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Dell's expansion as seen from Tennessee
Monday, July 12, 2004 Five years ago, Dell chose Tennessee for the location of its first expansion outside Texas. Now Tennessee EDPros feel themselves on the sidelines as "Project Merlin" moves ahead in North Carolina. Project Merlin represents a Dell manufacturing and distribution project: 400,000 square feet in Greensboro, near a newly planned FedEX hub. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Michigan struggles to keep up with biotech commitments Five years ago, Michigan committed to invest $50 million a year for twenty years in life sciences. A recession and a budget crunch have cut into these plans. Investments this year will total about $18.5 million for life sciences. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Wisconsin starts its angel program Wisconsin state officials are meeting with investors and venture capitalists to design the new incentive porgram for angel investing. Legislation passed this spring provides $30 million in tax credits over the next 10 years for angel investors and an additional $35 million for investment funds that back early-stage companies. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Economy Watch Saturday, July 10, 2004 Here's the best economics writing I found last week: Kerry's economic balancing act A look at next week's economic reports Vital Signs for the Week of July 12 Update 1: Consumer Confidence Still Growing Weak data raises concern over US economic outlook Message war over economy Non-manufacturing activity sinks posted by Ed Morrison | Resource: Review of incentive and job quality triggers A number of states and localities tie incentives to different measures of job quality. Here's a report that reviews these provisions. Download. posted by Ed Morrison | Athens, OH shifts the mix Add the chamber in Athens, OH to the ED groups that have figured out that the name of the game has shifted from recruitment to innovation. Read more. Someone estimated that there are about 10,000 economic development organizations in the US. My guess is that only about 5% are managed by people who really understand that strengthening regional innovation systems represents the central challenge for economic development in the years ahead. "Clusters" represents a shorthand term to describe regional innovation systems. The problem is that most EDPros don't really understand the concept. Many of us think "clusters" (a productivity concept) represents the same thing as "targeting" (a marketing concept). (See, for example, the comments of Mike Olivier, Louisiana's new economic development chief here. The changes sweeping our economy are far more profound. We are moving into an era of Netowrk Cappitalism in which value is generated by networks. These changes will carry deep impacts on our regional economies. For example, read how one venture capitalist in Silicon Valley predicts that the emergence of India and China will have profound impacts on Silicon Valley. Go. posted by Ed Morrison | Roadmap to improve Iowa Values Fund The Iowa Supreme Court struck down the Iowa Values Fund, but it is likely to come back in some form. A new report by The Iowa Policy Project outlines a road map to improve the legislation when it is reintroduced. Read more. The report explores the thorny problem of providing incentives to "high wage" jobs. The author maintains that the wage and job thresholds in the old scheme were too low and that the policy was full of loopholes. Download a copy of the report. posted by Ed Morrison | Jacksonville reviews its incentive policies Jacksonville, FL is reviewing its incentive policy, a step other communities should follow on a regular basis. But the experience also points to the frustrations that often pop up with public reviews: You have to explain the policy and be open to critiques. In the end, though, this transparency is critical to building political consensus. Read more about the process in Jacksonville. Go. posted by Ed Morrison | Technology corridor forming along the Missouri River Civic leaders in Nebraska and South Dakota are seeing a new technology corridor along the Missouri River. They have come to an important insight: in a world of global competition, far more unites us than divides us. Our interdependencies are the source of our economic strength. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Missouri governor signs new economic development law Missouri enacted new legislation to spur economic development in the state. The Job Now legislation provides more incentives for incumbent worker training, among other initiatives. The training support is targeted to companies with more than 100 employees. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Anatomy of a deal: Dell in North Carolina One thing is for sure: When it comes to incentives, Dell is in the dirver's seat. Forsyth County (Winston-Salem) in North Carolina is putting together the biggest package in a decade. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Experiential tourism Thursday, July 08, 2004 Many rural communities are coming to understand the importance of a tourism strategy built around their natural, cultural, and historical resources. One consulting firm, Fermata, has built a business advising rural communities on these strategies. Learn more about one community in Kansas. Go. Visit the Fermata web site. posted by Ed Morrison | Technology corridor emerging in Indiana One of the important aspects of economic development comes in the emergence of new technology clusters. As EDPros we like to think that we can "target" clusters and develop them. The truth is that clusters emerge largely on their own. Here is an example from Indiana. Read more. You can read the original article here. We are far better off identifying these emerging market patterns and facilitating the connections among companies and support organizations. Clusters are not "things", like industrial parks or spec buildings. They are systems of innovation. We can strengthen these systems by promoting collaborations among related organizations. posted by Ed Morrison | Development along the Kennebec In the knowledge economy, competitive communities are building quality, connected places...places that people want to live and work. Not surprisingly, major natural features that we tended to ignore in the past have become focal points for new business development. Here's an example. In Maine, the revitalization of the Kennebec has led to new development opportunities all along the river. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Resource: State policies to promote entrepreneurship Here is a good guide from the National Governors Association on policies to promote rural entrepreurship. Download the report. It provides a useful framework to focus your thinking on options available for rural communities. Some weaknesses: The report does not explore in sufficient detail the connections among heritage or eco-tourism strategies, branding, and the development of other business clusters in arts, culture and specialty foods. In addition, the report does not address how broadband internet strategies are opening new opportunities for rural areas. Finally, the report does not address the promising approach of social network analysis to build networks of rural entrepreneurs. posted by Ed Morrison | New York State creates center for energy technologies New York State has awarded $10 million to establish a new center on the campus of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. The center represents a parterneship among RPI, Cornell University and the Brookhaven National Laboratory. The center will focus on renewable energy and energy conservation systems, including fuel cells and the hydrogen economy, smart lighting, smart displays, and emerging renewable energy systems.Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Web Watch: Greensboro launches a new site location web site More communities are moving to integrate GIS into their web sites. Greensboro is the latest. Read more. Visit the site. posted by Ed Morrison | Kentucky's new branding campaign Kentucky is moving on a new branding campaign. Read more Article 1. Article 2. posted by Ed Morrison | More on Louisiana's new director Mike Olivier, Louisiana's new economic development chief, is starting out with some blunt talk and a small cloud of controversy. Article 1 and Article 2. The state doesn't need a harder sell. Instead, Louisiana needs leadership to wake itself to the new realities of global competition in the knoweldge age. Here's a place to start. Read an excellent paper on best practices from the National Governors Association. Download. posted by Ed Morrison | Louisiana tries to buff its image Friday, July 02, 2004 Louisiana is trying to dispel the notion that corruption is a common way of doing business in the state. Governor Blanco has passed three ethics reforms, but old patterns of behavior will take time to change. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Reinventing Cleveland Cleveland is an old industrial city...From 1880 to 1930, Northeast Ohio was the Silicon Valley of the Industrial Era. Innnovation drove the economy. Cleveland's patenting rate was the highest in the nation. And this innovation attracted talent, entrepreneurs and capital from across the country. Northeast Ohio's relative manufacturing productivity peaked during World War II, and the region's leadership missed the next wave of innovation in electronics. By the mid-1950's, the Northeast Ohio's technology base had matured and started to decline. By the late 1970's, when the first wave of globalization hit, the collapse of major industrial sectors drove the city into bankruptcy. In the early 1980's Cleveland began its recovery. The path started with large scale investments in downtown: a publicly-led, privately supported strategy. This work (led in part by my brother, Hunter, who was city planner) led to a new face for downtown. Read more. Now Cleveland's leadership faces another challenge...defining a regional strategy that is privately-led and publicly supported. This will be far trickier to pull off. posted by Ed Morrison | Consultant report: US companies not "offshoring" enough EDPro Mark Waterhouse has sent this link along. A report by an influential consulting firm is exhorting U.S. companies to speed up "offshoring" operations to China and India, including high-powered functions such as research and development. In blunt terms, the report by the Boston Consulting Group warns American firms that they risk extinction if they hesitate in shifting facilities to countries with low costs. That is partly because the potential savings are so vast, but the report also cites a view among U.S. executives that the quality of American workers is deteriorating. Boston Consulting Group, which counts among its clients many of the biggest corporations in the United States, admonishes them that they have been too reluctant rather than too eager to outsource production to "LCC's," or low-cost countries. The report, released in May, has gone almost unnoticed amid generally upbeat news as strong economic growth has begun fueling an increase in jobs, diminishing public debate about offshoring. But the report's conclusions underline the intensifying pressures on corporate America to shift jobs overseas. Although many economists believe the trend will benefit the U.S. economy overall by improving productivity, and that new job creation will more than compensate for the jobs migrating to China and India, the study suggests that the movement of jobs abroad is likely, if anything, to accelerate strongly in coming years. Source. (Free registration required.) posted by Ed Morrison | Ah, Governor... Wednesday, June 30, 2004 North Carolina has a reputation for being aggressive with incentives, but here's a case where the governor should have sat on his wallet. The owner of an auto auction business says that he would have relocated from Virginia to North Carolina without incentives. No wonder. When he tried to move his business to Suffolk, VA, the owner was convicted of extortion. It turns out that he needed a zoning change. To get it, he hired an exotic dancer and tried to photograph a city council member in a compromising situation. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | The underside of the baseball business Tuesday, June 29, 2004 Baseball may be the American passtime, but it is also a remarkable case of corporate welfare and misguided economic development thinking. Here's an detailed three part series that gives you some insight into the real deals. It's not a pretty picture. The take-away: To buy the Expos, some community will have to build a stadium at public expense. I found the story of Miller Field in Milwaukee amusing. Bud Selig, owner of the Brewers, ended up with the whole enchilada at public expense. The only contribution he made was from the sale of naming rights to a stadium paid for by the taxpayers. Even better: The conservative columnist George Will -- the staunch defender of private enterprise -- thinks Selig is the greatest commissioner of all times. Selig plays hardball on stadium deals Expos for sale: Cities know price Angelos, Selig Last Men Standing in D.C.'s Way posted by Ed Morrison | Toledo focuses on streamlining economic development efforts Monday, June 28, 2004 A new consulting report has triggered a debate in Toledo about restructuring the region's economic development organization. Among their conclusions: Toledo has too many agencies, with unclear roles. "The result is inefficiency and underperformance." To remedy the situation, the consultants have proposed a reorganization. Toledo-Lucas County Port Authority and the Regional Growth Partnership sit in the middle of the controversy. To clarify development efforts further, the consultants also propose focusing on six clusters: plastics, engineering services, automotive components, logistics/warehousing, propulsion systems/advanced manufacturing, and biomedical engineering/medical apparatus. The idea of a new effort is not going over all that smoothly. Read more. Report: Toledo, county lag in development results Single agency eyed to channel development posted by Ed Morrison | Pennsylvania's new angel investor program Pennsylvania has approved the first investment under a unique initiative to stimulate angel investing. The State, through the Ben Franklin Investment Partners program, guarantees 25% of the angel investment. The angel investors pay a 1.5% annual fee on the guaranteed amount. In the first deal, the total angel investment was $300,000. The State is guaranteeing 25% or $62,500. If the deal tanks, the State pays this amount to the investors. If the deal works, the State participates in the upside. Learn more. posted by Ed Morrison | Economy Watch Saturday, June 26, 2004 Here's what happened in the economy last week: U.S. growth slows in quarter Bloated trade deficit slows economy Wall Street economists see quarter-point June rate hike Vital Signs for the Week of June 28 US Consumer Confidence Jumps 5 Pts In Latest Week posted by Ed Morrison | The impact of Dell on the Triad It's got to be one of the worst kept secrets in North Carolina. Dell is looking at the Triad region of North Carolina to establish a manufacturing and distribution hub. The state will push hard to get the project, especially when you look at the impacts the project could have on the region. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Resource: Dispatches from the Frontier Friday, June 25, 2004 One of the wonderful aspects of the Internet comes in meeting new people. My colleague, George Nemeth, author of Brewed Fresh Daily and partner in Smart Meeting Design, introduced me to Dave Bayless, and his Pioneer Entrepreneurs web site. Dave publishes Dispatches from the Frontier, a very thoughtful newsletter on the future of economic development. My recommendation: read it. George and I got on the phone recently with Dave and had a really engaging discussion. Dave is an engaging person who is thinking hard about where economic development is heading. Dave's June 24 newsletter includes a post on a new book, Boomtown USA. The book explores how the explosion of the Internet opens new opportunities for small towns. Jack Schultz, the author, was recently in Moses Lake, WA where he spoke about how small towns, like Moses Lake, can compete in today's economy. Read more. Dave provides us with a good review of the book. His recommendation: buy it. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Managing brainpower in Pennsylvania In Philadelphia, civic leaders are having some success in holding on to their younger talent. A recent survey of college graduates found that a surprising number are planning to stay in the region. Read more. In Pittsburgh, the city is able to attract a lot of immigrant talent. The problem is holding on to it. Read more. More and more communities will be doing what Philadelphia and Pittsburgh are doing: Finding new ways to measure and retain their brainpower. posted by Ed Morrison | Reacting to the boring big boxes With Big Box retail, you could be in Austin or Albany, Nashville or Jacksonville. The strips all look the same: Home Depot, Sam's Club, Lowe's, Wal-Mart, Barnes & Noble, Red Lobster, Olive Garden. (It's like the movie, Ground Hog Day, except that you drive somewhere and end up in the same place.) In reaction, some communities are starting to develop physical plans that restore their local character. Read about what planners are doing in Michigan to create unique experiences. Go. posted by Ed Morrison | Resource: Planning and building new schools In an age when brainpower determines how well an economy competes, the role of schools moves center stage. EDPros don't typically have much interaction with school construction, but we should. Here's a way to open the door in your community. Distribute an excellent guidebook on planning new schools...Schools as Centers of Community: A Citizen's Guide For Planning and Design. You can download the report from this page. Go. posted by Ed Morrison | Pennsylvania's new angel investor program Pennsylvania has approved the first investment under a unique initiative to stimulate angel investing. The State, through the Ben Franklin Investment Partners program, guarantees 25% of the angel investment. The angel investors pay a 1.5% annual fee on the guaranteed amount. In the first deal, the total angel investment was $300,000. The State is guaranteeing 25% or $62,500. If the deal tanks, the State pays this amount to the investors. If the deal works, the State participates in the upside. Learn more. posted by Ed Morrison | Pennsylvania's new angel investor program Pennsylvania has approved the first investment under a unique initiative to stimulate angel investing. The State, through the Ben Franklin Investment Partners program, guarantees 25% of the angel investment. The angel investors pay a 1.5% annual fee on the guaranteed amount. In the first deal, the total angel investment was $300,000. The State is guaranteeing 25% or $62,500. If the deal tanks, the State pays this amount to the investors. If the deal works, the State participates in the upside. Learn more. posted by Ed Morrison | Outsourcing to intelligent computers Thursday, June 24, 2004 Look past the impacts of outsourcing. A recent report projects that the use of computers with embedded intelligence technologies -- such as voice recognition -- will begin displacing lower end customer service jobs. The conclusion: technology, not outsourcing, is the biggest threat to jobs. You can already see this trend. Call directory assistance. Chances are, a computer will answer the phone and ask you for a number. (A customer service person actually looks up your number, but this task soon will be automated as voice recognition gets better.) According to the report, in the past ten years, about ten million manufacturing jobs involving physical labor and repetitive activities worldwide were lost due to machines replacing humans. In the next wave, the employment threat involves the substitution of embedded intelligence for many first-level jobs in service industries. The impact will generate a net loss of customer service, help desk, directory assistance, and related customer support positions. As the author of the report notes, "Looking forward, we don't really see the big threat in the long run being outsourcing to India. We see the real threat from outsourcing to intelligent [computers]." Read more. These technologies will shift the skill mix needed to support a specific business activity. The overall impact will be higher productivity levels. This trend will continue to place pressure on the low end of the workforce. People wilth lower skills will see their wages continue to stagnate or erode. Real wages for high school graduates, for example, have not increased in the past decade. This trend will continue. The result: a high school education is no longer a ticket to the middle class. To ern middle class wages (above $12 per hour) young people need post secondary education. posted by Ed Morrison | Building a kitchen incubator EDPros in rural areas should consider this idea: a kitchen incubator. Here's an example from West Virginia. Read more. But don't consider this idea in isolation. It works best as the hub of an entrepreneurial network. The best example is the Appalachian Center for Economic Networks (ACEnet). ACEnet has launched a promising food processing venture. Learn more. posted by Ed Morrison | Anatomy of a deal: Project Merlin The Triad region of North Carolina is busy pursuing a major prospect. According to speculation in the North Carolina press, the company is Dell. No one who knows will confirm the identity of the prospect, since the deal is papered over with strict confidentiality agreements. Read more. Article 1. Article 2. posted by Ed Morrison | Resource: Presentation on lining up incentives Wednesday, June 23, 2004 Here's a review of a presentation advising companies on how to line up state incentives. Michael Press, national director of Ernst & Young’s Business Incentives Practice, and Robin Stone, former vice president of state and local government relations for The Boeing Company, delivered the Microsoft PowerPoint-supported presentation March 26 in Savannah, Ga. Read more. Download the presentation. posted by Ed Morrison | Job impact of the Boeing 7E7 deal The 7E7 deal -- which cost Washington State a bundle -- will generate between 3,250 and 9,280 jobs, about two-thirds of them at Boeing by 2012. Boeing had wanted to escape the high cost structure of Washington State with its 7E7 project. But Washington State came up with a set of golden handcuffs: $3.2 billion in tax incentives plus a bundle of other benefits adding to about $4 billion. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Anatomy of a deal: NY places a risky bet New York is placing a big bet on a risky company. With an $11 million package, NY has lured a solar cell company from Colorado. One problem: the company has never turned a profit. It's underlying technology better be good. Read more posted by Ed Morrison | Olivier moves to Louisiana Governor Blanco in Louisiana has appointed EDPro Mike Olivier as the state's top economic developer. Read more. Not everyone is happy with the choice. Read more here and here. posted by Ed Morrison | Impact of the big boxes A controversy is spreading over the use of incentives toward retail development, in general, and big boxes, in particular. Here's an article that outlines the issue in Arizona. Here's what the Phoenix mayor said in a recent speech: "I'm asking every mayor, city and town council in this valley to join me in putting a screeching halt to subsidizing and incentivizing $7-an-hour jobs with millions of taxpayer dollars. I say close the public checkbook on these projects and let the market dictate where retail development goes." Read more. In Savannah, big box development has touched off a similar debate. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Western North Carolina's entrepreneurial network Step by step, EDPros in Western North Carolina are building an impressive entrepreneurial network. The latest node comes in a county program to encourage start-up businesses in The Walker College of Business at Appalachian State University, the Blue Ridge Entrepreneurial Council and Blue Ridge Angel Investors Network, affiliated with the regional economic development agency AdvantageWest, will serve as partners. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Comparing Phoenix and Philadelphia Tuesday, June 22, 2004 Here's a good example of the positive role journalism can play in economic development. The Arizona Republic in Phoenix has completed a series of articles comparing Phoenix and Phildaelphia. (Both cities have about 1.5 million people.) The purpose: uncover the lessons that an older industrial city has for a younger city. The Philadelphia Story: East Coast city can teach Phoenix Eds and meds' the latest hope to revive moribund economy 2 cities, 2 climates for entrepreneurs Proud tradition slows Philly economy Old, decaying neighborhoods experiencing rebirth Philadelphia government: 'Corrupt and contented' Mexican migration viewed as hope for expanding Philly's population Reinvestment, partnerships remade downtown Philly into a place to be Years of political neglect stirred exodus from Philadelphia posted by Ed Morrison | Pennsylvania takes a step toward tax reform Monday, June 21, 2004 A governor's commission has released its interim report calling for a braoder tax base (translation: fewer loopholes) and lower rates. This approach is the most sensible when it comes to economic development. Do away with tax incentives that selectively erode the tax base and undercut horizontal equity. (Translation: treat similar firms with the same tax rates.) Read more. The state chamber of commerce is not satisfied, though. They want something more from the governor. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Chicago's mayor presses a "green" agenda Mayor Daley in Chicago has made a bold commitment to green building technology. It's a smart move as a way of postiioning redevelopment in his city. Read more. He is not alone. Citizen groups in Cleveland and Pittsburgh are also embracing green building design. In Cleveland, EcoCity Cleveland shapes the agenda. Sustainable Pittsburgh serves the same function in that city. Focusing on environmentally sensitive design represents an important strategy for revitalizing older industrial areas. (Brownfield reclamation is part of the same approach.) As metro regions sprawl, we are creating less efficient cost structures under our metro economies. We are building new, more dispersed infrastructures to support lower population densities. Our "social overhead" is increasing: more roads, water lines, fire departments, and so on for a given level of economic activity. Mayor Daley's strategy represents a positive alternative. posted by Ed Morrison | Economy Watch Sunday, June 20, 2004 Here's are the best articles I came across last week on the state of our economy: Truckers Face Bumpy Economic Road Bush, Democrats spar on jobs Rosy US outlook as jobless claims fall and wholesale prices rise Fed Sees U.S. Economy Moving Forward in Its Report Terror attacks top risk to U.S. economy-CFO survey Other views: Asia's shifting sense of U.S. power Reuters Summit-Bush, Kerry advisers clash on economy Greenspan says economy strong but susceptible to many factors, including terror posted by Ed Morrison | Presidential Commission recommends NASA reforms Saturday, June 19, 2004 The Commission on Implementation of United States Space Exploration Policy released its report last week, and it is recommending major reforms in the way NASA does business. If followed, the Commission's recommendations will result in major shifts in the way in which NASA's field centers operate. Read more. Download a copy of the report. Go. posted by Ed Morrison | NSA will invest in Maryland start-ups Geography matters. The National Security Agency announced last week that it will commit several million dollars to Maryland-based start-up companies. The commitment will come in the form of both investment and purchases. The NSA also wants to push technology out of its Fort Meade facility into the commercial sector. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Kansas City will launch manufacturing pilot The National Association of Manufacturers has selected Kansas City as a pilot site for its "Dream It Do It" initiative. The pilot program will be designed to attract students to manufacturing careers, create a network of manufacturing training initiatives, and promote manufacturing as a core economic development strategy. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Tech transfer can be improved in Maine A conference in Maine this week explored how technology transfer channels in Maine work and how they could be improved. View the program. Catherine Renault, program manager at the Center for Technology Applications at the Research Triangle Institute in North Carolina, recently wrote a report on improving technology transfer in Maine. In her view, the networks between business and university researchers are not strong enough to commercialize research. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Virginia launches rural broadband initiative Governor Mark Warner announced a $12 million plan to provide braodband access to rural Virginia. The network will connect five cities, 20 counties and 56 industrial parks. The Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission and the U.S. Department of Commerce are each contributing $6 million. Construction is scheduled to begin in October and expected to be completed by January 2006.Read more. Good quote from the governor: "As important as the railroad was 100 years ago, as important as the interstate was 50 years ago, I believe they will both pale in the 21st century to making sure you have this broadband connectivity." posted by Ed Morrison | Resource: Building entrepreneurship in small communities Here's a concise, practical guide to best practices for building entrepreneurship in smaller communities. The Kauffman Foundation drafted the report: Grassroots Rural Entrepreneurship, Best Practices for Small Communities. Download a copy. Go. posted by Ed Morrison | The other side of outsourcing Last week, the Massachusetts Alliance for Economic Development sponsored meeting that explored a different hypothesis about outsourcing: Today, some of America's best-paying jobs may exist because of outsourcing. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Peoria positions its incubators Peoria, IL is moving ahead with an incubator targeted to women-owned and minority-owned businesses. This project represents an effort to broaded opportunities in the city. A high tech incubator is well underway, but that project does not reach critical segments of the community. Read more. This approach underscores an important point. Building an entrepreneurial culture in a metro area does not happen with one initative. Instead, it represents a series of interconnected initiatives to build a network that supports entrepeneurship and innovation. posted by Ed Morrison | Regional collaboration in the Mon Valley? Getting regional cooperation in the Monongahela River Valley near Pittsburgh is tough. The economy is down, and the region has not recovered from the first wave of globalization that hit the region in the 1970's. Mayor John DeLuca of Monessen, PA (population: 8,700), has been trying to rally his colleagues to form a council of governments. Last week, he managed to persuade 10 or 22 river communities to attend a meeting. Supported by David Lewis, an architecture professor from Carnegie Mellon University, DeLuca is showing the type of determination that's needed to move regional economic development forward. As DeLuca noted at the meeting: " "We feel our problems are all the same. Our roads are bad, our buildings are dilapidated, tax bases are shrinking while labor and other costs are going up,. We need to work together to find ways of sharing these burdens if we are going to survive." Regional approaches to economic development are not easy. But in a global econoomy, they are the only path forward. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Winston County faces up to the youth challenges Winston County, MS is facing the challenges that many other counties face, but refuse to acknowledge: high dropout rates and young people unprepared to meet the challenges of a knowledge-based economy. The facts are simple: a high school diploma is no longer a ticket to the middle class. And dropping out of high school represents a life time disability. Mary Snow, a former teacher, put the challenge clearly. "Along with the juvenile crime and drug issues, we're facing a 30 percent dropout rate and youth who are not able to meet the minimum ACT requirements for getting into college. We're at a critical stage in providing a skilled workforce for business development. Industry has changed a lot over the years. "Our youth need help staying in school and developing into a workforce that is capable of moving this county into the next decade. I used to look at a classroom, and I was a teacher, and think my class was only as strong as the weakest member. Today, I look at our county and believe that Winston County is only as strong as its poorest, weakest child." Read more. In Georgia this week, a symposium addressed the same issues. According to Georgia Southern University, drop-outs are costing the state $17 billion in social services. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | North Carolina child care report North Carolina is a leading state when it comes to thinking about child care as a critical industry for an innovation economy. Eleven years ago, former governor Jim Hunt launched Smart Start, an initiative guided by the vision that every child would enter school healthy and prepared. In a short-sighted move, North Carolina legislators have been cutting appropriations for Smart Start over the last three years, even as they have considered new incentives for companies. Investments in early childhood care are critically important for economies that run on brainpower. You can learn more about the economic impacts of early child care from this site. The report released last week represents an effort to educate the legislators on the need to expand investments in early child care. Read more. You can download the report from this page. (Free registration required.) You can see how your state ranks in preschool education from this site. posted by Ed Morrison | Resource: Report on education and economic development The Knowledge Foundation has released a report on education and economic development. Not surprisingly, the report, Public Schools and Economic Development: What the Research Shows, concludes that high quality public schools can help make states and localities more economically competitive. This report is part of a broader reframing of the role education plays in a knowledge-based economy. Instead of thinking of education as a government service, we need to start thinking of education as an investment with direct economic returns. Investments in education at all levels build brainpower. Download a copy of the report. Go. posted by Ed Morrison | Export report for the Southern states At its annual meeting last week, the Southern Growth Policies Board released a report on exporting. The report finds that the Southern states are exporting at a rate below the national average. Read more. Download a summary of the report. Go. (The full report is not yet availabe on the Southern Growth Policies Board web site.) Read a perspective on the report from Alabama. Go posted by Ed Morrison | Rural counties need to collaborate That's the message that came from the last session of the annual meeting of the Southern Growth Policies Board held in Oklahomna City last week. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Northern KY Triange development starts Developers broke ground last week on the first major development within the Northern Kentucky Technology Commercialization Triangle. Campbell County, the state Office of the New Economy and Northern Kentucky University are promotioing the development to lure knowledge-based businesses to Northern Kentucky.Read more. Learn more about the project concept. Go?. Northern Kentucky University is suipporting this development with the Institute for New Economy Technologies. Learn more about the Institute. Go posted by Ed Morrison | Wyoming launches entrepreneurship pilot Goshen County in Wyoming has launched Planned Approach to Community Entrepreneurship (PACE) in an effort to build entreprenurship netowrks inthe local economy. The initiative represents a joint venture between the Goshen County School District, Eastern Wyoming College and Goshen County Economic Development. This initiative represents the type of collaboration that more communities will be exploring. EDPros have bascially three strategies to build their economy: recruit new companies, help existing companies expand, and support new companies. More and more communities -- especially in rural areas -- are moving resources from the first strategy to the other two. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Arizona moves to expand Mexican trade From now until September, a wroking group of the Arizona-Mexico Commission will be identifying opportunities for Arizona to expand its trade with Mexico. Go. As the article points out, developing trade relationships takes time. Tucson has spent 3 1/2 years developing its connections with Ottawa. (Learn more about the Ottawa/Tucson connection.) As one EDPro notes: "We need to build a brand for Arizona in these new markets." posted by Ed Morrison | Toyota in San Antonio: How many jobs? An economist at the Federal Reserve Bank in Dallas has raised questions about how many jobs the new Toyota truck plant in San Antonio will generate. The big question: how many suppliers will open around the plant? No one disputes that the plant itself will generate 2,000 jobs. The state comptroller's office estimates that suppliers to the plant will generate another 10,000 jobs. The University of Texas at San Antonio's Institute for Economic Development estimates that there will be about 5,300 supplier jobs. The Fed economist estimates the supplier jobs will be more like 2,000. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Denver's international economy According to a report released last week, 9.5% of the jobs in Denver's metro economy are tied to the global economy. The researchers estimated the number of jobs from foreign companies located in Denver. They added an estimate of the number of jobs tied to exports. They then applied a multiplier to this base. Read more or download the report. posted by Ed Morrison | Iowa Values Fund in the ditch Friday, June 18, 2004 On Wednesday, Iowa's Supreme Court has struck down the legislatio that created the Iowa Values Fund. This seven year initiative is designed to pump $500 millionn into the state's emerging innovation economy. The sticking point now: The fund has already made financial commitments to a range of companies. The goveror and legislative leaders are now trying to scramble to fix the damage. The original legislation included provisions that Reppublicans in the legislature wanted, buyt the governor opposed. These items included a tax cut and regulatory reform. The governor used a line item veto to eliminate them. The Supreme Court held that the governor's veto violated the state's constitution. Read more. Article 1 and Article 2. Visit the Value Fund site. posted by Ed Morrison | Turning Arizona State into a catalyst for growth Tuesday, June 15, 2004 Entrepreneurial college and university proesidents are becoming a bigger factor in economic development. Here's a profile of President Michael Crow of Arizona State University. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Resource: Measuring performance Monday, June 14, 2004 Keeping score is a tough challenge for economic development professionals. Don Iannone passes along this web site as a good resource to get started. View the site. posted by Ed Morrison | Economy Watch Sunday, June 13, 2004 Here are the best articles I came across this past week. Gas prices taking toll on economy Economy isn't working for teens Consumer confidence climbs U.S. import prices surge, jobless claims rise G8 leaders spar over global economic risks Online Sales Surged In '03 posted by Ed Morrison | |
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