California to open trade office in Tahiti Tuesday, July 22, 2003 Just kidding. But not by much. Anytime you read an article on economic development with the term, "rhetorical flatulence", you know you are on to something. Well, it appears that the California Trade Agency's 12 foreign offices are under fire. Here's the official version. "Technology, Trade and Commerce Agency's twelve overseas offices promote exports and foreign investment by matching California products and services with foreign buyers..." blah, blah blah. You get the idea. Now here's what they are saying in the press: Michael D. White, editor of the CalTrade Report, characterizes the state's trade promotion effort as a "sad, pathetic disaster". Head of the San Diego-based California Trade Network comments: "Although I was once a huge believer in this type of program I have sadly reached the conclusion that the foreign trade offices should be shut down." (With friends like these..) Well, there may be something to the charge that California cares more about politics than trade. Last summer, California passed legislation to establish another trade office...this time in Armenia (no joke). When a reporter contacted companies about what kind of help they had received from the foreign offices, the performance metrics turned downright ugly: And 31 of 58 businesses she was able to contact denied that the state's overseas offices had been of much help. Hmm, let's do the math: 31 divided by 58... (That's not all. Another six firms told her the deals cited by the trade agency never actually occurred.) Now here's the good part. In an e-mail to other state trade development officers, Gregory Davis, Deputy Director of California Technology, Trade & Commerce Agency in the Office of Export Development writes to his colleagues (presumably with a straight face): "Just be sure that the performance measures in place are acceptable to all those who may have an opinion on the effectiveness of these global outposts. Do your best to assure that reporting is completely accurate and that clearly stated goals and work plans are always in place, reviewed and updated regularly." I'm protecting my source on this one. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison |		This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. 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. So, spread the word...Share the knowledge. Tell a friend about EDPro Weblog. 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.

The Web EDPro Weblog