By Ed Semmler South Bend Tribune
July 5, 2020
For the past eight years, a local nonprofit called enFocus has brought young technical talent to northern Indiana with the aim of tackling a wide variety of civic projects.
Fellows from enFocus have worked on about 150 projects involving local governments, schools and nonprofit organizations. Their fingerprints are on many initiatives: a ride-sharing program aimed at helping people with transportation issues get to work, pavement temperature sensors that give real-time information on where to place salt and brine during the winter, and a new community paramedic program to reduce the number of persistent emergency calls.
As a result of early enFocus projects, South Bend created a Department of Innovation and Technology to continue working on new ways to solve problems. And enFocus has continued to expand its reach.
In 2018, it began offering its expertise to Elkhart County, and it recently announced it would expand into the private sector with the creation of a new team of fellows focused on industries throughout the region.
“We’re moving into the industrial cluster because it’s a driver of the regional economy,” said Andrew Wiand, executive director of the organization.
With the help of a grant from the Lilly Endowment foundation, enFocus is partnering with iNDustry Labs at Notre Dame to “unlock the benefits and resources” from a top-flight university, Wiand said.
Manufacturing jobs are an important part of the Indiana economy, accounting for more than 17% of the workforce. And it’s even more concentrated in the north central region — St. Joseph, Elkhart and Marshall counties — providing 26.7% of the area’s jobs.
That’s why enFocus and iNDustry Labs are concentrating their efforts on that sector of the economy, said John DeSalle, the first executive engineer-in-residence at iNDustry Labs. And he pointed out that manufacturing is even more concentrated in Elkhart County — providing about 40% of the jobs.
Initially, the effort will focus on transportation-related businesses since they account for the largest share of manufacturing jobs — providing gears, tires, brake components, panels and a host of other parts, as well as finished products such as RVs.
DeSalle, who previously served as president of Hoosier Racing Tire, will conduct outreach for iNDustry Labs at Notre Dame, while Michael Shoemaker, who previously served as a process engineer with the Ford Motor Co., will lead the enFocus fellows as program director of Industry Innovation.
Both enFocus and iNDustry Labs already have been reaching out to area manufacturers on ways they can help solve problems.
“Ultimately, our goal is to help build regional resilience with our manufacturers and regional industry to ensure they become or remain global competitors in a technologically advanced economy,” DeSalle said. “Our manufacturing-based region is highly susceptible to automation, and we’re trying to move it forward.”
For Notre Dame, the effort is among numerous initiatives over the past decade to take a more active role in boosting the vitality of the region.
While heading up Hoosier Tire, DeSalle didn’t know the scope of the equipment and the resources that were available at the university. “Our engineers were very good, but there were certain tests or equipment that we didn’t have,” he said.
As a result, those tests were typically sent out of the area.
And that’s why he believes enFocus and iNDustry labs will have to do quite a bit of outreach to local businesses, listening to their needs and then making recommendations on services that are available. The College of Engineering, for example, is building an Innovation Hub where businesses can conduct tests and interact with Notre Dame students and faculty.
“We recognize the difficulty local business leaders often have in finding technical talent that can help identify and implement digital advancements that result in competitive advantages,” Shoemaker said.
It’s ultimately about creating a culture of innovation throughout the region, Wiand said. Nearly 70% of the fellows that enFocus has attracted to the region have remained here, and some are launching new businesses because of the ideas that were developed while working here.
Link to South Bend Tribune article.