Saturday, October 19, 2002
Frustration is boiling over in Albuquerque. An economic development forum in Albuquerque concluded the city has no idea, or vision, of what it wants to be in terms of economic development. It needs a goal and a vision and a strategy and timetable on when to get there.
This is a good case study of what happens when a city fails to implement. Most economic development strategies fail to get into the hard-boiled world of implementation. If you want to judge quickly how good a strategy report is, look for an action plan. This is a clear table that lists who is going to do what by when. If there is no action plan, there is no strategy. You only have a general statement of sentiments, a wish list that leads nowhere.
As Bob Hoffman of the Economic Forum noted: "We need five action steps and let's get them done and report back in six months. I've seen 150 mission statements in the past 50 years, and I want to see something get done — action!".
Go
posted by Ed Morrison |
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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.
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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
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ED Forum in Albuquerque sees no clear vision
