Sunday, April 23, 2006
The governor of Wisconsin has launched a competition to encourage innovation in workforce development initiatives. The competition is open to a wide array of organizations, not just workforce development boards.
K-16 education organizations, local governments, business associations and labor organizations can also apply. Read more. You can download the background material here.
The governor's initiative is a good approach to stimulate collaboration across existing organizational and political boundaries.
Our workforce challenges will require innovation. Our current approaches are missing the mark by wide margins. Given ferderal funding priorities, there will not be a lot of new money available for existing programs. The best approach will come in "linking and leveraging" our existing efforts to achieve transformative results. That's the philosophy behind the Administration's WIRED initiatives, and it's the same appraoch that Wisconsin is following.
posted by Ed Morrison |
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.
Wisconsin promotes workforce development innovations
