Friday, January 30, 2004
Michigan's governor gets it.
The future of competitive regional economies will be based on a combination of brainpower, innovation and quality places.
This approach works in big regions and small neighborhoods. Here are some excerpts from Governor Granholm's State of the State address:
"In the last century, businesses came to Michigan looking for strong backs. Today, they also need strong minds ready for continuous learning. To fill this need, I am announcing that we will completely re-engineer work force training in Michigan."
"Today we need to instill that entrepreneurial thinking to get our residents and our young people imagining themselves signing the checks, being the boss, the innovator, the producer of wealth and jobs."
"Michigan's greatest economic successes have always been tied to the creative and productive power of our cities...[T]he work force of tomorrow wants to live where it's happening, and employers will not come here if that future work force - the technology work force - has left us for New York or Boston or Chicago."
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.
Michigan's governor gets it
