Continuing challenge for EDPros: Realigning business groups

Saturday, January 17, 2004

One of the major challenges facing EDPros is re-engineering business groups to overcome fragmentation and build a regional focus. You can see this development happening in a number of places: Baltimore, Cleveland, Silicon Valley and Charleston, SC to name a few.

Add Minneapolis-St. Paul to the list. Business leaders have formed the Itasca Group to foucs on a handful of regional issues: transportation, education, support of small companies. Read more.

Last week, I released a regional plan for South Carolina along the same lines. We called for a regional council on quality growth. Read more.

Here's another example -- on a smaller scale -- of realigning business leaderswhip in Clermont County outside Cincinnati. Read more

Taking this step is tricky. Business leadership is essential in order to frame the appropriate economic development issues. Business leadership is also essential for execution. But standing alone, business leadership is not enough.

Economic development also demands public participation. Multiple voices. Dialogue and inclusion. Balancing the two -- public participation and leadership direction -- is the tough part.

posted by Ed Morrison |

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