Sunday, July 15, 2007
Here's a good editorial from Minnesota that highlights the importance of developing new, entrepreneurial strategies for rural areas.
Like a number of other states, Minnesota has sought to revive its rural communities with incentives to relocate jobs. An offshoot of the policy of urban enterprise zones enacted twenty years ago, these zones presume that location decisions can be influenced meaningfully by state tax policy. (Prevailing evidence says they can't.)
A new report from Minnesota 2020 outlines a new strategy to help small firms. You can download a copy from this page.
One interesting idea: an Extension Service for small businesses in rural counties. Young professionals would provide coaching to prospective entrepreneurs. 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.
If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site:
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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
Download some background information on me here.
Building prosperity in rural Minnesota
