Shaping public perceptions about ED challenges Friday, October 25, 2002 Too often academic centers are not geared toward providing helpful guidance to the public on critical economic development issues. In Arizona, the Morrison Institute (no relation) offers a different approach. The Institute makes a special effort to educate the public on the critical long term issues facing the state. EDPros shoud take a look at the "Five Shoes Waiting to Drop" web site. Then pass it on to business and education leaders in your community. This is a good example of how an academic institution can help EDPros shape the public debate over ED issues. I particularly like how the Morrison Institute has translated low education performance among Hispanic residents into dollars and sense. According to the Institute, the state could be earning an additional $2.1 billion in annual tax revenue if it could educate its Hispanic children as effectively as it does whites. (The figure is based on the assumption that Arizona Hispanics would be earning an additional $5.9 billion in annual income if their average education level was 13.5 years, the average for white Arizonans.) These are the types of comparisons that EDPros need to be promoting in their states. For example, a typi8cal high school drop-out costs a community between $200,000 and $300,000 in lost earnings. Read about how the Morrison Institute is improving the ED debate in Arizona. 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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