Saturday, June 09, 2007
Yesterday, I had lunch with legendary venture capitalist, David Morgenthaler.
We explored the history of Research Triangle Park and the lessons of RTP for regional economic development. Our guide: the head of the Research Triangle Foundation, Rick Weddle.
Our conversation parallels a series of articles in the local Raleigh paper on the history of RTP. Here's one article.
The discussion caused me to look up the speech that David gave at Baldwin-Wallace College last year. His comments, made in reference to Northeast Ohio, apply to any region.
“If the region (and America for that matter) is to maintain its economic edge, it must innovate products, services, and ways of doing things. The poorer parts of the world are studying us, emulating us, and mean to catch us and pass us up economically if they can. They have no reason to feel it is our God-given right to be richer and superior. We are not paying enough attention to this danger to our future.”
If you have not read his speech, it's worth the time.
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.
Exploring the lessons of Research Triangle
