Shifting direction in economic development Saturday, November 27, 2004 In the past, most communities followed the traditional path in economic development. This approach focuses on marketing industrial land and buildings to outside investors. In recent years, more and more communities are moving toward a newer model of economic development based on supporting knowledge intensive businesses. These are businesses that thrive on brainpower and creativity. This new approach to economic development represents a marked departure from older thinking. In traditional economic development, civic leaders focused extensively on commercial and industrial real estate. Strategic planning consisted of identifying the major investments within a community that could be jointly supported by the public and private sectors. These investments typically included infrastructure, land acquisition, and building construction. Building prosperity in a knowledge economy requires us to think of economic development in a different way. Commercial and industrial real estate continues to play an important part in the economic development equation. Yet, real estate development, standing alone, does not capture the full range of investments that a community or region must make to be competitive. In a knowledge-based economy, collaboration and social networks play the central role in building prosperity. The Internet has become the metaphor for how this knowledge economy works. In traditional economic development, we saw a regional economy as a collection of physical assets or "things". In a knowledge economy, we see a regional economy as a set of networks embedded in other networks. Evidence of this shift is happening across the country. And it's not simply limited to large metro areas. Here's an example of one rural community that is making this shift in the middle of Virginia's coalfields. 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.

The Web EDPro Weblog