In a proactive response to changes in federal defense budgets, the North Carolina Defense Industry Diversification Initiative (DIDI) was created in 2017. The initiative has been managed through a partnership between NC State Industry Expansion Solutions (IES) and the North Carolina Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (NCDMVA), and funded through a grant awarded by the United State Department of Defense Office of Economic Adjustment. The goal is to understand, support and respond to the needs of North Carolina’s defense businesses at the state level.
SDG, a supply chain mapping consultant for the initiative, along with IES and NCDMVA, will present the results of the Defense Supply Chain Mapping and SWOT analysis (NCDMVA). A series of town hall meetings will take place in March and April across the state.
Defense contractors, regional/local economic developers, defense business associations, local/regional leaders/politicians, department of commerce and representatives from the Governor’s office are invited. The five locations and dates for the town hall events are:
- March 14 – Rocky Mount (Gateway Technology Center)
- March 20 – Asheville (The Collider)
- April 12 – Fayetteville (Fayetteville Technical Community College)
- April 19 – Raleigh/Durham (The Frontier in RTP)
- April 25 – Greensboro (Nano Technology Center, NC A&T)
Attendees will need to register on Eventbrite at https://www.eventbrite.com/ Registration will open for each event approximately four weeks before each town hall.
