Friday, October 07, 2005
Polk County, North Carolina has endorsed a new regional strategy for economic development. The strategy covers the Isothermal region composed of Cleveland, McDowell, Polk and Rutherford counties in Western North Carolina.
The economy of Western North Carolina is facing the same challenges of many rural economies. Globalization has placed relentless cost pressure on manufacturing plants in these regions. Many of closed or downsized. At the same time, the development of knowledge-based businesses is slow, in part because of the lack of information infrastructure in rural regions.
To be successful, rural counties will have to develop more aggressively their innovation and infrastructure entrepreneurial networks. Western North Carolina recognizes the challenge and has been moving steadily in this direction. AdvantageWest leads these efforts. Learn more.
Based on the published reports, the strategy developed for the Isothermal region is impressive, because they clearly outlined in metrics by which to measure their success. For example, the strategy is designed to raise the number of adults over the age of 25 with a least a high school diploma. Each county has its own set of targets. Read more.
posted by Ed Morrison |
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.
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.
Regional strategy gets traction in Western North Carolina
