Saturday, October 02, 2004
Most of us have grown up professionally in a world in which economic development and workforce development represented two distinct spheres. Most EDPros steered as far away from workforce issues as they could. No wonder. Workforce development has always seemed heavily bureaucratic and esoteric.
Now these boundaries are falling down. Here's a good example from Oklahoma. The governor is holding a conference on workforce and economic development. Tagged "The Power of E3", the conference will explore the connections of employment, education and economic development. Learn more.
This meeting provides a model for others to follow. This challenge of connecting education and economic development is not limited to the U.S. Also last week, New Zealand held a conference on Learning for the Information Age. The conference highlighted the importance of creating a more responsive, flexible education system. Read more.
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.
Connecting education and economic development
