Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Economic development is all about leverage. Here's a really smart deal on how a state modernizes its IT infrastructure while strengthening its development prospects in a rural part of the state.
Virginia governor Mark Warner has announced a major partnership with Northrup Grumman to modernize the state's IT infrastructure. The 10-year, $2 billion contract between Virginia and Northrop Grumman will bring hundreds of new jobs to the state. At Warner's insistence, a large portion of the agreement focuses on the revitalization of the Southwest Virginia region that has not shared in the success of the information technology industry.
In addition, the agreement includes a partnership between the University of Virginia and Northrop Grumman that will be based at the U.Va.-Wise campus.
The first component of the partnership includes a $270 million data backup center. Here's a good article on the different approaches that two Virginia counties took to attracting the backup data center. Read more.
Here's a follow-on article on how jobs for the data center will be filled. 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.
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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
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Leveraging Virginia's $2 billion state IT partnership
