Saturday, January 22, 2005
Here's an interesting commentary on regional approaches to economic development. The author makes an important point: regional strategies involve more than cooperation. Read more. They truly mean starting to think like a region.
When that starts to happen, civic leaders will move beyond cost reductions to value creation. In other words, civic leaders start to move their thinking from "How can we work together to save money?" to "How can we collaborate to create wealth?"
Here's a good example of a group of counties in Indiana that are moving in this direction. Read more.
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:
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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.
Starting to think like a region
