Friday, April 21, 2006
We're moving to new models of economic development as our underlying "real economy" shifts from industrial business models to business models based on networks.
Our old economic development models communicated to business executives in terms of old industrial business models: "We have low cost land, labor and energy costs." "A strong work ethic." "A high quality (Read: reliable, often nonunion) workforce."
Now wealth is being created with a new set of business models that rely on brainpower, innovation, networks and collaboration. In this world, companies rely heavily on the region's "innovation ecosystem".
One element of that system is high quality graduate and technical education. Here's an example from Dallas. 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.
Shifting the economic development paradigm
