Wednesday, March 12, 2003
Pittsburgh's Regional Alliance is taking important steps to build its global connections.
When you compare U.S. economic development organizations with those in Europe or Asia, one feature stands out. In the U.S., export promotion is not highly valued. In the U.S., good trade promotion programs are few and far between.
Pittsburgh's start makes sense. It is modest and low cost. They have a new newsletter (GlobalPittsburgh News) a new networking group (GlobalPittsburgh Network) and a new web site (www.globalpittsburgh.org).
If you are interested in moving ahead in this area, explore the U.S. government export portal (where you can get slightly dated metro export statistics), a basic guide to exporting (where you can learn the lingo), or, better yet, a good foreign trade promotion portal. If you are involved in global business, or just starting, this book should be on your shelf. Cultural sensitivity matters a lot, and you should appreciate that people view just about everything from different vantage points. (EDPros in Kentucky got one at their recent annual meeting.)
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.
Pittsburgh launches global initiative
