Sunday, July 31, 2005
With the exception of Chicago, major industrial cities in the Midwest are facing serious economic challenges. Older industrial cities, like Detroit, Toledo, Youngstown, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Pittsburgh are all trying to find pathways to new prosperity.
Among the cities, Pittsburgh stands out as a place that is experimenting with a variety of new economic development arrangements.
In particular, civic leaders in the region have long understood the importance of research universities to their new economic development strategy. Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Pittsburgh are collaborating for variety of different ways. Here's a good example of what Carnegie Mellon is doing to accelerate the move toward a more knowledge-based businesses. Read more.
The state is accelerating its development by encouraging the formation of Innovation Zones around colleges and universities. Read more. (Here is an example of what is happening around the Penn State campus. Read more.)
Innovation Works is another example of a new economic development initiative designed to build these knowledge-based businesses. 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:
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.
Pittsburgh's efforts to reinvent itself
