Friday, December 24, 2004
As we move toward an economy driven by knowledge and innovation, universities are playing a different and more central role in regional economic development. The colleges and universities do not have to be big to have an impact.
We've all heard stories of Stanford and MIT. Smaller institutions are also having significant impacts: Like Albion College in Albion, Michigan, Ashland University in Ashland, OH or Old Dominion University (ODU) in Norfolk.
We are seeing the new view of colleges and universities in an increasing number of economic impact reports that institutions are producing. For example, Utah's research universities published a report within the past two weeks. Read more.
Here's a good article on the changes taking place at ODU. It also provides a good overview of the changing rroles of colleges and universities in economic development. Read more.
The article references an excellent report by CEOs for Cities: Leveraging Colleges and Universities for Urban Economic Growth: An Urban Action Agenda. You can download a copy from this page.
posted by Ed Morrison |
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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.
Colleges and universities as economic engines
