| |
|
Wichita, Part II
Friday, February 28, 2003 Famous site selection consultant Dennis Donovan has come to Wichita and told them to invest at least $1 million a year in economic development. Earlier, a fund-raising consultant also recommended a big, new $1 million push in economic development. There's only one problem. Wichita's business and political leadership is falling apart. Wichita's problem points to a lesson that EDPros cannot afford to forget: Economic development starts with forging a consensus. Forget the grand plans, the outside consultants. Until a community's leadership can adhere to a few basic rules of civic behavior -- a simple code of conduct -- economic development is impossible. (For more background, see my earlier post below, "Wichita misses a few steps in between".) posted by Ed | Biotech update There's a lot of activity in biotech, and here's a brief summary of some of the latest developments. EDPros in Huntington, WVA are making the right moves in building a biotech infrastructure around Marshall University. They are learning the lessons of Ohio University and Ohio's Edison program. The main point. forming partnerships is the key to biotech development. Huntington EDPros are trying to raise funds for an institute that would like the research center at Marshall Universoty with commercial opportunities. These non-profit institutes are critical links in bridging the gap between academic institutions and the market. Arizona is realizing the benefits of establishing such a link. By investing in the Translational Genomics Research Institute, the state is now seeing an upsurge in biotech companies intersted in relocating to the state. The state is handling 41 biotech leads, and Phoenix reports they are working with 14 companies. In Minnesota, the governor is pushing the development of biotech with a carefully crafted seven point plan to build the state's biotech infrastructure. By closely examining the governor's proposals, you see that biotech development requires a closely knit web of strategic relationships. Meanwhile, in Missouri, the state is building international ties between its biotech businesses and biotech companies in Japan. This visit points to another trend. In the years ahead, competitive regions will be establishing more vital global connections. They will, in effect, manage their own commercial foreign policies. posted by Ed | Dayton integrates physical planning and economic development Thursday, February 27, 2003 Dayton is updating its citywide plan, and the plan proposes an interesting concept: theme parks for individual clusters of firms. Each theme park represents a development concentation focused on a particular industry or geographic location. For example, a former hospital site is being developed as a medical mall by a group of private investors; Airplex represents the area surrounding Dayton International Airport; and development of the tool and die cluster and advanced manufacturing will focus on a theme park called McCook Park. This approach integrates physical planning with economic development. It explores the details of what it takes to create exciting spaces, and it pushes us to think more clearly about what it takes to build clusters of firms that encourage collaboration and innovation. In short, this approach moves us beyond the gibberish of the "Creative Class". Learn more. posted by Ed | Nebraska's entrepreneurship conference offers a deep, detailed program Wednesday, February 26, 2003 Tomorrow, the University of Nebraska is conducting a two day seminar on entrepreneurship. The program line-up is impressive, and it can lead EDPros to the type of entrepreneurship programs that make a difference. In particular, the conference offers multiple tracks and the type of specific "hand-on" information that can accelerate the development of entrepreneurial networks. Nebraska has attracted an impressive list of entrepreneurs to participate. Too often, university-based entrepreneurship efforts get sucked under by mediocre Small Business Development Centers. Nebraska shows there's another way. Learn more. posted by Ed | Arizona moving to beef up its research and tech transfer infrastructure Tuesday, February 25, 2003 Arizona has taken a couple of steps in the direction of stronger R&D at state universities. Two bills passed a House committee this week. The first provides $29 million for R&D infrastructure. The second allows University of Arizona and Arizona State Universoty to have ownership interests in research and development and technology transfer-related business partners. Read more. posted by Ed | Public is starting to demand accountability on economic incentives Times are going to be getting tougher when it comes to economic development incentives. According to a statewide poll released today in Arkansas: • 89 percent believe that corporations that receive economic development subsidies or tax breaks should be required to publicly report on the number of jobs they create and the wages they pay. • 91 percent believe that corporations that receive a subsidy or tax break to create new jobs should be required to pay back the incentive if they do not create the jobs they promised or leave the state within five years. Read the background to the poll. posted by Ed | Wichita misses a few steps in between Wichita has hired an fund-raising firm to evaluate the level of public and private support for economic development. The consultants report that Wichita should be investing $1 milllion a year in economic development. And they recommend -- surprise -- a fund raising campaign. There's only one problem. Wichita has no plan. Here's where Witchita got off on the wrong foot. They started by comparing themselves to other cities. They found that Wichita invests less in economic development than Omaha, Topeka, Des Moines, Kansas City and Oklahoma City. (Oklahoma City invested the most.) So, the fund-raising consultants came in and concluded Wichita needs to raise more money. They tested a level of private sector support at $800,000 a year, but recommended $500,000. (With another $500,000 from the public sector the toal is $1 million a year.) Read more. Still, no plan. (But they are calling in site-selection expert Dennis Donovan to get everyone all lathered up about recruiting businesses.) As the architect for the Oklahoma City Plan (Forward Oklahoma City I raised $10 million or $2 million year, and Forward Oklahoma City II raised $12 million), let me pass on a little advice. The first step in raising funds is to start with a solid action plan with initiatives, management plans, budgets and action plans. Build consensus around 5 to 7 initiatives that call for joint public/private investment. Set clear goals and the management structure for each initiative. Define the overall governance structure for the strategy. Then go out and raise the money. Right now, Wichita is heading down the path to failure. They may raise a bunch of money. And, if they do, they'll invest heavily in marketing. (That's what site selectors tell you..."if only people knew about Wichita"...) But they will do little to become competitive in the long run. Wichita is not alone. Knoxville, which is also considering a fund-raising campaign, is walking backward down the same path. posted by Ed | Web Watch: Chattanooga Chamber Monday, February 24, 2003 The Chattanooga Chamber has released a new web site. Two useful features: first is an integrated GIS system that provides aerial photos of buildings and sites. Second, the site provides a community profile with pdf files in Spanish, German, Japanese and Korean. posted by Ed | Building biotech in Southern California If you are an EDPro involved in biotech investments, you'll want to read this review of developments in Southern California. The article underlines an important point. Business development in biotech is inherently complex and collaborative. You don't see a Bill Gates or a Henry Ford in biotech for a reason. Regions have to have both a strong research base and specialized professional networks to translate this research into business. Although many regions are pushing biotech development, only a few will likely create major job generators. For a review, see a recent Brookings Institution report. I speak from hard experience. Eighteen years ago, I started the Biomedical Research Foundation of Northwest Louisiana. Although we have boosted the research base from $1.5 million a year to over $10 million a year, biotech business development has only recently started to take root. (The corruption of Louisiana politics has also slowed the process considerably.) More recently, I worked in Oklahoma City to boost biotech investment there. While the research base much larger here, accelerating business development is also slow. Now, I'm working in Charleston with the Medical University South Carolina. The prospects here seem good. MUSC has a strong, expanding research base that produces good science. The state is accelerating it's commitments to biotech. The one wild card: the business development networks in Charleston are relatively weak. For those of you involved in biotech, the National Science Foundation has a good resource for EDPros in Bio-Link, a web site that explores how to prepare a biotech workforce. posted by Ed | Regions move to boost manufactruing Sunday, February 23, 2003 The popular press thinks manufacturing is a dying industry. That's both an ignorant and a dangerous view. Ignorant, because manufacturing has been a major source of productivity improvement in our economy. Dangerous, because we are ignoring a potential source of competitive strength for the future. So that's why it's good to see Rockford, IL pushing forward with a new manufacturing research center. The Rockford Regional Manufacturing Technology Research and Development Center will strengthen existing companies, encourage the creation of start-up firms and conduct applied research in new manufacturing methods. Promoters hope to land $13 million in start-up funding from the federal government. Learn more. Over in Pittsburgh, a group is focusing on education for manufacturing engineering. The Partnership for Regional Innovation in Manufacturing Education includes five college partners and about a dozen industry partners. The target are higher-end manufacturing jobs with a starting salary of about $46,000. The market is there. Duquesne University estimates that 1,300 manufacturing jobs at various skill levels remain unfilled in the nine-county Pittsburgh area. Any community with a significant manufacturing base (anything over 15% of total employment), should be looking at workforce development issues among manufacturing firms. As a rule of thumb, each year, you will be losing about 3% of your manufacturing employees to retirements. In some high skilled occupations, the loses will be even higher. posted by Ed | Gap in the EDPro Weblog coverage Several readers e-mailed me to note the gap in my coverage last week. I missed a few days while I was in South Carolina starting a new strategy project. We are trying to figure out how to move the Charleston region into a more aggressive, innovation-led economy. You can read about our efforts here. posted by Ed | Learn more about how your state performs in science education As EDPros, we need to become more comfortable understanding and discussing educational performance. Last week, I was in South Carolina starting an economic development project. One of the state's recruiters put it to me bluntly: "We are in the business of selling skills." The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) provides a good window for EDPros. Also called the Nation's Report Card, it is a national assessment in reading, science and math that enables us to make state-by-state comparisons. Just last week, the Department of Education released the 2000 NAEP for science. (The last NAEP for science covered 1996.) The findings in brief: Progress in 4th and 8th grade scores remained stable, while 12th grade scores declined. In sum, despite all the back and forth on education reform, we are not progressing much. Check out your state results. posted by Ed | Pittsburgh's regional branding initiative Saturday, February 22, 2003 Pittsburgh (and Southwest Pennsylvania) is out to fix its image problem. Image Gap, a consortium of area economic development, tourism and membership agencies, is coordinating a regional branding effort. In September, it tapped three marketing agencies at the combined pricetag of $200,000 to begin research to determine what the region is — on the whole — and what it wants to be. The funding comes from area foundations. Branding a region is tough business. And there are two aspects of this process that make it worth watching. The first is the end product. The goal is not to define an overall image or brand, so much as it is to create a framework for marketing the region. The framework will be a tool that advertising and PR agencies can use in building their own advertising and marketing campaigns. There will also be a blueprint proposing how the various participating organizations can work together in delivering the Pittsburgh story. The second feature involves the Internet. This regional branding effort is using the Internet to collect information. While the web site is basic without a lot of interactivity, the effort does point the way to the future. To get a sense of how you can be more interactive, see how we used the web to develop and test Oklahoma's image campaign, "The New American Dream". We first collected information with an interactive interview. We next tested different ad concepts with another interview. (Note: we have taken down the streaming radio ads, so you can no longer hear them.) posted by Ed | A new model for managing sprawl Rural counties near metro areas face sprawl problems. But they have few resources to deal with the problem. I've spent the last week in Charleston, SC, where growth management is a complex and difficult challenge. Multiple jurisdictions make comprehensive regional solutions difficult to develop and implement. Pennsylvania may offer an alternative. Shippensburg University -- with state support -- is opening a land use center to assist communities manage the negative aspects of sprawl. The Center for Land Use will provide expertise and training. More important, the Center will provide facts and independent judgement. With land use problems, getting the facts on the table is the first difficult challenge. Learn more. posted by Ed | Arkansas moves to update incentives Friday, February 21, 2003 Arkansas has updated its incentive package. The new law consolidates and updates existing incentives to base tax breaks on payroll rather than the numbers of jobs created and average wages. It also offers new breaks for research and development efforts and income tax breaks for new businesses in certain fields, such as agriculture or biotechnology. Download a copy of the new law, the Consolidated Incentives Act of 2003. posted by Ed | Update on the "digital divide"... Thursday, February 20, 2003 The "digital divide" is a term coined to express the gap between people who have Internet access and those who do not. A recent report by the University of Illinois provides us an update. Hardware access is no longer a major obstacle. Almost anyone who wants access to the Internet can get access. Now the divide centers on training: the skills ranging from basics, like using e-mail and word processing, to more advanced tasks, such as software installation, researching school work and looking for a job. posted by Ed | Arizona's Council on Innovation and Technology Wednesday, February 19, 2003 Arizona's new Council on Innovation and Technology will focus on implementing a statewide strategy for a smooth transfer of technology from universities to the private sector; attracting more venture capital to the state to assist growing and new tech-based businesses; and developing Arizona's infrastructure so that it can support tech growth. Read more. posted by Ed | New report on rual economic development Saturday, February 15, 2003 The Best Practice Center of the National Governors' Association has released a report on rural economic development. They suggest that one major asset on which to build is an under-exploited entrepreneurial culture in rural areas. The core recommendations: (1) Adapt cluster-based principles; (2) Promote entrepreneurship outside of the agricultural sector; (3) Reinvigorate the agricultural sector through diversification and value-added agricultural practices. posted by Ed | The education-economic development link is sinking in A recent report in Mississippi shows that citizens are connecting the dots between education and economic development. Read the press release. posted by Ed | Arts and economic development In physical development, the arts community can often change the perception of a neighborhood. That is the strategy for one neighborhood in Baltimore. The Atlanta Chamber has launched an arts initiative and you can learn more about the connection of the arts and economic development on this section of their web site. The section includes a report evaluating the connection between arts and business. posted by Ed | Web Watch: Wisconsin launches a Business Wizard Friday, February 14, 2003 Wisconsin has launched a new web site designed to help entrepreneurs navigate throught he maze of government licensing and regulations. Among the types of information on the site: -- Details on state financial incentives and training programs companies can use to help offset their own costs for business expansion. -- Licensing, permitting and regulatory requirements for agencies ranging from the state Department of Natural Resources to Workforce Development and Financial Institutions. Necessary forms can be downloaded. -- Helpful guides that provide information on different types of business entities; developing a business plan and minority business programs. posted by Ed | Find out where your state ranks on taxes... Thursday, February 13, 2003 Here's an article on the best and worst states for taxes. It reviews an analysis by the Tax Foundation. For a quick glance, look at this table that lists state and local taxes as a percent of personal income. (The left hand column deals only with state and local taxes. The right hand column includes federal taxes.) posted by Ed | Updating outdated ideas about manufacturing Wednesday, February 12, 2003 The face of manufacturing has changed. The problem is that most educators don't know it. The truth is that while the number of manufacturing jobs has been declining, the productivity of manufacturing has been relatively strong. (One recent report concludes, "America is back as a manufacturing powerhouse. During the last two decades, a revolution in manufacturing technology generally ?and advances in machine tools specifically ?enabled manufacturers to reinvent themselves and to restore the competitive power of the United States as a world-class producer of durable goods.") In Asheville, EDPros are doing something to change perceptions. They have organized tours of local manufacturing facilities for high school educators. As one teacher on the tour noted, manufacturing is no longer a "dead-end" job. Read more. Manufacturers are trying to change the perception of manufacturing among young people with web sites, such as Manufacturing is Cool. And in Kentucky, manufacturers have come together to define manufacturing skill standards for high school students. posted by Ed | Increasingly, ED is about recruiting talent... Tuesday, February 11, 2003 A good review of how St. Louis is building its biotech industry underscopres an important point. Economic development is increasingly about recruiting talent. And it's not just the young, Gen-Xers. In the case of St. Louis, the city needs experienced entrepreneurial leadership. While St. Louis has a deep pool of people with corporate experience (from careers with Monsanto, Boeing and other large companies), many of these experienced managers lack entrepreneurial skills. Richard Fleming, head of the Regional Chamber and Growth Association puts it this way: ""Increasingly, economic development is not just about recruiting companies, but about recruiting talent. There's an analogy to the sports world: When you're building a team, you do that through a combination of talent coming up through your farm system, as well as recruiting free agents from other teams who have already established their careers." There's another dimension...the business environment in successful regions tolerates failure. Resilient regions have thick enough networks to support entrepreneurs who do fail. In sum, in successful regions, business attitudes emphasize "failure as learning", and not failure as a personal flaw. posted by Ed | Oregon Council: Focus on innovation Monday, February 10, 2003 New ideas and innovation are the economic drivers of the 21 st Century. Industries and regions that invest in the development and application of technology will lead the creation of jobs and be more competitive and profitable. That's the perspective of the Oregon Council on Knowledge and Economic Development in their recent report. posted by Ed | Minnesota moving to privatize some state ED functions The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce is starting a push to privatize some of the key economic development roles of the state's Department of Trade and Economic Development. Read more. posted by Ed | It's more than jobs and investment... South Carolina will start adopting new measures of effectiveness for its economic development programs. Like other states, South Carolina has focused on jobs and investment. But under the new administration of Mark Sanford, the South Carolina Commerce Department will begin measuring innovation and entrepreneurship. They will track factors such as patents issued, research spending and business starts. Learn more. If you want to learn more about measuring an innovation economy, Massachusetts is farthest down the road. Read their latest indicators report. posted by Ed | Florida pushes his "creative class".... Sunday, February 09, 2003 Beware of fads. That's the message I get from reading about Richard Florida's efforts to shape the urban economic development agenda. Richard Florida promotes the idea of a "creative class" as a key to future economic development. (The creative class represents the 30% or so of the workforce that "thinks creatively" for a living.) But this idea is much like the "enterprise zones" of the 1980's: a simple-minded solution to a complex challenge. While there is some truth to Florida's approach (as there was with enterprise zones), there is a real danger in distorting this truth and drawing too much from it. Ambition outruns the facts. One problem is that the Creative Class implies that 70% of our workforce is "not creative"...clearly a wrong-headed notion. (On a deeper level, Florida is talking class stuctures at a time when these structures are increasing irrelevant. One of the major challenges we face as a country is shared prosperity; Florida's notion of the Creative Class makes this challenge all the more difficult to address. My advice to Florida: Beware of unintended consequences.) A recent article explores how some cities across the country are trying to promote their support of gays. One of Richard Florida's points, as he travels the country, is that tolerance of gays is one indicator of a community's embrace of diversity. Diversity, in turn, drives creativity. And creativity drives prosperity. In the real world of EDPros, we face political leaders who have little understanding of the dynamics of economic development. They latch on to simple ideas. And that...in the end... is my real concern. Political leaders will send EDPros chasing down blind alleys all in the hope of finding the simple answer. posted by Ed | California finding out that business costs matter Business climate really means "business costs", and California is finding out that relative business costs matter in a global economy. When business costs get out of line, companies expand elsewhere. The situation is particularly difficult now. With soft markets and stiff competition, companies have a tougher time raising revenues. So, managing a state's business costs matter more than ever. But EDPros need to keep things in perspective. Business costs are not the only "driver" of business expansion. In fact, a recent report by Economy.com calculates that about one-fifth of all employment gains across the 50 states since the mid-1980s can be explained by differences in the costs of business. A recent article in the LA Times explores the consequences of California's business climate. (Registration required.) posted by Ed | Two good case studies: Austin and Asheville Here are two newspaper series that explore urban economic development. The first looks at Austin, as city leaders try to figure out "What's next?" The second explores the revitalization of Asheville's downtown. posted by Ed | Top cities for e-government Saturday, February 08, 2003 The top digital cities -- places where local government leads in Internet use -- may surpise you. They include Honolulu, Tampa, Des Moines, and Roanoke. Read the article in Government Technology magazine. Why is this important to EDPros? Because innovative government services improves flexibility and reduces costs. It will become a growing factor in defining the local "business climate". To learn more, go to the Technology in Government web site. posted by Ed | Here's a good report on how we use the Internet UCLA's Center for Communications Policy has released its latest report on Internet use. It provides you with a good overview of the Internet landscape. posted by Ed | Trying to keep young professionals in Duluth Young community leaders in Duluth, MN are trying to keep talented, young professionals from leaving the area. They have organized a nonprofit organization, Bridge Syndicate. Over 300 professionals have joined. Visit their web site to download their report on the future of Duluth. It is a good example of a young leadership group articulating a new agenda for creating a knowledge economy. Bridge Syndicate is also the type of engaged networking that has the potential for changing the face of the city. posted by Ed | Confronting the challenge of persistent poverty... Friday, February 07, 2003 A new report outlines the challenges of economic development in the rural South. It advocates more focused and coordinated investments in education, health care, community development, and small business development. To some, this approach sounds like social welfare. But it is not. We are really facing a "pay me now, or pay me later" problem. Early intervention strategies -- Head Start, reductions in low birth weight babies, parenting education, reading programs -- boost our incomes (high school graduates earn $100,000+ more than high school drop-outs over their lifetime) and cut our costs (it costs $6,000 a year to send a child to school and $26,000+ to keep someone in prison). As EDPros, we need to stop assuming this is someone else's problem. As the report notes, "Poverty is the absence of wealth, not the absence of character." posted by Ed | The challenge of fixing workforce development Governor Rendell in Pennsylvania has started to focus on an important dimension of economic development that costs no additional money: workforce development. In workforce development, the problem is not a lack of money but the unfocused way it is used. "We spend $1.2 billion on workforce development and only 5 percent of that is market-driven," Rendell said. Noting that those funds are spread among 47 separate programs administered by five different state departments, he observed recently in Pittsburgh, "That's insane." The WIA was supposed to improve the system, but relatively little is changed. It is still a fragmented grants system that is largely controlled by the providers. posted by Ed | Michigan governor proposes two important ED initiatives Thursday, February 06, 2003 Michigan's new governor, Jennifer Granholm, proposed two interesting economic development initatives in her first State of the State address. The first is the Technology Tri-Corridor. The Corridor will focus new technology business recruitment and development in three critical areas: the life sciences, the automotive industry and the emerging homeland security sector. In an interesting twist, the governor is using the state's leverage to steer investment into the Corridor. About 240 private investment funds do business with the state government. The State Treasurer is now telling those fund managers that they'll get more of Michigan's business if they make sound investments in the Technology Tri-Corridor. More important, Governor Granholm is making a tight connection between early childhood education and economic development. In an global economy that runs on brainpower, this connection makes sense. Project Great Start will focus on two critical interventions: parent education and reading to pre-school children. It represents a broad call to increase learning in the critical years from birth to age five, because, as the governor notes, "Education must begin at birth." Governor Granholm gets it: "Scientific research on the brain is clear: By the time a child arrives for kindergarten, 85 percent of the brain is developed. If the brain is purposefully stimulated and nurtured before a child is old enough to tie his or her shoes, that child's lifelong capacity to learn will be forever enhanced. And, unfortunately, if it is not, an opportunity is lost forever. The challenge to completely shift our thinking to seize this incredible opportunity is immense." States in the South, prodded by the 1998 Commission on the Future of the South, have been focusing on this issue for a few years now. As the Commission noted in it's report, "Workforce development starts with a pregnant mother." (Disclosure: I worked on this report for the Commission.) posted by Ed | Glossy brochures don't build an economy Here's the situation: you're an EDPro in a small town (population 10,000) in Southeast Indiana. How do you boost economic prospects in your economy? The answer is not "Launch a marketing campaign". But that's exactly what Greensburg, IN is doing.Why? Because a consultant appears to be pushing them in this direction. Read more A word to the wise: glossy brochures are expensive, and they don't build an economy. The mayor would be better off investing scarce economic development funds in entrepreneurial development at the high school, a business plan competition, internships with local companies, or a drop-out prevention program. About 30 kids a year drop out of the town's high school. With marketing, follow two strategies: beef up your web site (the Greensburg Chamber's site is not working when I checked) and develop a regional approach to marketing. As a small economy, it's just too expensive to go it alone. posted by Ed | Consolidating local government to boost economic development Wednesday, February 05, 2003 Look at Indianapolis and Nashville, and it is easy to conclude that broader "metro" government can help economic development. Louisville has recently taken this step. But what about other, smaller communities? Read how leaders in Colbert and Lauderdale counties in Alabama see it as a way to make local government both leaner and more effective. Colbert has a population of 55,000; Lauderdale's population is 88,000. They are located in the northwest corner of the state, west of Huntsville. Consolidation can strengthen your local brand and improve your political standing. At the same time, it can lead to more less costly and less fragmented government services. EDPros can learn important lessons from the process local leaders have designed to consider consolidation. They are taking the time to assemble the facts. Contact the Shoals Chamber. Consolidation is a good step, but it is extremely tough to pull off. To start, you must have both the business and political leadership in place. Make a judgement on the quality and strength of your leadership before you start down this path. If you have doubts, move on to other issues. There are other ditches to die in. posted by Ed | Rendell wants businesses near university campuses Tuesday, February 04, 2003 Pennsylvania's new governor Ed Rendell is pushing a new idea: tax incentives for businesses located near the state's colleges and universities. Called the Keystone Innovation Zones program, the idea is part of a legislative package the governor will submit to the legislature in March. Read more. While the idea if building businesses around a univerity campus is a solid strategy, tax incentives -- or enterprise zones -- don't work all that well. A far better appraoch, but more complicated, would involve examining the state's technology transfer policies and the incentives (or disincentives) that motivate faculty to start a business. It also involves looking at faculty policies (like release time) and procurement regulations to see how much support the state actually provides to entrepreneurial faculty. To get some background on these issues, review a report by the Southern Technology Council, "Innovation U.: New University Roles in a Knowledge Economy". posted by Ed | Web site watch: Downtown New York Alliance From time to time, I point out solid web sites for EDPros. Downtown New York competes against locations in mid-town, and it has launched a new website to support its marketing efforts. You get both a sense of the district and practical information. The site includes several helpful features: a clear home page, a space finder, and an incentives calculator. posted by Ed | State tax systems rated EDPros can take a look at how their state tax systems perform in an online report released by Governing Magazine yesterday. posted by Ed | Strategies to reduce the brain drain... Monday, February 03, 2003 By all accounts, Howard County, Maryland is not small. It has a population of 250,000. At the smae time, it faces a problem that most small counties confront: stemming the brain drain. The Chamber of Commerce, working with the schools, has launched a new strategy to reduce the brain drain. The approach could teach EDPros in smaller counties how to keep their "best and brightest". The initiative combines classroom instruction in business with one-on-one contacts with area businesses. Students vie for summer internships. The students visit three local businesses -- one a month -- and spend two hours with an executive touring the company's facilities and learning about the types of management jobs available. Business leaders give students a sense of the education path required for those jobs and what a person might expect coming from college, and how a person might work his or her way through the ranks of the company. This approach can work anywhere, and EDPros can use it to address continuing concerns about a brain drain. Read more. Learn more from the Howard County Chamber. posted by Ed | Sprawl undercuts the quality of life... In selected states, EDPros are confronting "growth issues"...citizen concerns that the current pattern of land use policies encourages sprawl and undercuts the quality of life. For EDPro's who have to understand this issue more completely, here's a good article from Virgnia that explores below the surface. Based on polling results, it shows how voters view the connection between "growth" and "quality of life". Read an overview of the sprawl issue and "smart growth". Go The sprawl cycle starts with loose subdivision regulations (or none at all). Strip development along traffic corridors then follows residential development. All this occurs on top of a rural infrastructure that's not equipped to handle it. When enough people "connect the dots", a backlash against growth starts to form. Although business development is not the primary trigger for sprawl, EDPros get caught in the crossfire. Citizen consensus can break down, and, if that happens, politics turns nasty and economic development is held hostage. posted by Ed | Minnesota heading down the wrong path with enterprise zones Saturday, February 01, 2003 Minnesota's governor is moving to establish as many as ten new rural enterprise zones. The problem is...there's not much evidence that these zones work. Read more. The process of economic development is far more complex that the promoters of these zones understand. Economic development requires a productive pattern of joint investments in infrastructure. In the knowledge economy, the scope of infrastructure is expanding beyond the traditional (roads, bridges, water, sewer) to include flexible secondary and post-secondary education, workplace training, entreprenuerial development, telecommunications, and innovation networks (sometimes called clusters). Equally important, prosperity now demands collaboration and consensus that come from civic habits of dialogue, as well as a special type of leadership practiced by civic entrepreneurs. Enterprise zones promote simple answers...but there are none. posted by Ed | |
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
 |
|||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
