Leaning into the sharp points of outsourcing Saturday, October 02, 2004 Outsourcing is both relentless and a fact of life. It's also true that the press has probably exaggerated the short term impacts of outsourcing on our economy, but we have probably underestimated the long term impacts. (See a recent analysis by Brookings: Go. Here's another by the Public Policy Institute of California. Go. Also, a week ago, the Government Accountability Office released a report saying that there is not enough evidence to reach any firm policy recommendations. Download the report. Go.) Take the case of call centers. After a recent report on 60 Minutes, you'd think that outsourcing had devastated our call center business. But as the folks in Spokane are finding, companies are still investing in call centers. Read more. At the same time, business process outsourcing has become an important long term economic development strategy for developing countries. Here's a good article on what is happening in Vietnam. Learn more. How to we respond? The state legislature in California has got it wrong. They recently passed a bill "outlawing" the State's vendors and contractors from outsourcing. Last week, the governor vetoed the bill. Read more. The EDPros in Washington State have it right. Lean into the sharp points of outsourcing. Form commercial relationships. According to this article from a Vietnamese newspaper, Washington State hopes to develop long term trading relationships with Vietnam. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison |		This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License. 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. So, spread the word...Share the knowledge. Tell a friend about EDPro Weblog. 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.

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