THE PROPOSED WILL BUILD ON THE REGION?S COMPREHENSIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY (CEDS) TO DEVELOP A FRAMEWORK FOR SEEDING NEW INDUSTRY CLUSTERS IN THE CLEAN ENERGY SECTOR WHILE RETAINING AND GROWING JOBS IN THE EMERGING BIOTECHNOLOGY MANUFACTURING SECTOR. THE PROJECT WILL ALSO DEFINE A ROADMAP FOR MAKING REGIONAL INVESTMENTS TO PREPARE PEOPLE AND PLACES FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH AND PROSPERITY. THE FOCUS WILL BE ON GROWING MIDDLE-WAGE JOBS THAT PROVIDE OPPORTUNITIES TO WORKERS WITHOUT A COLLEGE DEGREE WHO CURRENTLY TRAVEL LONG DISTANCES FOR LOWER-WAGE JOBS.