Thursday, September 18, 2003
Building the New Wisconsin Economy is a two-year project designed to engage the public and stimulate a high-profile, ongoing public discussion about the importance of economic development in Wisconsin.
As a cooperative effort, the project aims to bring education, business, and labor together with local citizens and decision-makers to discuss and develop ongoing economic development activities.
The biggest challenge will be translating ideas into action. Wisconsin leaders have extensively studied their state's economic position. Now, however, they must move to implementation. And they are attempting to engage a very pessimistic public.
This two year process will not deliver. It is largely a civic journalism exercise. From this perspective, it may do more harm than good. People are genuinely tired of talking about our economic challenges. They want direction on what to do. They are looking for engagement, not more keynote speeches.
In 1830, B&O locomotive Tom Thumb, the first locomotive built in America, lost a 14 kilometer race to a horse. Tom Thumb sprung a boiler leak.
posted by Ed Morrison |
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.
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.
Wisconsin's initiative headed...where?
