In early 2006, ETA announced that 13 regions were to receive $15 million grants to promote regional collaboration of a wide range of public and private organizations with the goal of transforming their regional approaches for addressing economic challenges.  The grantees, selected competitively and referred to as the Generation I WIRED regions, were facing challenges from global competition and changing economic conditions.  The grants were intended to bring together regional industry, education, philanthropic, workforce and economic development organizations in order to work towards economic stability and workforce growth. 

ETA contracted with an evaluation team from Berkeley Policy Associates and the University of California, San Diego to evaluate these grants.  The evaluation’s objective is to provide a comprehensive understanding of the implementation and cumulative effects of strategies in the regions, including transformation of their regional workforce and economic development systems.  This second interim report describes the evolution of regional initiatives across the Generation I regions, building on initial observations described in the evaluation’s baseline report, published in May 2008.