application for an EDA grant to leverage $240,000 in federal funds to purchase equipment for an Aseptic Lab, expanding Durham Tech’s Biotechnology training opportunities. Results of the application are expected by the end of the year.
To create and enhance awareness of the Durham’s biotech industry, Made in Durham has engaged a number of workforce development service providers to include Durham Tech, NC Career Center, NextGen, DCI and Student U. Partner organizations are hosting Zoom calls with adults and youths to feature career pathways conversations Biopharma and Skilled Trades. Included on those calls are a BioWork grad working locally, the grad’s employer, Durham Tech and NCWorks and NextGen staff.
Alignment with Strategic Plan: Improved education to work pathways and pathway function are strongly aligned with Goal 1 and 4 of the Durham County Strategic Plan.
Resource Persons: Wendell Davis, County Manager
County Manager’s Recommendation: The County Manager recommends that the Board approve the attached service agreement with Made in Durham for FY20-21 and authorize the County Manager to execute it.
Signature
County Manager: ____________________________