Wednesday, February 18, 2004
Iowea is moving ahead with the Iowa Values Fund, an aggressive effort to build the foundation for technology-led economic development. The current weak spot in the plan is financing. The governor is now pushing the legislature to provide a more stable funding base. Read more.
At the same time, the Iowa strategy does not address the issues of rural development well. Inevitably, most of the funds from the Iowa Values Fund will held to urban areas.
The state needs a companion rural development strategy. Part of that strategy can be built by rural communities through regional collaboration. But that requires moving beyond some old mind sets. Read more.
posted by Ed Morrison |
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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.
Building the foundations in Iowa
