Monday, January 20, 2003
Cleveland County, North Carolina is located in the western part of the state on the South Carolina border. It's a drive to the technology "hot spots". About 100,000 people live in the county, though, so it's not small. (Shelby is the largest city.) Employment has been shrinking at about 2% a year, largely because of the erosion of the textile industry. Unemployment is about 10%.
Look closer at Cleveland County and you see an economic development strategy that makes sense. They have figured out that their core economic asset is brainpower, not land and certainly not "life style" (whatever that means).
Two years ago, county leaders formed the Job Development Task Force to bring together the different economic development and workforce development efforts in the county. Now the task force includes the chamber, the workforce board, the community colleges, and others.
Not only have they done a good job bringing people together, they have also worked hard to manage expectations, a key tactic in and economic development strategy. Learn more. 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
Download some background information on me here.
Cleveland County, NC pulls itself together...
