Friday, May 30, 2003
Higher education leaders in Northern Minnesota are moving forward with a number of interesting ideas to conect higher education and economic development in rural Minnesota.
Some years ago, they founded True North, a group of higher education institutions working collaboratively to serve the lifelong learning needs of the people in the Arrowhead region of northeastern Minnesota. True North started off by managing a series of dialogue sessions to align local communities to a set of common goals.
Now, they are moving ahead with a plan to launch technology-based businesses in vacant storefronts throughout the region. Local communities would acquire the property and then work with True North to get the training and support they need to manage them.
But that's not all. The centers will have broadband, student interns, and connections to seed capital. Learn more with this article and this article.
Today in our history of innovation...
In 1848, William G. Young of Baltimore, Md received the first U.S. patent for an ice cream maker.
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.
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.
Building entrepreneur networks in rural Minnesota
