Austin moving to develop ED plan Sunday, October 06, 2002 The economic slump has hit Austin hard, and the City is moving to become more aggressive in economic development. Two members of the City Council are teaming withthe chamber and a local consulting firm to produce an economic development "white paper" by the end of the year. The plan will likely address the city's ailing semiconductor sector (employment dow 7% since last year), as well as emerging sectors the region wants to develop: biotech, film and multimedia. This project will be a good one to watch. More than most regions, Austin has its act together when it comes to workforce development. At the same time, early talk is focusing on traditional incentives as well -- tax abatements and ultility discounts. How will these be balanced and coordinated between outside prospects and expanding, Austin-based firms? Will Austin make the same mistake so many other regions have made by not supporting local, growth-oriented companies? Compare Memphis to Austin. Memphis is focusing its efforts on a "talent magnet" strategy. It's problem: how can we attract a lot of smart people? Austin already has a lot of talent, so how will its economic development strategy evolve from the basic approach developed by the Chamber in the mid-1980's? More important, what role will the development of entrepreneurial networks play in the new strategy? The key to building a resilient economy is creating dense networks of innovation. It will be interesting to see whether this new "white paper" moves in this direction. Learn more. Go posted by Ed Morrison |		This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. links Some Background on EDPro Weblog The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it. One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information. So, spread the word...Share the knowledge. Tell a friend about EDPro Weblog. If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site: Here's the link if you are a bloglines subscriber: Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking. Background on Ed Morrison Download some background information on me here.

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