Commercial Diplomat of the Year

Trade and Investment

Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker Receives Commercial Diplomat of the Year Award- In 2015 alone, Secretary Pritzker has traveled to Cuba, building a foundation for new trade opportunities with a formerly estranged nation; spearheaded an inaugural bilateral Commercial Dialogue with India; held economic discussions with Tunisia and Ukraine; and continued to strengthen the United States’ critical relationship with China during President Xi’s visit. She has consistently worked to engage the private sector as a partner of government in support of important policies and reforms.

In Georgia, Deputy Secretary Andrews Discusses U.S. Support for Transforming Caucasus Region into Vibrant Trade Network- Last week, Commerce Deputy Secretary Bruce Andrews led a United States delegation to Tbilisi, Georgia, to reinforce the U.S. commitment to expanding the overall cooperation and economic partnership with Georgia. The delegation included the State Department’s Deputy Assistant Secretary in the Bureau of Energy Resources Bob Ichord and USAID Deputy Assistant Administrator Jonathan Katz.

In Netherlands, Deputy Secretary Andrews Reaffirms Importance of Open Transatlantic Digital Economy- Commerce Deputy Secretary Bruce Andrews made his first official trip to the Netherlands. He discussed the mutual benefits of an even stronger transatlantic ecosystem amid the current digital revolution, which presents opportunities to deepen the already substantial economic partnership between the United States and the Netherlands.

Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker to Visit Ukraine and Germany - During her trip, Secretary Pritzker will meet with government leaders to discuss progress on the country’s ambitious economic reform agenda. She will be joined by a group of American executives who will hear directly from Ukraine’s leaders on reforms being made, and will share their insights on the additional measures needed to strengthen Ukraine’s business climate. During her visit to Germany she will underscore the strength of the U.S.-German partnership and address some of our top shared priorities, including concluding the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership; fostering an open, innovation-based transatlantic digital economy; and supporting an independent Ukraine.

Innovation

Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker Presents a Path Forward for American Competitiveness at Center for American Progress- Before a diverse group of private and public leaders, media and academics, Secretary Pritzker emphasized the importance of making key long-term investments in the foundation of America’s economic growth – investments in people through skills training and immigration reform; investments in innovation and entrepreneurship; and investments in the country’s physical and digital infrastructure.

Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker Delivers Remarks at the Investing in Manufacturing Communities Partnership Summit- Run by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA), IMCP is an initiative that asks leaders in a region to identify a manufacturing sector where they have a comparative advantage and draft a comprehensive, strategic course of action that prioritizes the projects and investments needed locally to grow that sector. The communities with the best plans are then eligible to receive funding from 11 different federal agencies to support the implementation of their strategy.

Hacking the Future of Manufacturing to Roast Coffee at Home- Anyone who enjoys making things is taking part in manufacturing. Our country has mastered the art of mass production to efficiently build nearly everything consumers want. There is now a growing appreciation for the craftsmanship and distinctive character that go into small­batch building. FirstBuild’s inaugural “Manufacturing Hackathon” shows that quick and creative solutions that are possible when a diverse group of creators are enabled to design, build, test, and iterate at the speed of thought.

Minority Businesses: An Engine of Growth for American Manufacturing- Minority businesses are playing an integral part in keeping the ‘Made in America’ product strong as the U.S. manufacturing sector continues to rise.  Minority-owned manufacturing firms employ 342,000 workers and have recently grown faster than their non-minority counterparts in three areas—number of firms, employees and gross receipts.

FLATE Helps Florida Make an Impact Locally and Lead Nationally in Manufacturing Day/Month Tours & Events- Manufacturing Day (MFG DAY)  is a "big deal" in Florida and for the Florida Advanced Technological Education Center (FLATE).  Manufacturers all across the state have enthusiastically and energetically embraced this national effort to broadcast manufacturing industry's good news: "A career in manufacturing is good for you and your community. The work is interesting, challenging and the pay is great."  FLATE’s mission is to prepare and educate the manufacturing workforce in Florida, and MFG DAY “Made in Florida” tours is one of our strategies.

Connecting Students with Industry-Leading Manufacturing and Technology- Daimler Trucks North America's manufacturing plants represent a tremendous investment in machinery and technology, but our vehicles are ultimately built by people, the most important part of the process.

Environment

Get Sustainable Seafood Facts While on the Go—NOAA Presents FishWatch.gov for Mobile Devices- FishWatch provides data on the status of some of our nation’s most valuable marine and farmed fish that help meet our country’s growing demands for seafood. It profiles more than 100 marine species managed in our federal waters.

Oh T-sheets, Where Art Thou?- Have you ever wondered what beaches used to look like back in the day?  If so, you are not alone. Folks interested in answering that question often look to historical maps, such as NOAA T-sheets.

Data

World Statistics Day 2015: Better Data. Better Lives.- The United Nations General Assembly designated October 20, 2015 as the second-ever World Statistics Day to highlight the many achievements of national statistical systems across the globe. The U.S. government has a long history of collecting data about the nation’s people, places and economy – beginning with the first census in 1790. Today, the Census Bureau and other federal statistical agencies publish the statistics the nation uses to record progress and plan for the future.

USA Trade Online is Now FREE!- The newly redesigned USA Trade Online is now free for all users to access. In addition, current users will find many new data fields and functions. The change will make this Census Bureau-provided data tool an even more powerful instrument for accessing and viewing U.S. international trade data.

Census Bureau Opens 20th Research Data Center in Wisconsin- As we celebrate World Statistics Day and the importance of access to sound data, it’s a good time to recognize the recent opening of the Federal Statistical Research Data Center at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Research Data Centers like this give qualified researchers on approved projects access to restricted data that are vital to increasing our understanding of the U.S. population and economy.

Statisticians: A Goodness of Fit Test- In honor of World Statistics Day, let’s talk about statisticians. While lots of people use statistics in their jobs every day, such as sports writers, stock analysts, weather reporters, biologists, engineers, economists, sociologists, epidemiologists, practicing physicians, nuclear physicists and lots more, only 45,145 or so (standard deviation 2,150) describe themselves as “statisticians” on the American Community Survey.

Data Enabling a New Kind of Journalism- Statistics in journalism have been around for a long time -- most often associated with sports and financial stories. However, with new tools to help visualize complex statistics, data today is powering new and better ways to tell compelling stories.

New Residential Construction (September)- Building permits in September 2015 were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) of 1,103,000, down 5.0 percent from the revised August rate but up 4.7 percent from September 2014. Housing starts in September 2015 were at a SAAR of 1,206,000, up 6.5 percent from August and up 17.5 percent from September 2014.

Commerce Data in the News: Forbes magazine cites Census Bureau statistics on educational attainment, domestic migration, household income, poverty, commute-to-work times, neighborhood satisfaction and unemployment to write that Utah is the best, followed by North Carolina and Nebraska, in the article, Ranking the Best States for Business 2015: Behind the Numbers.

Business Insider cites Census Bureau statistics on commute-to-work times, unemployment, poverty, household income, educational attainment and housing affordability to write that New Albany, Ohio; Mountain Brook, Ala.; and Ladue, Mo., are the best places to be in the article, Ranked: The 50 Best Suburbs in America.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration discussed the strongest hurricane on record in a recent USA TODAY article, Strongest hurricane on record heads for Mexico.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration looked at the recovery of dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in a recent article in the Daily Times Gazette, Gulf of Mexico Recovers from Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill; Dolphin Deaths Continuously Decrease.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration projection for 2015 to be the warmest year on record was discussed in a recent New York Times blog, Warming Trend and El Niño Pushing 2015 Toward Record Books.

Data Releases Next Week:  New Residential Sales: September (Census); Advance Report on Durable Goods Manufacturers' Shipments, Inventories, and Orders: September (Census); Homeownership Rate: Q3 (Census); Gross Domestic Product (Advance): Q3 (BEA); Personal Income and Outlays: September (BEA)            

Operational Excellence

What Comes After Teaching Leadership?- Business schools today have placed a renewed emphasis on teaching leadership. Dawn Bailey explored this topic in a recent Blogrige post. As Dawn stated, one of the principles behind this shift is to cause a deep dive into values. And values-centered leadership is, in my opinion, a critical attribute of successful leadership.