• Develop responsive, industry-driven education and training systems that provide a skilled talent pipeline to meet the short- and long-term needs of selected industry clusters 
• Pilot strategies, partnerships, and models that meet the talent and innovation support needs of Utah’s key industry clusters, and 
• Identify best practices that can be replicated and used by other industry cluster initiatives. 

• Established clearly defined career pathways for students in the selected clusters. Career pathway maps illustrate key courses and skills necessary for selected career tracks.  
• Based on feedback from key industry leaders, the partnership created, expanded, and/or revamped degree programs to meet industry needs. 
• Established sustainable relationships with key business, academic, and state stakeholders. 
• Published cluster strategic plans which clearly indicate accountability measures for specified action items.  

Primary challenges included the following: 

• Convening v. Leading: The institution which “convenes” the cluster initiative is not necessarily the “leading” institution in that economic space. Managing institutional relationships is a primary challenge. Fortunately, in Utah, we have a very collaborative spirit.   
• Base Funding: The initiative is designed to be cyclical as applied to many different clusters. One-time funding disrupts the process when reduced or discontinued.  
• Undergraduate Focus: While this initiative is a nice counterpart to the research focus of many large institutions, it can be seen as unduly minimizing the importance of research. The applied knowledge aspect of the project is not antithetical but complementary to both the teaching and research missions of higher education. 

Accelerating Utah’s Aerospace and Defense Industry, Utah Cluster Acceleration Partnership. Spring 2010.

 Accelerating Utah’s Energy Industry, Utah Cluster Acceleration Partnership. Fall 2010.