Friday, February 28, 2003
Famous site selection consultant Dennis Donovan has come to Wichita and told them to invest at least $1 million a year in economic development. Earlier, a fund-raising consultant also recommended a big, new $1 million push in economic development.
There's only one problem. Wichita's business and political leadership is falling apart.
Wichita's problem points to a lesson that EDPros cannot afford to forget: Economic development starts with forging a consensus. Forget the grand plans, the outside consultants. Until a community's leadership can adhere to a few basic rules of civic behavior -- a simple code of conduct -- economic development is impossible.
(For more background, see my earlier post below, "Wichita misses a few steps in between".)
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.
Wichita, Part II
