Tuesday, February 10, 2004
Mississippi's new governor Haley Barbour wants the state legislature to restore $100 million in cuts from higher education.
Alabama's governor Bob Riley agrees with the strategy.
Riley points out that a new economic development model is emerging, a model that builds economic strategies around higher education.
According to Riley, “So many of our sister Southern states have taken a new economic model. They’re using the areas of higher education as the catalyst to move their states forward...If you look at these states that have the most aggressive, the most innovative economic models, it’s the ones who use higher education as a core component.” ”
Barbour underscores the point: “Our businesses have three choices: They can innovate, they can immigrate or they can evaporate — and that’s just the plain cold hard facts. If we don’t help our businesses innovate and become more productive so that they can stay competitive, then they’re not going to be here.
“Our universities are economic gold mines, and, hopefully, we’re about to learn how to mine them better.”
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.
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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.
Mississippi's governor has got it right
