Sunday, April 25, 2004
Acrtiss the country, economic development organizations are stretching the traditional boundaries. Here's another example. In Mississippi, Three Rivers Community and Economic Development Corporation operates an after-school program for "at risk" students.
What's the sense of this? We all face the same realities: We have too many students dropping out of high school. As a result, we have too few students pursuing postsecondary education. Workforce shortages are appearing across the country in everything from physical therapists to long haul truckers.
Equally important, drop-outs add to the high social costs we all must pay. We not only lose their potential income, we are more likely to pay direct costs for dependency. For example, it generally costs over $20,000 per year to house a prisoner.
Learn more about the after school program. Go.
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.
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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 after school program
