Tuesday, June 17, 2003
The UK, Canada, and New Zealand are generally ahead of U.S. EDPros is recognizing the creative industries as an engine for growth. (Most of us are still stuck thinking about "the arts" as a "quality of life" amenity.)
Here's some background on a creative industries incubator in Wellington, New Zealand that launched in March.
Two good quotes from the director:
“It’s a proven fact that incubators grow businesses faster and more successfully than would otherwise be the case. The on-site support, the mentoring, the shared services, the clustering of like-minded people together. It’s about banging ideas around and making it happen.”
"We should be graduating students and graduating businesses, sometimes both together. I want our graduates to understand that there are the opportunities here, that they can be passionate about innovation, technology and building new ideas and find support for their fledgling ideas within this environment. And all they need to pay is the price of the desk.”
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.
New Zealand's first creative industries incubator
