Wednesday, August 11, 2004
Toledo is struggling to reorganize its economic development efforts. The answers aren't simple, because the region's leadership has not come to a unified view of how the region should compete. Equally serious, trust levels among the leadership appear to be relatively low.
The leadership appears to be relying too much on outside consultants. They are missing a fundamental insight: Regional economic development is a process, not an event. Reports and reorganizations will not provide answers in the absence of new civic habits of collaboration. Read more.
These habits can start to form if the leadership puts aside organizational questions and focuses, instead, on how the region's strengths can be leveraged to compete. Structure follows strategy, not the other way around.
Toledo makes an interesting contrast to Buffalo, where the regionalism debate appears to be far more productive.
posted by Ed Morrison |
links
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 struggles to redefine its economic development efforts
