Wednesday, April 21, 2004
A new plan to invest city pension funds into a venture capital fund went before the Kalamazoo city commission this week. This idea first surfaced last summer as Kalamazoo tried to adjust to lay-offs from Pfizer.
Southwest Michigan First, the county ED organization, proposed establishing a venture fund to enable scientists to launch their own ventures.
The first proposal didn't fly. Now a second proposal went before the commission this week. Learn more.
Read about Kalamazoo's "Stick Around" Talent Retention/Company Creation strategy. Go.
The strategy is showing promising signs of success. Read more. Article 1 and Article 2.
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.
Kalamazoo's plan to invest in start-ups
