New Britain, CT builds ties with Poland Friday, September 05, 2003 Here's an interesting story of how a smaller community is building business connections in Eastern Europe. Go. This move is smart. Market dynamics in Eastern Surope are shifting. Ten Central and Eastern European countries about to join the European Union's single market. (In 2004, 10 new states -- Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Malta, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia -- will join the European Union. That's about 75 million people.) Auto manufacturers, especially, are interested in Eastern Europe. As one analyst notes: "The big thing that's driving the East European industry at the moment is the fact that countries like the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland are about to join the EU. This really makes starting up a new factory in Central Europe very, very attractive to vehicle manufacturers, especially the Japanese and the Koreans, who want to increase their market share in Western Europe. Because if these countries all become part of the European Union, it means they can build a new factory, on cheap land, with nice government grants, and a well-trained labor force." Read more about what is going on in Eastern Europe. Go. Today in our history of innovation... In 1885, Sylvanus Bowser, inventor of the first U.S. gas pump, made his initial sale to Jake Gumper, owner of a service station in Fort Wayne, Indiana. 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.

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