Tuesday, May 27, 2003
EDPros in West Texas are building a hub-and-spoke network of incubator facilities throughout the Panhandle area. This is an idea that EDPros in other rural regions should examine.
West Texas A&M University, with funding provided by the State of Texas and the U.S. Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration, will renovate an existing facility in Amarillo as the project’s hub location. This building will accommodate start-up and early-stage businesses and will house the administrative offices of the incubator program. Here's some additional background on the Amarillo facility.
A number of communities throughout the region have been selected as satellites of the hub facility. Amarillo will serve as the hub and the incubators will be located in Dumas, Plainview, Hereford, Borger, Pampa and Childress.
This week, the city commission in Dumas, TX approved a major commitment for a satelllite building. The building will located in the Dumas Business Park. The building will be connected through a virtual support system to allow entrepreneurs access to consulting and training services. Learn more. You can contact the Dumas Economic Development Corporation here.
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.
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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.
Rural West Texas builds a "hub and spoke" incubator network
