Monday, February 03, 2003
By all accounts, Howard County, Maryland is not small. It has a population of 250,000. At the smae time, it faces a problem that most small counties confront: stemming the brain drain.
The Chamber of Commerce, working with the schools, has launched a new strategy to reduce the brain drain. The approach could teach EDPros in smaller counties how to keep their "best and brightest".
The initiative combines classroom instruction in business with one-on-one contacts with area businesses. Students vie for summer internships.
The students visit three local businesses -- one a month -- and spend two hours with an executive touring the company's facilities and learning about the types of management jobs available. Business leaders give students a sense of the education path required for those jobs and what a person might expect coming from college, and how a person might work his or her way through the ranks of the company.
This approach can work anywhere, and EDPros can use it to address continuing concerns about a brain drain. Read more. Learn more from the Howard County Chamber.
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.