Tuesday, October 08, 2002
Innovation Philadelphia (IP) released its innovation benchmarking yesterday. The release of the Index coincided with the announcement of a $447,000 grant from US EDA to fund a series of studies that IP hopes will lead to a coordinated technology based, cluster driven, economic development strategy for the Greater Philadelphia Region.
The focus of this research is impressive. It drills down to the level of detail needed to build clusters. Among the issues to be explored: innovation diagnostics, the research base for nanotechnology and life sciences, workforce development systems to support these clusters, university and industry technology consortia, angel investment, and knowledge partnerships for student engagement and retention.
IP is a new public/private partnership with the following mission: "to enhance the global innovation economy of Philadelphia by increasing the research investment in strategic technologies from federal, state, private and industrial resources".
The Innovation Index is another way to raise the visibility of innovation and entrepreneurship in a local economy. Massachusetts started compiling an innovation index some years ago, and the trend is catching on. Download a copy. 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.
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.
Innovation Philadelphia
