Collaborate to gain agility Sunday, April 30, 2006 As civic leaders and EDPros come to understand the implications of globalization, more and more regions are coming together. These leaders recognize that in order to compete globally, we need to collaborate regionally. Last week, three counties around Saginaw, Michigan put aside rivalries and have begun working together to explore new opportunities. Read more. The key to regional economic development is agility. The strength of a regional economy depends on the underlying competitive position of the companies within the region. As markets and technologies of these companies mature, growth slows. Civic leaders need to recognize these trends and move quickly to align resources around new growth opportunities. In the case of Saginaw, the auto industry is in decline. Civic leaders hope to move the economy more toward medical devices. This is the type of transition that successful regional economies are able to make relatively quickly. Regional economies that lag are unable to align their resources quickly around new opportunities. So, for example, for over two decades, civic leaders in Youngstown Ohio held on to a hope that the steel industry would re-emerge. Only now, civic leaders in the Mahoning Valley are moving to build a new economic base. 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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