Development Report Card for the States released Friday, December 20, 2002 The Corporation for Enterprise Development has released the latest edition of its controversial Development Report Card for the States. Go The report card is controversial, because of both the framework it employs and the measures it uses. Traditional state economic development programs that are based on a recruitment strategy do not generally do well. The CFED report uses 71 criteria ranging from air quality to unemployment rates. So, for example, Arkansas' economic development chief calls the CFED ""a Washington think tank... made up of a bunch of pipe-smokers and dreamers." Read more. What we have here is a failure to communicate. The CFED report points in the right direction...but it is not communicating effectively with state legislators who need the most help. No one can get their head around 71 indicators. The point of keeping score is to find the right metrics to drive performance. Fewer is better. These metrics need to be clearly linked to factors that drive success in the knowledge economy. And the rationale needs to be quickly and easily communicated. Concepts like "development capacity" are non-starters for most politicians. There's also an underlying tone in the CFED work: We can get some of these people to change if we shame them into it. This approach does not play well. My advice: use the CFED indicators but drop the grading. The point is to measure improvements and to set measurable goals. Then use these goals to guide legislators to a more productive pattern of state economic development investment. Judging from the reaction in Arkansas, CFED should rethink its approach. 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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