Friday, April 09, 2004
Mark Drabenstott is one of the leading vopices for new economic development strategies in rural areas. He's vice president and director of the Center for Study of Rural America with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.
Last week in Iowa, Drabenstott put the challenge clearly: "We need to start believing that we are interdependent, not independen. We need to stop thinking like the independent Swedish farmer and start thinking like a quilting bee. We can't let county, city or state lines keep us from working together."
Drabenstott spoke at one of the first events of the new Cedar Valley Alliance. Formed in February, the Cedar Valley Alliance connects Waterloo andd Cedar Rapids.
The Alliance strikes a balance between supporting cooperative action and supporting the individual identities of the member organizations. The Alliance brings together chambers, Main Street groups, tourism bureaus, economic development organizations, and local governments.
Learn more about how the Alliance is put together. 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.
If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site:
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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.
Think interdependence
