Monday, June 28, 2004
A new consulting report has triggered a debate in Toledo about restructuring the region's economic development organization. Among their conclusions: Toledo has too many agencies, with unclear roles. "The result is inefficiency and underperformance." To remedy the situation, the consultants have proposed a reorganization.
Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority and the Regional Growth Partnership sit in the middle of the controversy.
To clarify development efforts further, the consultants also propose focusing on six clusters: plastics, engineering services, automotive components, logistics/warehousing, propulsion systems/advanced manufacturing, and biomedical engineering/medical apparatus.
The idea of a new effort is not going over all that smoothly. Read more.
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.
Toledo focuses on streamlining economic development efforts
