Friday, March 14, 2003
EDPros in Northwest Pennsylvania are shifting gears to a more entrepreneurial approach to economic development. A new Center for eBusiness will focus on improving the absorption of information technology by area companies, as well as encourage the development of new technology-based clusters.
Read more here with some additional background on Gov. Rendell's approach here.
You can explore the e-Business center through its web site. Although the site is unpolished for an e-business initiative, it does focus on a critical, emerging dimension of economic development: e-business.
The Europeans have been far out in front of EDPros in the U.S. in focusing on e-business opportunities. But this will be changing, as EDPros develop more focused business expansion and retention programs. (Over time, we'll even lose the term "business retention and expansion" and instead focus on the underlying processes of innovation and entrepreneurship.)
posted by Ed Morrison |
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.
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.
Northwest Pennsylvania moving on e-business
