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New report on Georgia's technology sector
Wednesday, April 30, 2003 Georgia is losing technology jobs at a rate faster than the country, but that trend may be slowing. A new report from Georgia Tech explains the trends. Read about the report or download a copy. posted by Ed | Rural entrepreneurship becoming more important Under the older recruitment model of economic development, rural areas relied on landing manufacturing plants. While this approach still works, entrepreneurship is rapidly rising as an alternative. This week, the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City hosted a major conference on the approach. Read more. Today in our history of innovation... In 1796, the first U.S. patent for a pill of any kind was issued to Samuel Lee, Jr., of Connecticut, for a "composition of bilious pills" that he marketed as "Lee's Windham Pills" and "Lee's New London Bilious Pills." posted by Ed | Dealing with abandoned, rundown properties Monday, April 28, 2003 In the Northwest corner of Indiana, a newspaper is waging an editorial campaign to upgrade abandoned, run down business properties. Many EDPros face the same problem in their communities. Send this link over to your local editor and some involved citizens. Who knows? It might just light a fire. posted by Ed | Summary of Indiana's ED reform legislation Here's a good summary of the economic development reform bill under consideration by the Indiana legislature. Today in our history of innovation... In 1896, J.S. Duncan of Sioux City, Iowa received the first U.S. patent for an addressing machine, the Addressograph (No. 558,936). In 1950, the company introduced the first credit card imprinter (that thing that some motel clerks still struggle with to imprint your card on a charge slip.) Today, the Addressograph's product line includes a wide range of industrial marking products. posted by Ed | Are we ready for major league, professional spin lessons? Saturday, April 26, 2003 I shy away from job postings on this web log, but I thought that as EDPros, we might be able to help out the former Iraqi Information Minister, Muhammed Saeed al-Sahaf (M.S.S. for short). Last night, in an interview with Tom Brokaw, President Bush said, "He's my man. He was great." George Bush is not alone. M.S.S.has legions of devoted fans and a web site to prove it. Even Tommy Franks fondly calls him "Baghdad Bob". This guy could teach us a few things about public relations and dealing with bad situations. He is a master of positive spin. (Imagine the confidence you'll feel announcing your next plant closing with M.S.S. whispering in your ear.) Here are some of my favorites: "We have destroyed 2 tanks, fighter planes, 2 helicopters and their shovels - We have driven them back." "We have them surrounded in their tanks." "I triple guarantee you, there are no American soldiers in Baghdad." "We blocked them inside the city. Their rear is blocked." I'll pass along his contact information. (They have to find him first.) M.S.S. can be a great addition to your annual meeting or board retreat. posted by Ed | Get up to speed on career and technical education Most EDPros run from workforce development. In the brainpower economy, that's no longer an option. Get yourself up to speed on career and technical education with this report. posted by Ed | Web Watch: Slowing the Brain Drain Communities across the country are trying to stem the "brain drain". No state is more active than Pennsylvania, where they have launched the "Stay, Invent the Future" campaign. Counties in Northeast Pennsylvania have now launched a web site targeted to young people, all in an effort to make their region "sticky". Read more about their strategy. posted by Ed | Powerline Internet is closer It's possible to send Internet signals over a power grid. Electricity and broadband Internet service can travel on a single line because their frequencies don't interfere with each other. Devices installed on the electrical grid inject the data from the Internet's fiber-optic lines into an electrical power line after it has left a power station. Computers can then be connected to the Internet through electrical outlets. Proponents of the technology are trying to impress the Federal Communications Commission that it is workable. A prototype service is being tested in about 70 homes each in Potomac, MD and Cincinnati. Pepco plans to offer the service in the fall. Learn more. posted by Ed | Texas goes to "lean" economic development The Texas senate has approved economic development bill to replace the Department of Economic Development (governed by a nine member board) with a streamlined organization run out of the governor's office. You've heard of "lean" manufacturing? Well, this is lean economic development. Read more. posted by Ed | Who is online? Businesses use the Internet more than individuals do, and EDPros need to distinguish between the two groups. Business users are important because they open the door to on-line retention surveys. Residents using the internet are good candidates for distance education. Now, there's a new study on residential users. Disparities in Internet use between rural residents and others remain. In rural areas, less than half of Americans go online. Southerners are the least likely of any geographic group to be online with 45% still not using the Internet, closely followed by the Midwest with 44% offline. The Northeast has 41% of its population offline and the West continues to lead in Internet penetration only 37% of Westerners do not use the Internet. More Midwesterners and Southerners believe they will never use the Internet. Close to 60% of offline inhabitants of both regions say they do not think they will ever go online. This contrasts with Northeast and West regions where about half of their offline residents don't think they will ever use the Internet. Download the report from the Pew Internet Project. Today in our history of innovation... In 1961, Robert Noyce received a patent for the integrated circuit. The integrated circuit placed the previously separated transistors , resistors, capacitors and all the connecting wiring onto a single crystal (or 'chip') made of silicon. He went on to found Intel. posted by Ed | Download this Friday, April 25, 2003 U.S. manufacturing is threatened by a skills shortage. And the stakes of doing nothing are high. According to the National Association of Manufacturers the talent shortage is being driven by demographic shifts, failures of the educational system and an outdated image of manufacturing tied to the negative stereotype of the "assembly line". The fact is that high end manufacturing jobs are just the type of jobs communities need. NAM has launched an educational campaign to make manufacturing a preferred career for young people by 2010. NAM is also urging the administration to declare U.S. manufacturing a national priority and is urging Congress to establish a "National Manufacturing Day." Download the report. Read it. EDPros can't pretend that we don't know. posted by Ed | Massachusetts debating how the state should invest in ED A philosophical debate has broken out in Massachusets about where the state should invest in economic development. The Democratic Speaker of the House wants to invest $100 million in an Emerging Technology Fund. He believes that investments in emerging companies can help long term growth. The governor, a former venture capitalist, says he doesn't want state employees making investment decisions. He wants to invest in infrastructure instead. What's interesting about this debate is that both sides are right...and wrong. The Speaker is right in saying that state investments can acclereate technology development, but he has chosen the wrong vehicle to do it. MassDevelopment (where the Speaker wants the money to go) is an asset based lending organization, not experienced with venture finance or technology evaluation. The governor is right in thinking that investments by MassDevelopment will be too political. But he he is wrong to ignore the state's technology-based pioneer, the Massachusetts Technology Development Corporation (MTDC). MTDC is experienced in early stage technology evealution and has developed a strong network of investment partners among venture capital firms. I come down on the side of the governor on this one. Meanwhile, the legislature has ignored the governor's proposals to reform higher education in the state. Big mistake. posted by Ed | Two more Arizona reports on building Arizona's research base Researchers have released two more reports on building the research base in Arizona. Here's an article that provides a summary. posted by Ed | Details on Indiana's new ED strategy Here's an article that summarizes the legislative deal that is emerging from the Indiana legislature on their new economic development strategy. While the governor proposed a 10 year initiative, the legislature has funded it for only two. Today in our History of Innovation... It's the birthday of DNA. Our discovery of it, that is. In 1953, James Watson and Francis Crick published the structure of DNA in a one page article in the journal, Nature. Their work earned them a Nobel Prize in 1962. This discovery lit a biotech explosion. In 1974, Monsanto estimated the cost of sequencing a gene would be $150 million. Today, it is less than $50. In 1991, all of the world's labs had identified only 2,000 genes. By 1995, researchers had published a partial map of our genetic code containing 35,000 genes. By 2000, the leading research laboratory had accumulated enough gene information to equal 6 Libraries of Congress on its basement computers. posted by Ed | Reshaping downtown in Leesburg, VA Thursday, April 24, 2003 Leesburgh, VA is trying to reshape its downtown. I've been following this story for a number of months now and it makes interesting reading. The valuable aspect of this approach is the integration of urban design with business development...it's not just pretty pictures. In a nutshell, the strategies in the plan are: building a cultural arts center as a new anchor, launching a unified marketing program, establishing a “River Walk? starting a merchant’s guild, creating a business development network, and establishing a resource center. Here are three articles that give you the background. Article 1 from February; Article 2 from March;Article 3 from April. Today in our History of Innovation... George Eastman founded the Eastman Kodak Company in 1888. Fifty-five years earlier, in 1833, Jacob Ebert of Cadiz, Ohio, and George Dulty of Wheeling, West Virgina, patented the soda fountain. posted by Ed | Multi-state coalition Wednesday, April 23, 2003 Legislators and business leaders in Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania are promoting a multi-state alliance. The coalition, called ("Strengthening the Mid-Atlantic Region for Tomorrow"). They are seeking to become the first federally chartered four-state authority. Read about their latest plans. Establishing this type of authority is not new. (The Appalachian Regional Commission was established by Congress in 1965 to support economic and social development in the Appalachian Region.) But the goal here, it appears, is similar: to strengthen the region's position in channeling federal dollars into infrastructure, R&D and other federal economic development investments. posted by Ed | Cincinnati Task Force proposes major ED reforms Cincinnati's mayor's Economic Development Task Force has recommended sweeping reforms of the city's economic development apparatus. The reforms are targeted to achieve two major objectives...improve the execution of the city's economic development strategy and improve the accessibility of business services to the business community. Learn more. Mayor Luken is trying to keep the proposals in one piece when they go to the council. He has told local legislators it's all or nothing. Meanwhile, Nashville's Mayor is considering a business led proposal to take tourism out of the chamber. Read on. Today in our History of Innnovation... In 1940, Herman Anthony patented a leak-proof flashlight battery (Ray-o-Vac). In 1896, the management at Koster and Bial's Music Hall in New York City used Thomas Edison's Vitascope to project the first movie to a paying audience. The movie included a series of short scenes projected at about half life size: a ballet dancer, a burlesque boxing match, waves on a sea shore, and a comic allegory, The Monroe Doctrine. posted by Ed | Web Watch: On-line guide for entrepreneurs in Kentucky Monday, April 21, 2003 The Kentucky Cabinet for Economic Development has launch a new on-line guide for entrepreneurs and small business owners. It represents the beginning of interactive guides (e-Guides) for economic development. (Earlier this year, Wisconsin launched an interactive guide, the Business Wizard, focused on licensing and regulatory requirements.) Kentucky's guide is designed to help business owners find resources that assist in planning, launching and expanding businesses. The guide starts with two screening questions, "In which county are you located?" and "Are you starting a businesss or are you an existing business?" The guide also has a very clear goal: to provide the small business owner with the closest, most appropriate person who can assist them. The guide also provides links the other resources that may be helpful. In the years ahead, we will see business retention and expansion programs -- which are notoriously difficult to manage -- moving to the Web where they can be easily customized. Kentucky's guide is a good start. posted by Ed | Web Watch: GIS in Vineland, NJ Saturday, April 19, 2003 The City of Vineland, NJ has launched a seemingly undistinguished web site, until you look a little deeper. They have a good GIS engine that lists available properties. Play around with it for a little while, and you can see that it proves to be a useful tool to locate properties, evaluate zoning, and find wetlands. It's still awkward, but communities that develop their experience with GIS will be ahead of the game. VIneland needs to pay more attention to graphic design, though. The site generally looks like one for an elementary school. posted by Ed | Measuring performance in a regional economy More and more regional economies should be developing their own index of economic activity. EDPros in Western North Carolina now have a new index developed by the economics faculty at Appalachian State University. Read more about the index. Download a copy of the index. Today in our History of Innovation In 1892, Duryea Motor Wagon Company launched the first Duryea automobile. In August 189, Charles Duryea started building the vehicle at his shop, 47 Taylor St., Springfield, Mass. Duryea's automobile became the model for the first automobile regularly made for sale in the U.S. posted by Ed | A day for quiet reflection Friday, April 18, 2003 In the Christian tradition, today commemorates death of Jesus. (My wife, who is Chinese, asked me last night, "Why do we call it Good Friday"? That's one of those embarrassing little questions that you should know the answer to. But I didn't, so I did a little research. It turns out, nobody's quite sure where the term, Good Friday, came from. Some say it is from "God's Friday"; others maintain that it derives from German. Anglo-Saxons also called it Long Friday.) Regardless of your beliefs, I hope you'll find some time today for quiet reflection on the vulnerabilities we share. posted by Ed | An overview of Arizona's bioscience strategy Thursday, April 17, 2003 Here's a good review of Arizona's bioscience strategy. Key elements of the strategy include improved technology transfer, accelerated recruitment of anchor companies, more lab space, and more research. posted by Ed | Building innovation networks in Maryland Creating an innovation economy means building networks. Here's a good example of how Maryland hopes to accelerate technology transfer from federal research facilities. But that's not all. Maryland is also developing new technology transfer channels from its research universities. Indeed, technology transfer promises to be a major thrust of the state's emerging economic development strategy under its new governor. The big question: Will the state invest enough to have a sufficient long term impact? posted by Ed | Top university centers in regional economic development Recently, someone asked me about university centers that are particularly good in doing research on regional economic development issues. Three came to mind. These centers are helpful from a practitioner's viewpoint. Carnegie Mellon's Center for Economic Development leads my list. They have some very good reports on regional ED issues, and they have done a lot to shape the debate in the Pittsburgh region. Visit their publications page to download some useful reports. (Note that the staff of the Center does not include celebrity consultant, Richard Florida, who, to my thinking, is a bit flaky.) Next on my list is the Morrison (no relation) Institute of Public Policy at Arizona State University. For some years, the Morrison Insitute has shaped state ED policy in Arizona. Look at their interactive "Five Shoes" web site to see how they are popularizing economic issues in the state. You can download the Five Shoes report there. The Morrison Institue has done a really good job making economic development issues accessible to the general public by focusing on strong graphics. Finally, I like the research work of the Office of Economic Development at the Kenan Institute at the University of North Carolina. On their publications page you can download their recent report on North Carolina's economic development system. I also like their report on the promise of entrepreneurship in Chattanooga. posted by Ed | Pittsburgh Technology Council releases indicators report The Pittsburgh Technology Council released its 2002 State of the Industry report earlier this week. The report provides an overivew of the region's technology assets and networks. It also explores five key clusters within the region: information technology; biomedical and biotechnology; advanced manufacturing; advanced materials (including chemicals, plastics and specialty metals); and environmental technology. The report provides a good framework for assessing a regional innovation economy. More and more regions will be adopting new approaches to innovation-led economic development. Reports like this one tell you where you stand and where you're heading. They change the dynamics of the economic development debate and help EDPros develop consensus around specific initiatives. Today in our History of Innovation... In 1810, the first U.S. patent for pineapple cheese was issued to L.M. Norton of Troy, Pennsylvania. posted by Ed | EDPros need better early warning systems Wednesday, April 16, 2003 This morning brings news that a glass plant in College Park, PA is closing. Here's the paragraph that caught my attention: "We had no prior knowledge that this was going to happen," said Art Heim, vice president for economic development with the Centre County Chamber of Business and Industry. Well, I thought to myself, "Why was this a surprise?" Three years ago, I was working in Corning, NY, which has a similar TV tube plant. Back then we were hearing rumors of a plant closing. And this is no small fish...the College Park plant has 1,000 employees. So, here's a quick and dirty Early Warning System that you can implement. Step 1: Follow the 80/20 rule. 80% of your employment is going to come from 20% of your employers. Make sure you know who these are. If you have a high proportion of manufacturers in that 20%, you've got a more fluid situation than an EDPro whose heavy hitters are dominated by education and health care. Step 2: Build your intelligence networks. Start cultivating sources on your big employers. Take their temperature (at least quarterly). This network is just that...a network. Rely on a lot of different sources of information. Triangulate to figure out where you are. (Years ago, as a corporate strategy consultant working for General Electric, I would evaluate competitors by reading 10-K and analyst reports, paying close attention to plant holidays and shift schedules, interviewing suppliers to pick up gossip, and even counting cars in parking lots to estimate employment.) In this day, rely on e-mail and the Internet. I have even constructed web pages that brings all of my contacts and industry sources together and puts them one click away. Step 3: Prepare contingency plans. You can never run against a market. If a plant is going to close, there's little chance you have to keep it going. But you can prepare contingency plans for workers and facilities. (See, for example, how Missouri's quick response team works.) As a practical matter, you need to get beyond the closing as quickly as possible. Take care of the workers as best you can, activate clawbacks on incentives (if you have them), and then shift the topic of conversation. Don't get caught in an a quagmire...move on. In any case, you should never be quoted in the paper saying "We had no prior knowledge..." posted by Ed | Trying to find the right source of funds in Indiana Indiana is still trying to come up with a long term investment p[lan for economic development. The governor wanted to use tobacco funds, but that idea is in the tank because of a court judgement against Philip Morris. Now, Republican legislators are proposing a similar investment plan -- $1 billlion over 10 years -- funded from gambling revenues. Learn more. Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, a Deomocratic legislator has a similar idea: use revenue from slots to help schools. (Generally, gambling is a bad idea as an economic development strategy. In most cases, it creates more problems than it solves for a regional economy. It acts like a huge Social Securtity system in reverse. It sucks money out of the pockets of people who can't afford it and sends it to people who don't really need it. But if you head down this path, at least invest the resulting tax revenue in initiatives -- like education and economic development -- that will generate more income in the future.) posted by Ed | Here's a roadmap of Arizona's technology roadmap Arizona has a lot underway to build a new economy. If you're curious, start on this page. It highlights this week's meeting of the Arizona Telecommunications & Information Council. But it also provides an overview of what the state is up to. Follow a link, and you'll get to the Governor's Council on Innovation and Technology. From there, you can find reports on Arizona's biotech initiative, as well as Arizona's past reports on the New Economy. Today in our History of Innovation... In 1987, the U.S. government authorized patents on genes, the first nation in the world to do so. One year later, the Patent Office issued the first gene patent for mice designed to be highly susceptible to breast cancer. Designated as "oncomice," they are used in testing anticancer therapies with more efficiency and accurate results. posted by Ed | Drawing a map to reform higher ed in New Jersey Tuesday, April 15, 2003 Governor McGreevey in New Jersey has placed reform of higher education in the center of his economic development agenda. To navigate the minefields, he has appointed a high profile commission to help him. Read more. posted by Ed | SBA agrees to evaluate sprawl impacts of its loan program In settlement of a lawsuit, the Small Business Administration has agreed to analyze the environmental and growth impacts of its main small business loan program. The settlement will likely make it harder for small businesses to get government-guaranteed 7(a) loans to finance construction of facilities in farmland, open spaces, or environmentally sensitive areas, such as wetlands, coastal barrier islands, and along wild and scenic rivers. Learn more. posted by Ed | Researchers: incentives have no impact on job creation In study of the impact of economic development incentives, two unniversity researchers have found that incentives have no impact on job creation. Professors David Kraybill of Ohio State and Todd Gabe of the University of Maine looked at 366 establishments that expanded between 1993 and 1995, and compared those that received state incentives with those that did not.They conclude that incentives don't stimulate job growth and that firms that received incentives inflated their job claims. Download the study. Today in the History of Innovation I'm starting a new feature that celebrates the innovative power of the U.S. economy. Each day, I'll mention a significant event in our remarkable history of innovation and technology development. It's a way for us as EDPros to recognize the importance of what we do by encouraging people to push out the boundaries of our economy. (This material comes from Today in Science History). Today in 1817, the Erie Canal was authorized. It was the first canal of importance in the U.S. and linked Buffalo on Lake Erie with the Hudson River at Albany New York, a distance of 360 miles. posted by Ed | Web Watch: 3 sites to explore Monday, April 14, 2003 Here's a cool web site that integrates mapping and aerial photos. It's called Oakland Explorer. While the results are still a little rough, it shows you where Internet-based commercial real estate has been heading. The Chattanooga Chamber has developed a slick web site for a major industrial park, Enterprise South Industrial Park. You can use this site as a model for organizing information for a marketing web site for industrial properties. If you are looking for a good web site design, spend a few minutes with Will County, Center for Economic Development. (Based in Joiliet, IL, Will County is near Chicago.) Although it's not completely built out, the site does have a good approach to listing a wide range of projects. Click the home page, then look under "Available Properties". posted by Ed | Pittsburgh's new branding campaign Pittsburgh launched its new marketing toolkit today. Read the background. This is the most extensive regional branding program I've come across in the U.S. Australia and some Europeran countries (like Scotland) are far ahead of us in developing economic development brands. You can learn more from the Pittsburgh branding web site. Particularly interesting is the background on "location branding". For example, this page explores the question, "What are the unique challenges of 'location branding'?" It also advises, "When thinking about branding it's important to understand that a brand is not a slogan. It's not a logo. Nor is it an ad campaign. "A brand is the relationship between the customer and the product. A brand exists in the mind of the customer, and consists of a powerful set of promises that deliver a relevant and distinctive value or a set of services." posted by Ed | We all know workforce development is an issue...Right? Business 2.0 reminds us of the importance of good workforce training. Panic in the heartland, part 1: The crisis begins. Outside a Wal-Mart in the small town of Geneseo, Ill., a 73-year-old woman buys a newspaper and suddenly finds herself trapped when the door of the news rack slips closed and catches her coat. Unable to wriggle out, she solicits a bystander to enter the Wal-Mart and ask for help. A Wal-Mart employee comes out to explain that she can't assist, citing a policy against tampering with the news rack. Panic in the heartland, part 2: The tense negotiation. After going back inside for a moment, the Wal-Mart employee comes out and tells the trapped woman that she'll call the newspaper and have a representative come to release her. The woman suggests an alternative solution: Somebody could simply put two quarters in the machine and open the damn door. The Wal-Mart employee rejects this out of hand, explaining that the store can't pay refunds for the news rack. Panic in the heartland, part 3: The sweet taste of liberation. Eventually the employee relents and puts two quarters in the machine. Later the liberated woman's daughter visits the store and gives the manager a $5 bill to be used strictly to finance future releases. A Wal-Mart corporate spokesperson apologizes for the incident, saying, "This is not how we do business." From "The 101 Dumbest Moments in Business". posted by Ed | The forces reshaping rural economies Saturday, April 12, 2003 Economic development strategies in rural areas are shifting. Five important trends are underway. (You can explore the first three trends at the Center for the Study of Rural America at the Federal Reserve Bank in Kansas City.) First, rural entrepreneurship -- and efforts to support rural entrepreneurs -- are expanding. Download a report. Second, rural areas are seeing a new emphasis on regional approaches to economic development. Download a report. Third, Biopharming is expanding. Biopharming involves raising plants engineered to produce proteins for use in vaccines, drugs or industrial chemicals. Download a report. Here's a recent article on the issue. Fourth, renewable energy -- wind power, ethanol, for example -- offers the opportunity to reshape some regional economies. (You can learn more about the economic development potential of wind power with this recent report from the National Wind Coordinating Committee. You can learn more about ethanol at the Renewable Fuels Association.) Fifth, e-business is connecting businesses in rural economies in ways that were never possible before. British Columbia is using this approach as one strategy in rural development. Learn more. posted by Ed | Regional development across a two state region The Regional Vision for Community Excellence is developing the economy in a five-county region of northern Illinois and southern Wisconsin. They have 14 initiatives underway that range from infrastructure and land use planning to marketing. Read more. They also have a web site with a simple, clean design...a good model for the rest of us to follow. posted by Ed | Mississippi, Alabama announce a regional "straddle" park Following their earlier pledge of cooperation, the governors of Mississippi and Alabama announced a two state, regional industrial park yesterday. Learn more. Last year, the Mississippi legislature gave its governor the authority to enter into regional economic development alliances. Governor Riley in Alabama is seeking similar legislation that would allow him to set up an alliance, fund it, and determine how its revenues would be distributed. posted by Ed | San Antonio's approach to biotech Here's an overview of how San Antonio is connecting its assets in biotech development. The article touches on a number of important aspects of biotech business development. Successful development starts with good science. Building this research base involves both recruiting people and building specialized facilities that are funded with public dollars. Successful development requires thick, closely coordinated networks of business development. Typically, a "bridging" organization, such as a research foundation, plays a key role in building and harnessing this network. Successful development requires sophisticated investors. Biotechnology development requires investors who know enough to evaluate the business development risks. Successful development can be accelerated by promoting lower costs. Secondary biotech markets have an important advantage in lower costs. For start-up companies, places like San Antonio offer lower "burn rates" (the rate at which early money is burned before revenues start). Initial funding lasts longer. Successful development requires steady leadership and time. Biotech development happens with a long term strategy that is consistently implemented and evaluated. To sustain this strategy, leaders need to set reasonable targets, manage expectations, and stay focused -- What's the vision? What's the next step? posted by Ed | Incubator conference coming up Friday, April 11, 2003 The National Business Incubator Association is holding its annual conference in Richmond, VA on May 18 to 25. You can register here. If you need to learn more about business incubation strategies, this is the place to go. posted by Ed | South Carolina considers reforms for research universities South Carolina is moving in the direction of increasing the flexibility of its research universities to form partnerships with private businesses. A pending legislative proposal would put the state's three research universities -- Clemson, the University of South Carolina, and the Medical University of South Carolina -- under a new Research Oversight Council. The proposal would free the universities from some of the state regulations that currently inhibit private partnerships. Learn more. posted by Ed | Big fat technology report available Thursday, April 10, 2003 Don Iannone's weblog this morning contains a good article on a new report on state technology indicators. I find it ironic, though, that the Technology Administration does such a miserable job making this information available on the web. The report totals over 8 MB. (Who has time?) And, what's worse, the size of the report is due to its really bad graphics. (Who cares?) None of the data are available for download, so you can't easily do your own analysis or draw your own graphs. You can download the report here. (By the way, I e-mailed the Office of Public Affairs at the Technology Administration to point out how other government agencies have made their data more accessible on the Internet. They didn't respond.) posted by Ed | Riding into the future in an Edsel Governor Pawlenty in Minnesota wants to carve out a bunch of tax free zones, despite weak evidence that these things work. Now business leaders are weighing in. Not all of them are impressed with the idea. Read on. One technology executive puts the problem in a nutshell: "Anything that helps foster growth in Greater Minnesota is a good thing. But saying your competitive advantage is that you don't pay taxes, that's not something that draws high-paying jobs." Tax free zones are a 1950's idea out of step with the demands of a global economy that runs on brainpower. Here are some better approaches. Governor Rendell is building Innovation Zones anchored -- not by political decisions on tax free zones -- but by initiatives from the state's colleges and universities. But what about rural areas? Well, that problem is tougher, but there are options that make sense. In a recent Rural Summit, Nebraska's Lt. Gov. Dave Heineman outlined how rural economic development must change to be competitive. posted by Ed | The City of Austin is moving ahead with an ED Plan Wednesday, April 09, 2003 The City of Austin, TX (as opposed to the Austin Chamber) has never had an economic development plan. Now it's getting closer to figuring out the City government's role in economic development. Read the latest. Last year, the Mayor appointed an economic development task force to pursue three goals: "Ensure the local economy thrives in a global marketplace, provide flexibility and support for the economy to flourish, and understand the importance of quality of life, and culture to Austin's success". (Whimsically, this last goal was restated as "Keeping Austin weird".) Download a white paper and a presentation from a workshop held last November. posted by Ed | Moving ahead with TIF districts in Cincinnati EDPros involved in downtown development will be interested how Cincinnati is implementing tax increment financing (TIF) districts as part of its redevelopment strategy. posted by Ed | Virginia points the way to workforce reforms Despite our reluctance to get involved, EDPros will need to become more active in workforce development. The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) is up for reauthorization this year (probably in the fall), and there are many flaws to fix. Recently, Virginia enacted reforms to its workforce system. These reforms point to areas where federal level efforts are particularly weak. Better accountability. WIA has a lot of mumbo jumbo about accountability. But the measures are not clear or simple. Virginia is trying to cut through the fog and improve these metrics. Improved service at the One Stops. The old WIA had a sensible idea in setting up One Stop Centers, but they rarely work very well. Virginia is trying to improve their performance through better integration of services. One Stop Centers have a long way to go. Creation of Middle Colleges for at risk youth. I've never seen a Youth Council that works very well under WIA. (The ones I've seen are simply captives of their service providers.) Virginia has come up with an alternative to deal with the very serious problem of high school drop-outs. A Middle College is an alternative high school with demonstrated successes. We need these alternatives. In most regional economies, anywhere from 20% to 60% of the ninth graders will not complete high school. That's the hidden Brain Drain. Here's an example of a Middle College from California, and here is an article from the Ford Foundation that gives you a good overview of Middle Colleges. posted by Ed | Oregon explores clean energy business development Tuesday, April 08, 2003 A good article in today's Portland Business Journal outlines plans to develop clean energy businesses in the Pacific Northwest. A new clean report will be released tomorrow. You can download a copy of the first clean energy report here. posted by Ed | Impact of research universities in Boston Colleges and universities are increasingly viewed as drivers of regional economic development. Here's a useful report that details the impact of higher education in the Boston Metro economy. Download Engines of Economic Growth: The Economic Impact of Boston's Eight Research Universities on the Metropolitan Boston Area. Pass it on to any college or university presidents you know. They'll thank you for it. posted by Ed | Attracting developers to the riverfront For EDPros interested in downtown development, you might keep an eye on Middletown, CT. The city has been managing a process to redevelop their riverfront, and they have attracted the interest of some major league developers. Here's an article that provides an overview of their process. If you are interested, download the Request for Qualifications that the city released in January. E-mail Munro Johnson of the Development Department for more details. posted by Ed | Generating positive news coverage EDPros face a challenge in generating a steady stream of positive news stories. These stories are important for a couple of reasons. First, they improve and deepen a community's sense of itself. Second, they help educate and inform people about the dynamics of economic development. Here's an idea you can promote to the editors and publisher of your local paper. Each Monday, the Quad City Times in Davenport, Iowa publishes an article on a neighborhood. (The Quad City region is located along the Mississippi River in Western Illinois and Eastern Iowa.) This editorial explains the paper's reasoning. Use the same arguments with your local folks. posted by Ed | Call centers shifting overseas Monday, April 07, 2003 The trend toward shifting call centers overseas is accelerating. According to a recent survey in Call Center magazine, about 10 million square feet, or roughly 10 percent of existing call center space in the U.S., is now vacant. The remaining 90 million square feet of space is operating at two-thirds capacity. That translates into a loss of 100,000 jobs from a combination of the recession and shifting to overseas vendors in India, the Philippines, and other countries. Learn more. Here's another recent article on the trend. posted by Ed | Overview of bioscience development points to the weakness of economic development journalism Sunday, April 06, 2003 Here's an article outlining the efforts of many states to pursue bioscience development. It's a tricky business with long lead times, but if your region has researchers producing good science, it makes sense to pursue business development. The challenge is to define the appropriate level and pattern of bioscience investment, given your other economic development options. Unfortunately, article misses this point. Indeed, this article is a good example of bad economic development journalism. It implies that bioscience development is some kind of zero sum game...which it is not. Indeed, bioscience development -- as well as other technology development -- opens the door to new global alliances that can (over time) remake a region's economic landscape. These investments are not the same as the incentive wars over the next auto assembly plant. Keep in mind that medical research touches every state and creates a wide range of economic development options. The National Institutes of Health is funding over 34,000 research projects nationwide with an investment of $12.6 billion. Furthermore, in 2002, NIH funded 1,893 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer Research (STTR) awards. The total investment in these early stage business projects was about $500 million. Why is it so surprising that bioscience research is such an important economic development priority? posted by Ed | Albany is a region to watch Albany, NY is putting together a really smart regional economic development strategy. Led by the Center for Economic Development, the strategy includes the major components a region needs to compete globally. They are focused on the key elements of a competitive region: building brainpower; translating brainpower into business with innovation and entrepreneurship; and developing a quality place. The latest piece they have put in place is a branding strategy. posted by Ed | It's time to connect the dots on skill shortages Saturday, April 05, 2003 Last week, Don Iannone pointed out a good article on labor shortages in his weblog. According to a report by Capital Area Michigan Works, a looming retirement boom and population flight are pushing the Lansing area toward a "severe" labor shortage. This problem is not limited to Lansing. Across the country, we are facing the looming problem of skill shortages brought on by the coming retirement of the "baby boom" generation. We have three major imbalances: 1. We have too many young people dropping out of high school feeding a cycle of dependency. 2. We have too many students graduating from high school with weak skills and no career plans. 3. We have too many people caught in a working poor cycle with inadequate training options to move them ahead. It's time that we connected the dots. We have shortages of nurses (and other skilled health care workers like radiologists); engineers; pharmacists; truck drivers; skilled machinists; teachers; automotive technicians. This list goes on. These shortages are symptoms of regional workforce systems that are badly out of balance. Lansing is not alone. posted by Ed | Web Watch: Property finder in Fremont, CA Friday, April 04, 2003 Fremont, CA has launched a site designed to attract businesses to the city. The site features a searchable database on available property, surrounding demographics and business reports. Users can find traffic counts, aerial photos of the city's business areas and property zoning information. The site includes mapping software. You need to download the Autodesk Mapviewer to see the maps. The information integration is tight, and the design of the site is clean and compact. Visit the site. posted by Ed | Web Watch: Online workforce development training The Pennsylvania State University system today launched a virtual university targeted at workforce development and training. The Keystone University Network includes more than 1,900 workforce-training and professional-development courses, adult basic education, and specialized training areas, such as healthcare. posted by Ed | Get up to speed on nanotechnology Nanotechnology is emerging as a new technology field for economic development. It involves research conducted on a very small scale...a billionth of a meter. If you'd like a brief overview of what nanotechnology means, here is a good article. posted by Ed | Pennsylvania launches new innovation partnership Building an innovation economy involves building networks on networks. No state is more active than Pennsylvania. Their new Secretary of Community and Economic Development, Dennis Yablonsky, has a strong background in innovation and business development. So, it's no surprise that he is focusing his early efforts here. Today, Pennsylvania is launching a new cooperative effort to expand funding to early stage companies through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program and the Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) program. Both offer federal grants to early stage development. The new effort, The Innovation Partnership, has its own web site and is supported by the Small Business Administration. Learn more. posted by Ed | Innovation Philadelphia promotes internships to slow the brain drain Thursday, April 03, 2003 Here's an interesting event launched by Innovation Philadelphia. It's an internship fair targeted at minority students in the region's 80+ colleges and universities. Promoting internships makes your community "sticky", and they slow the brain drain. Here's a good quote: "Innovation Philadelphia views internships as a key strategy in our efforts to keep graduates in the region," said Richard A. Bendis, President & CEO of Innovation Philadelphia. "This internship fair is the first of many efforts to increase the number of internships in the region. Internships are a win-win for everybody: For employers, they provide affordable labor, energize the workplace and bring innovative new ideas. For students, they receive real workplace experience that may lead to new career opportunities within the region." Other regions are doing the same. For example, Indianapolis manages Indiana INTERNnet. posted by Ed | UNC report on North Carolina marketing efforts is available The University of North Carolina has posted its report that recommends changes in the state's economic development system. The report proposes improvements in statewide marketing for economic development. The suggestions include better coordination between the state and regions in developing a marketing plan, clearer roles, and improved accountability for measurable results. The issue of coordination is a tricky one. States (South Carolina, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, for example) are moving toward a more regional approach to economic development, as they focus on regional clusters. This approach raises the difficulties of balancing statewide branding and recruitment with regional branding and recruitment. posted by Ed | Connecting the dots in Mississippi Wednesday, April 02, 2003 Education and economic development agendas are starting to merge. People are beginning to get the message that education builds the brainpower we need to compete. Take the case of Union County Development Association in New Albany, Mississippi. Monday night, at their annual meeting, University of Mississippi Chancellor Robert Khayat spoke. Despite Mississippi’s good work ethic and other positive characteristics, the state still ranks low, “because we have not educated our work force.” Kayat pointed out how we have managed to get our priorities twisted. “Eighty-four percent of inmates in Mississippi prisons are at a fourth-grade level in reading and math; only one percent have college degrees,” he said. “But we are spending $20,000 a year on each prisoner and only $6,000 a year on education.” What's true in Mississippi is true in every other state. We're producing too many drop-outs, too many high school graduates with weak skills, and not enough young people with post-secondary training. Sooner or later, we'll connect the dots. posted by Ed | Louisiana conference on innovation Louisiana held a conference last month on "Creating a Culture of Innovation". You can download the presentations here. They include good material on the university and economic development, entrepreneurial growth companies, and rural entrepreneurship. posted by Ed | Cleveland's life sciences cluster connects with Israeli companies Tuesday, April 01, 2003 Increasingly, regions will be developing their own "foreign economic policy" through development alliances. In an earlier post today, I pointed to Maine's efforts to build connections with Canada's maritime provinces. Here's another good case to illustrate. Cleveland is developing its life sciences cluster through alliances with Israeli companies. The Ohio-Israel Chamber of Commerce stands in the middle. Three Israeli companies have established themselves in Cleveland. While this type of development is not easy, the strategy does point to new directions for EDPros. posted by Ed | Mississippi reorganizes regional retention efforts The Mississippi has reorganized its regional offices to provide more flexible retention services. Read more. posted by Ed | Alabama and Mississippi governors form regional economic development alliance Here's another example of regions moving to the center of the economic development stage. East Mississippi and west Alabama will join forces to attract major economic development projects. The Regional Economic Development Alliance agreement could serve as a model for other regions. A year under development, the agreement still requires some legislative action on Alabama's part. posted by Ed | Maine will be forming new alliances with Canada One of the fascinating trends in economic development is the emergence of the region-state. Regional economies are becoming more important as they connect to the global economy. (Arguably, nation-states are becoming less important.) Maine is a good example of this trend. Under its new governor, Maine will be extending its economic development alliances into Canada. Governor John Baldacci wants to create the Northeast Atlantic Region trade district out of Maine and Maritime Canada. His goal is to increase international commerce with Europe and fostering economic growth on both sides of the border. The governor has called the premiers of the Maritime Provinces - Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island - and Quebec to start the process. Baldacci hopes to use this regional strategy to form stronger partnerships in Europe. EDPro Mark Scarano alerted me to this article. Mark points out a good quote from the article: "Partnering with the Maritime Provinces makes more sense for Maine than joining forces with other American states, said John Mahon, University of Maine professor of international business policy and strategy." posted by Ed | North Carolina report illustrates a good point: We can't keep score very well A new North Carolina report points to the challenges of developing useful measurements to evaluate the effectiveness of economic development programs. The report, by the University of North Carolina, evaluates the state's marketing system and particularly the relationship between the state department of commerce and the regional marketing alliances that operate throughout the state. Here's an example of what I mean. As reported in the newspaper, the report compares North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia. It notes that in 2002, the state created 198 jobs for every 100,000 workers, while Virginia added 308 and South Carolina added 412. As a first cut, this measure makes some sense...but it obviously excludes any consideration of job quality. The economic impact (personal income) generated by North Carolina's jobs may exceed those in South Carolina. We'd rather have jobs splicing genes, instead of sewing jeans. Here's another example. The report compares the percentage of state budgets devoted to retention. But this is an activity measure, not an outcome measure, so it doesn't tell us much. Finally, the report cites composite scorecards. These are too broad to be useful. While these composite measures make good newspaper copy, they carry relatively little practical policy impact. (What does it mean to be falling behind in "economic dynamism"? Do we need to exercise more?) As EDPros, we need to start developing our own scorecards for marketing, retention, innovation, education. The best work currently underway measures innovation activity in an economy. See for example, the Index of Massachusetts Innovation Economy. Chicago Metropolis 2020 has also produced some very good reports that use effective indicators to measure prosperity in a regional economy. Read a summary. posted by Ed | |
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