Tuesday, February 03, 2004
A proposal in Kansas is starting to gain some momentum. The Kansas Economic Growth Act focuses on two initiatives: one in entrepreneurship and one in biosciences.
The plan strikes a tough balance between focus and inclusion, urban and rural. To be economically sensible, any state initiative needs to be focused on investment, and these investments tend to be geographically concentrated.
At the same time, to pass the legislature, the program must address the needs of rural legislators.
The proposal signals another step away from traditional recruitment as a primary focus of economic development. As one of the legislation's sposnors noted: "We've been saying all along that the economic strategy of robbing thy neighbor to try to recruit jobs to our state is no longer a satisfactory strategy. This initiative is clearly about trying to grow our own."
EDPros should pay particular attention to how the legislation foccuses on entrepreneurship and develops funding streams to support the proposed initiatives.
Read more about The Kansas Growth Act. Go. You can download background materials from this page.
posted by Ed Morrison |
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