Finding more money for Ohio's Third Frontier Tuesday, August 16, 2005 Ohio's governor Taft holds a dubious distinction: he is the most unpopular governor. This fact matters, because in the fall Ohio voters will be asked to pass a $2 billion bond issue. The proposal includes money for high tech investment, Taft's Third Frontier initiative. The state has already invested $325 million in Taft's Third Frontier initiative, with most of the money going to Cleveland, Columbus and Cincinnati. (No surprise there: that's where the research institutions are located.) Investments went to a range of different technologies, from biotech to fuel cells. Decisions on where the money went were nonpolitical, as outside experts reviewed proposals for funding. But this geographic distribution creates political problems. Rural parts of the state do not support Third Frontier spending. Two years ago, Taft's effort to increase Third Frontier funding by $500 million went down to defeat. (An weak campaign by the governor and his staff is frequently blamed for the defeat.) Now, Taft has another strategy: Drop the Third Frontier brand and tie technology investments to a bigger proposal to invest in traditional infrastructure. It's too early to tell whether this strategy will work. Backers are adjusting the process by which grants are awarded. A geographically balanced nine-member board will review projects. Still, passage of the bond issue is a long shot. I look at it this way: As a general rule of thumb, 20% of the voters on any bond issue are entrenched "No" votes. That means backers must get 51% out of the remaining 80% of the vote (a 64% majority of the remaining votes). That's why passing a bond referendum, even in good times, is tough. Read more about what is going on in Ohio. See how the Third Frontier money has been invested so far. View the graphic. 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.

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