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Report: Greensboro should expand links to Research Triangle
Tuesday, September 30, 2003 A report issued today compares Greensboro to 18 other cities in the Southeast, and it finds that the city lags in the number of professional and technical workers. The author recommends that Greensboro form tighter partnerships with the Research Triangle to boost the number of higher skilled jobs in the economy. Read more. posted by Ed | Focusing on granddaddy big bucks Some smaller rural towns have figured out the atttracting retirees may be as good as going after factories. Retirees have money, and they are in the "spending" part of their life cycle. Here's what Seneca, South Carolina is doing. It's a town of 8,000 in the foothills in the western part of the state, and it used to look to textiles as a way to prosper. Read more. posted by Ed | Finger football as an economic development plan for Louisiana And you thought that California was the only state with certifiable nut cases (not to mention porn stars) running for governor. In Louisiana, a candidate for governor is promoting finger football as an economic stimulant for the state. (In finger football, two people flip a paper triangle back and forth across a table.) He wants to make Louisiana the hub for a national sport. To demonstrate his seriousness, he wears a tuxedo while campaigning. But that's not all. Another candidate wants to build a subway system in New Orleans. Never mind that the city is below sea level. Read more. posted by Ed | Boeing reps visit North Carolina Boeing representatives made a low key visit to North Carolina last week, but nobody is talking much. Read about it. posted by Ed | States forming regional commissions Here's an interesting article on how states are forming regional commissions similar to the Appalachian Regional Commission. These multi-state alliances are geared toward helping rural areas hard hit by population declines and the erosion of their economies. They include Northern Great Plains Inc., Southwest Regional Border Authority, and the Southeast Crescent Authority. Read more. posted by Ed | Child care and economic development Here's another report that connects the dots between child care and economic development. This report, like a similar one from Kansas City recently, looks at the child care industry in Minnesota. It finds that child care in Minnesota generates $962 million annually and has the capacity to serve 265,700 children at any one time. Read more. Look at the Kansas City report, Investing in the Child Care Industry: An Economic Development Strategy for Kansas. Go. posted by Ed | Portland, OR launches new regional group Another regional ED group has formed. This one, Portland Regional Partners for Business, covers six counties around Portland. The partnership will include marketing, business retention, and other regional economic development strategies. Read more. The new alliance formalizes a working group that has existed for more than a decade. The Portland Development Commission will serve as administrative agent for the organization. The new group is developing plans to promote the area to four industries: silicon, micro to nano technologies, cyber-security, and metals and transportation equipment. posted by Ed | Download this: Bartik paper on manufacturing policy Manufacturing policy is moving center stage in the political debate, but U.S. policymakers are getting it wrong again. They are focusing too much on China, and not enough on reforms here at home. (For an example of the focus on China, see this article.) Here are some practical, focused ideas on how to improve manufacturing policy. Written by Timothy Bartik of the Upjohn Institute, the paper gives us a framework to improve manufacturing policy. Go. Today in our history of innovation... In 1935, the Boulder Dam, Boulder City, Nev. was dedicated. The concrete-arch dam, subsequently named Hoover Dam in 1947, supplied the first U.S. hydroelectric plant to produce a million kilowatts. posted by Ed | South Carolina colleges collaborate Monday, September 29, 2003 Here's another trend that's emerging within regions that understand the importance of workforce training: expanded collaboration among post-secondary schools. In South Carolina, four technical colleges have joined forces to "put some of that competitiveness aside" so the colleges can "respond more quickly and effectively" to employers. Read more. posted by Ed | Denver works on its brand Denver's mayor wants to define a clearer image for Denver's brand. Learn more. As one observer rightly notes, to brand Denver, "You need a very small group of people with a lot of passion to pursue it rigorously, and to reward those who get on board and find ways to pressure those who are not enthusiastic to participate." They might look at how Pittsburgh has approached the challenge. Learn more. posted by Ed | Web Watch: Pennsylvania artists as entrepreneurs Pennsylvania's Dpartment of Community and Economic Development has launched a web site that encourages Pennsylvania artists to become entrepreneurs by starting their own art studios. The Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority's technology development grant program (http://www.inventpa.com) provided $50,000 to develop the site. Visit the site. Go. posted by Ed | A chip plant in upstate NY? Speculation is starting to bubble up about a chip manufacturing plant in upstate New York. The project is called Luther Forest Technology Campus. Read more. The plan assumes building four high volume wafer fabrication facilities (fabs) on the Technology campus. You can download the draft environmental impact statement for the project on this page. Go. posted by Ed | Georgia's post Chrysler moves In a really smart move, Georgia's governor has re-allocated $49.3 million set aside for the Chrysler project to PeachCare for Kids program. (Sooner or later, we will all understand that investing in early childhood development is economic development. In an economy that runs on brainpower, workforce development begins with a pregnant mother.) Read more about the moves Georgia is taking after Chrysler pulled out. Go. Today in our history of innovation... In 1914, Thomas A. Edison received a patent for a "Phonograph-Record". posted by Ed | Economy Watch Sunday, September 28, 2003 Here's your weekly dose of the best economics writing. Lawmakers targeting China for U.S. economic woes Another Big Reason China Won't Revalue University of Michigan Survey Shows Dip in Consumer Confidence Poverty rate climbs, median income drops 3 reasons why signs of recovery may not be as rosy as they seem Economic Growth Raises Hopes for Recovery Offshoring transforms India's tech economy Bush Presses OPEC Not to 'Hurt Our Economy China's pivotal position for the world economy Fed can keep rates low as economy recovers posted by Ed | North Carolina legislation boosts "mini-hubs" Saturday, September 27, 2003 North Carolina has enacted legislation to encourage rural counties to coordinate their efforts to develop regional parks or "mini-hubs". The idea behind the legislation is that cooperative regional parks will work best for smaller, more rural counties that may not have the resources to put together a large site to attract companies to the region. Mini-hubs are not typical industrial parks. They offer enhanced services to support a cluster. The key to making this approach work is figuring out equitable formulas for splitting costs and revenues. Learn more. Research Triangle Park is pioneering the mini-hub approach to spread development into surrounding rural counties. The Kerr-Tar Hub is the first mini-hub out of the blocks. It is an outgrowth of a study conducted by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's Office of Economic Development for the Research Triangle Regional Partnership. The study determined the feasibility of creating a series of "mini-hubs" to stimulate investment in rural areas of the 13-county Research Triangle Region. posted by Ed | Toyota suppliers come to Texas Starting in 2006, Toyota will make 150,000 Tundra pickup trucks a year in San Antonio. If you are interested in the process by which Toyota suppliers are beginning to scout locations in Texas, here's a good article. Go. Today in our history of innovation... In 1892, the Diamond Match Company of Barberton, Ohio patented book matches. posted by Ed | Auditor thumps Arizona's commerce department State agencies in Arizona must go through a "sunset review". The State Auditor issues the report, which is not binding. The report concludes that many of the state's Department of Commerce programs either duplicate services provided elsewhere or could be moved to other agencies. In effect, the audit concludes that Commerce could be eliminated without serious consequences to the state. Read more. posted by Ed | San Antonio creates new incentive fund San Antonio's city council has created a $12 million fund to lure companies to the city. The fund traces its genesis to the state's $295 million Texas Enterprise Fund. That fund emerged from the race to put together $133 million in incentives to land Toyota's manufacturing plant. The city is still crafting rules on how the fund will be used. Learn more. posted by Ed | Massachusetts: The changing business climate Here's a good article on how Massachusetts is making changes to remain competitive for technololgy-based companies. Go. posted by Ed | Washington continues to be confident on 7E7 Friday, September 26, 2003 The confidence of Washigton State officials continues to show through. Boeing Chairman Phil Condit has noticed a change in Washington's business climate. "Some real progress has been made, no question about it," Condit told reporters after speaking at the University of Washington Business School. Read more. posted by Ed | Improving Arizona's technology standing The Morrison Institute at Arizona State University has published an assessment of Arizona's technology position: on most measures the state is no better than the national average. The report has sparked the local business newspaper to dig deeper. It asked several leaders in the state to give their reaction to the Morrison Institute report. Read more. You can download the report from this page. Go. posted by Ed | Ohio's Third Frontier Plan Governor Taft outlined the last component of his Third Frontier plan today: a $500 million bond issue to invest in the state's emerging innovation economy. Proceeds of the bond issue will be used, in part, to endow research chairs at the state's universities. Read more. posted by Ed | Free Internet and downtown development The town of Wake Forest, NC is moving ahead to integrate free Internet access into their downtown development plans. Learn more. Promoters want to attract more people to downtown while preserving a small town experience. (Cleveland has the largest metropolitan zone of free Internet service, and in a later post I'll explore more of how this zone operates. The zone, called OneCleveland, is an initiative of Case Western Reserve University, where I am now based.) posted by Ed | The role of airports in business location Thursday, September 25, 2003 While I was in the airport coming backfrom Roanoke, I ran across an interesting article in USA Today on the role of airports in business location. One professional who tracks this trend comments: "Airports will shape business location and urban development in this century as much as highways did in the 20th, railroads in the 19th and seaports did in the 18th centuries. The three 'A's' — accessibility, accessibility, accessibility — will replace the three 'L's' — location, location, location." Read more. posted by Ed | Chrysler bails out on Savannah truck plant Chrysler announnced that it was not going to be building the proposed truck plant in Savannah. The handwriting appeared on the wall in July, but it took until now to make it official. The State has spent about $60 million preparing the site, and a few weeks ago the State wrote a letter to Chrysler giving the company until the end of the year to make a decision on going forward. Well, looks like they got their answer. Read more. Meanwhile, former South Carolina Governor Hodges, who walked away from the deal, is feeling pretty good. Read more. posted by Ed | Roanoke Higher Education Center At the invitation of the Virginia Economic Development Association (VEDA), I spent the day in Roanoke at their Fall conference. I gave one of the presentations at the conference, and I had a chance to take a walking tour of downtown. I'll outline a few of my observations in subsequent posts. I was impressed by the aggressive role that the City takes in shaping the downtown. The City has acted as lead developer on several projects, stepping in when market forces are too weak to inspire private developers. The most significant building I toured was the Roanoke Higher Education Center, a beautiful renovation of one of the Norfolk and Southern office buildings. The $22 million renovation now houses offices for 21 post secondary institutions and workforce training programs. So, for example, the University of Virginia's programs are locate in the same building that houses th Virginia Workforce Network. One entrance to the building is a beautiful Art Deco restoration. The second entrance is modern with Art Deco themes (pictured on the Center's web site). This is the type of co-location of higher education that more communities should be considering. Visit the web site. Go. Today in our history of innovation... In 1889, the word hamburger first appeared in print in a Walla Walla, Washington, newspaper. The hamburger was named after a German food called hamburg steak, not because it contains ham, but in the meaning of "from Hamburg." In the 19th century, German immigrants migrated to North America bringing along the recipe for the hamburg steak, a form of pounded beef. Americans adopted the hamburg steak but used the adjective form "hamburger" without "steak". By 1902, the first description of a hamburg steak close to the American conception of the hamburger, gave a recipe calling for ground beef mixed with onion and pepper. posted by Ed | Web Watch: Fayetteville, NC Wednesday, September 24, 2003 Community portals are hard to pull off. Early in the Internet boom, these portals were popping up all over. Local Internet service providers launched most of these sites in the hope that they would generate ad revenues. They didn't. So, it's interesting to see the re-emergence of the community portal in a new, more mature phase. Here's an example from Fayetteville, NC. Go. Read about the site. Go. posted by Ed | Double whammy of globalization A few articles have appeared recenty that illustrate well how globalization has taken on a new double dimension. Since the early 1980's we have been losing higher wage, lower skill jobs to lower cost locations. First, to Mexico and other low cost locations in this hemisphere. Later, in the 1990's these jobs moved to places like the Pearl River Delta in China, near Hong Kong. As this story from Kentucky shows, this trend of losing higher wage, lower skill jobs is continuing. This is the trend that is pummeling manufacturing in rural areas. Read more. In the later 1990's, with the maturation of the Internet, we see another trend emerging. The loss of higher skill, higher wage jobs to locations like India. The competition here is more sophisticated. It relies on having a base of globally competitive educational institutions and sophisticated combination of technical, project management and business management skills. That's the trend that you see in these two articles. One from Colorado Springs. Go. And another from St. Paul, Minnesota. Go. Today in our history of innovation... In 1889, Alexander Dey patented the first punch clock to record employee time. posted by Ed | Baton Rouge group visits Austin for economic development lessons Tuesday, September 23, 2003 A citizens group from Baton Rouge is visiting Austin to learn more about that city's entertainment investment strategy. The Baton Rouge group is working on developing an entertainment district downtown, and they want to understand how Austin supports the arts and entertainment. Learn more. On another front, the group learned about the role of research universities in economic development. Read more. posted by Ed | More on the Illinois reforms Here are a couple of additional articles on the plan in Illinois to develop regional economic development plans across the state. According to the governor, "What's new is a new philosophy. ... We're going to forget about turf in this administration. We're all going to work as a team. We'll marshal all the resources together." Article 1. Article 2. posted by Ed | Rural entrepreneurship materials The Center for the Study of Rural America has posted some of the papers and presentations from its conference on rural entrepreneurship. You can download them from this page. Go. The complete proceedings will be available later this fall. Today in our history of innovation... In 1879, Richard S. Rhodes invented the Audiophone, the first hearing aid. posted by Ed | Indiana seeing some growth of "microclusters" Monday, September 22, 2003 According to Graham Toft, a Hudson Institute senior fellow, the proliferation of microclusters could help stabilize the Indiana manufacturing economy. By that, he means businesses such as winemaking, precision metal stamping and forming, energy technology, environmental technology and businesses with biosensor technology. Read more. posted by Ed | Iowa's biotech plans Here's a good review of what Iowa is doing to build its base of biotech businesses. Iowa recently created the $503 million Iowa Values Fund, and supporters of bioscience development are looking to this pot of money to accelerate business development. The biggest challenge, it appears, is deciding the basic technologies on which the state should focus. Read more. And here's another article. Go. posted by Ed | Closer examination of tax breaks is coming Major loses in manufacturing are touching off pleas to do more to help th sector. In Washington State, the Boeing situation accelerates a debate that we are likely to see in other states. The state legislature in Washington has approved a $3.2 billion tax package for Boeing, and other manufacturers are likely to ask, "What about us?" These are global issues that no state legislature can manage alone. At the same time, state legislatures are likely to be under more pressure both "to do something" and to evaluate whether incentives work at all. Read more about the situation in Washington. Go. In Rhode Island, the governor has hired a Harvard economist to evaluate whteher his state's incentives work. The director of the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation puts it this way: "We're spending money [on incentives] and we should look at the money we're spending. We must replace [lost] jobs and train workers. What incentives do we need to manage that process?" Read more. (Free registration required.) posted by Ed | Rethinking the role of art schools Global competition is fforcing us to recast our traditional thinink. Take the case of art schools. Most EDPros would argue, I suppose, that arts schools have little to do with economic development. Probably true in the past...but definitely not true for the future. Art schools deal with visual display of information, and they can also provide technical training for animation, graphic design and other digital media. So, it's no surprise to read that leaders in Winston-Salem, NC are looking to the North Carolina School of the Arts as a potential economic engine. An expanded arts curriculum in animation could tie into related computer programming and medical imaging programs at Wake Forest University. Learn more. posted by Ed | University of Michigan opens life sciences institute A new institute opens soon at the University of Michigan, and it represents the latest trend in interdisciplinary research. With the Life Sciences Institute, the University of Michigan joins the top tier of universities in making a major commitment interdisciplinary research in the life sciences. The idea is to expose research problems to a wide variety of disciplines, such as medicine, math, physics, pharmacology, robotics and engineering. On a smaller scale, you will see more interdisciplinary approaches to research. Those of us interested in technology-led economic development can help connect the dots. Learn more. Today in our history of innovation... In 1851, the first time train dispatching by telegraph in the U.S. took place when superintendent Charles Minot, of the Erie Railroad telegraphed 14 miles to Goshen, N.Y., to delay a train so that his train would not have to wait. posted by Ed | Economy Watch Sunday, September 21, 2003 Here are the best articles on the economy in the past week: Despite tight economy, college enrollments generally higher Cash-for-jobs mark desperate U.S. economy High-tech, consumer confidence riding high Productivity surges, jobs get lost, economy suffers Another Mixed Batch of Economic Data IMF: Global Economy Recovering China top investment target as U.S., UK wane-study Globalizing economy? Not so fast South America pushes trade alliance to counter U.S. Industrial output edges up 0.1 percent in August restrained by factory weakness Group Predicts Sustained Economic Rebound The Economy's Quickening Pulse posted by Ed | Insights for economic development Saturday, September 20, 2003 On Friday, the Weatherhead School at Case Western Reserve held a one day briefing on the faculty research going on. Over 300 business executives attended. I was in the crowd, focusing on the implications of this research for economic development. The mission of the Center for Regional Economic Issues, which I now head, is to translate this research into practical tools that economic development professionals can use. Here are some of the insights: Managing a firm too well can reduce its ability to innovate. (Implication: in our search for innovative firms with business retention and expansion efforts, there are specific management appoaches to look for.) Read more. Manufacturing plant productivity jumps as much as 10 percent when executives and employees frequently reach out to suppliers and customers and share industry information. (Implication: we need to provide practical ways for companies to build their networks.) Read more. Biotech companies that are not located in hot spots benefit from having a diverse group of national and international research partners. (Implication: if you are trying to recruit companies to build biotech, look for emerging firms with extensive research networks.) Read more. posted by Ed | New movement emerging: accountable economic development A grassroots movement is starting to emerge. Activists call it "accountable economic development". The idea is not to stop economic development incentives, but to shape them to be more accountable. At a threshold level, citizen groups are focusing on local disclosure measures that require companies to reveal the figures on incentives received and jobs created. Learn more. Today in our history of innovation... In 1859, George B. Simpson of Washington, D.C. invented the electric range. Mr. Simpson called his invention, an "electroheater." It generated heat by passing electricity through wire coils. posted by Ed | Florida fishing for a big deal Friday, September 19, 2003 Rumor has it that Florida is working on a big deal. Governor Bush has indicated that he may have to call the legislature back into session to deal with the incentive package. Read more. Some speculation focuses on a $6 billion federal communications satellite installation to connect armed forces worldwide. Read more. posted by Ed | San Antonio forms manufacturing academy Across the country, manufacturers are concerned about the shortage of technically skilled entry level workers. San Antonio is addressing the problem by launching the Manufacturing Technology Academy. High school juniors and seniors would be able to earn college credits at the Academy. In addition, they will serve apprenticeships and summer internships with local manufacturing companies. Learn more. posted by Ed | Texas cash for Boeing Texas Governor Perry has agreed to commit $30 million from a recently authorized economic development fund to land the Boeing 7E7 project. This move comes after the relocation consultant reportedly ranked Texas incentives near the bottom of the pack. Read more. posted by Ed | Tennessee, hmm...let's see Governor Phil Bredesen is not happy with his state's tourism slogan...Tennessee looks good to me. So the Knoxille paper asked people to submit their suggestions. Two of my favorites: "Tennessee -- Where fat lazy people have built a lot of damn roads" "Tennessee: The most direct route from Kentucky to Alabama." Read more. (Warning: EDPros in Kentucky be prepared.) Today in our history of innovation... In 1876, American inventor Melville Bissell received a U.S. patent for the carpet sweeper. . posted by Ed | The pressures to relocate corporate headquarters Thursday, September 18, 2003 Cincinnati was able to keep Kroger from moving out of downtown, and that triggered a good article exploring why corporations move their headquarters. One analyst puts the problem this way: "I think a lot of times companies try to be as loyal as they can, but there are just increased pressures to perform globally." Read more. The highly publicized move of Boeing to Chicago put this trend on the radar screen. In recent days, Borg Warner has announced that it will move from Chicago to Detroit to be closer to suppliers. Read more. At the same time, these pressures have ignited a little war beween Philadelphia and Camden, NJ over corporate offices. That war was triggered this summer when Cigna, which employs 1,500 people at its downtown Philadelphia headquarters, said it would consider a move to New Jersey. Learn more. posted by Ed | Missouri uses incentives to try to keep Ford plant from closing Missouri has assembled an incentive package in an effort to keep the Hazlewood assembly plant open, and there's an outside chance it might work. In June, the governor signed a bill containing tax breaks, job-training incentives and other incentives to keep the 55-year-old plant open. In the recent negotiations the UAW also pushed hard to keep the plant operating. Learn more. posted by Ed | Illinois launches new regional approach Illinois Governor Blagojevich has announced a new appraoch to state economic development strategy. He is dividing the state into ten regions. The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity will then assign four employees to each region. This team will help each region define and implement plans to achieve strategic goals. The teams will be able to draw on the resources of other agencies of government. The governor is thinking of these teams as "account managers" for each region. Learn more. posted by Ed | Progress in building an innovation economy in Philadelphia In Philadelphia, civic leaders have issued a progress report on their efforts to build an innovation economy for the region. Innovation Philadelphia and the Chamber assembled six groups called "hot teams". Each group is developing a two-page plan for using the region's assets to generate growth in a key sector of the region's innovation economy. Read more. Or, visit the project web site. Go. posted by Ed | North Carolina: Ten principles for the New Economy Some weeks ago, the North Carolina Institute for Emerging Issues published its report, Jump Starting Innovation: 10 Principles to Guide North Carolina's New Economy. Now news comes that the Institute is mailing 5,000 copies of the report to leaders throughout the state. As the director of the Institute notes, ""North Carolina does not suffer from a lack of ideas in regards to economic development. What North Carolina lacks is a framework for shaping public debate and spurring action." Read the background. You can download the report from this page. Go. posted by Ed | Jakeway moves to top job in Michigan EDPro Don Jakeway is moving from Toledo to take as over president and chief executive of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. Jakeway was director of the Ohio Department of Development for seven years in the 1990s under then-Gov. George Voinovich. Most recently, he has served as president and CEO of the Regional Growth Partnership, based in Toledo. Read more. posted by Ed | Rural value added ag grants available The US Department of Agriculture provides grant funds for developing markets for value added agricultural products. Learn more about the Value-Added Agricultural Product Market Development Grants (VADG) here. Visit the USDA site to read more. posted by Ed | Bush manufacturing plan gets low marks At least one Washington Post columnist thinks so. He sees the President's proposal as a rehash of tired policy prescriptions. He offers a few ways to sharpen the message. Read more. posted by Ed | Wisconsin's initiative headed...where? Building the New Wisconsin Economy is a two-year project designed to engage the public and stimulate a high-profile, ongoing public discussion about the importance of economic development in Wisconsin. As a cooperative effort, the project aims to bring education, business, and labor together with local citizens and decision-makers to discuss and develop ongoing economic development activities. The biggest challenge will be translating ideas into action. Wisconsin leaders have extensively studied their state's economic position. Now, however, they must move to implementation. And they are attempting to engage a very pessimistic public. This two year process will not deliver. It is largely a civic journalism exercise. From this perspective, it may do more harm than good. People are genuinely tired of talking about our economic challenges. They want direction on what to do. They are looking for engagement, not more keynote speeches. Read more. Learn more about the project. Go. Today in our history of innovation... In 1830, B&O locomotive Tom Thumb, the first locomotive built in America, lost a 14 kilometer race to a horse. Tom Thumb sprung a boiler leak. posted by Ed | Civic innovation lab launched Wednesday, September 17, 2003 In economic development, we face the same pressures that are pulling apart business organizations. "Chain of command" organizations are giving way to inclusive webs. That means that top-down strategies don't work as well. To foster more civic innovation, the Cleveland Foundation has launched the Civic Innovation Lab. This initiative is designed to identify new voices in economic development and connect them with the resources they need to implement their ideas. In particular, each individual will be matched with a mentor or group of mentors to develop their ideas. Learn more. Read more. Visit the web site. The Cleveland Foundation also supports REI@Weatherhead, where I now work. REI@Weatherhead is the Center for Regional Economic Issues at the Weatherhead School of Management. The Center started out twenty years ago as part of the Federal Reserve Bank. With funding from the Cleveland and Gund foundations, the Center has developed a strong capability to support reginal economic development. Our Center will be supporting the regional initiatives in Northeast Ohio, including the Civic Innovation Lab. posted by Ed | Massachusetts trying to figure out incentives for bio Massachusetts leaders are trying to decide the role of state government in economic development. The governor has proposed an incentive package of $125 million to keep biotech manufacturing jobs from migrating to states like North Carolina. Economists say the evidence on incentives is mixed. Here's an interesting article that explores the differences. Read more. Today in our history of innovation... In 1931, very early versions of 33 rpm long-playing records were first demonstrated at the Savoy Plaza Hotel in New York by RCA (Radio Corporation of America). posted by Ed | Austin's "Road to Recovery" Tuesday, September 16, 2003 Austin has heard from consultant Mac Holladay on how to grow 72,000 jobs. That's the five year target of his new plan for the city. Read more. You can download Mac's presentation from this page. Go. On the same page you can download a benchmarking report that compares Austin to four cities: Seattle, Denver, Phoenix and Raleigh-Durham. posted by Ed | Milwaukee launches innner city initiative Using Michael Porter's approach to building a competitive inner city, Milwaukee leaders announced new initiative to build competitive inner city businesses. In his presentation to the group Porter emphasized that inner city Milwaukee is not an "economic dinosaur" but a critical part of the local economy where 120,000 people are employed in 5,000 businesses. Read more. This project is part of Porter's Initiative for a Competitive Inner City (ICIC). Learn more. Today in our history of innovation... In 1908, former carriage-maker William Crapo "Billy" Durant founded General Motors (GM) by incorporating with a capital of $2,000. Within 12 days the company issued stock that generated $12,000,000 cash.. posted by Ed | Administration's manufacturing plan Monday, September 15, 2003 The Administration revealed more details on its manufacturing initiative today. They include establishing an "Unfair Practices team" and an Office of Industry Analysis to examine the economic impact of new rules and regulations. Learn more. The Administration appears to be setting up China as the reason why manufacturing jobs are disappearing. Read more. (This article is from The New York Times, which requires free registration.) posted by Ed | Competing on brainpower Increasingly, we're going to see metropolitan economies competing on brainpower. The center of gravity for economic development will be shifting toward colleges and universities. Here's an example of the shift. Atlanta Regional Consortium for Higher Education (ARCHE) has released a report ranking the top sixty metro areas in their level of higher education activity. Read more. You can download the report from this page. Go. posted by Ed | Web Watch: Model tourism site for rural areas The more I read about Allegany County, MD, the more impressed I become. Now here's a very sophisticated, user friendly tourism web site that the county has developed. They have figured out a range of different ways to "hook" their visitors. Aside from the beautiful graphics, the interactivity of the site is better than most state level tourism sites. And they have effectively branded themselves as "The Mountain Side of Maryland". Read more. Or, visit the site. posted by Ed | Economy Watch Here's some of the best economy articles from the past week: Austin is recharging for an economic revival Good Economy. Bad Job Market. Huh? Southeast's economy is giving mixed signals Minnesota economy is stronger, more diverse U.S. unemployment rate doesn't show important aspect: off-the-books work After steady rise, mortgage rates edge down Fed survey says economy showed improvement in July and August Survey: CEO confidence in economy increases posted by Ed | Pass this one on... Saturday, September 13, 2003 Score a few points with your friends in tourism development and pass on this article on Pennsylvania's change in strategy. The article provides a good outline of Pennsylvania's new approach to tourism marketing. The state is shifting away from television and toward magazines and the Internet. Both magazines and the Internet have the advantage of more accurate targeting. Read more. posted by Ed | Web Watch: Henderson, KY citizen survey Here's a good example of how a chamber of commerce is using the Internet to engage citizens in assessing the community. It covers issues such as rural garbage collection, city-county merger, economic development, job skills improvement, and beautification efforts. In addition, it gives community leaders a chance to inform citizens about new developments. It's a good model for other smaller communities to follow. (Henderson County has a population of about 44,000.) Here's a design tip. The survey is broken into five smaller pages. In this way, it becomes more engaging and interactive. Here's the survey. Go. You access the survey off the main chamber site. Go. You can read more about how this survey fits into a broader community planning effort. Go. posted by Ed | Massachusetts and its biotech future Massachusetts leaders are launching an ambitious effort to develop life science businesses more strategically. For example, they want to capture the biomanufacturing jobs that have been the focus of other states, like North Carolina. In addition, they are looking at how to support start-ups more effectively. The stakes for getting it right are high. Michael Porter, Harvard Business School Professor and consultant to the governor: "I believe this is the single largest economic opportunity for this region...I believe it's ours to lose." Read more. posted by Ed | Cincinnati investors launch angel fund Leveraging $1 million from the State of Ohio's Third Frontier project, a group of investors in Cincinnati have lauched a $1.5 million seed stage investment fund. The target companies are technology start-ups that need between $50,000 and $100,000 in start-up support. Twenty-five local investors have invested in the fund. Learn more. posted by Ed | Prisons are no engine for small communities Here's a study that supports a proposition I've long thought was true: prisons do not help the economies of small rural communities. Rural prisons require heavy infrastructure investments, but they do not pay taxes. Prison employees often do not live in the community, so that employees do not pump up local sales or property taxes much either. Read more. posted by Ed | Entreprenership in rural economies Here is a good article on the importance of entrepreneurship to rural economies. It points out the current mismatch between government support programs and the need to support new business development in rural areas. Read more. posted by Ed | Bold Ideas, Lasting Impact No surprise, I'm excited about my new position as director of the Center for Regional Economic Issues at the Weatherhead School of Managment. We call it REI@Weatherhead for short. Weatherhead has an exceptional faculty working on a wide range of areas that touch on economic development. We are working with the Kauffman Foundation on innovation, the Sloan Foundation on clusters, and the National Science Foundation on education issues and workforce. And we have one of the leading faculties on entrepreneurship. REI@Weatherhead is charged with the responsibility of translating these research insights into economic development powertools. You'll learn more in the weeks ahead, as I ask your guidance in developing these tools. First, though, take a minute and catch some of the excitement building at Weatherhead. Read more. Today in our history of innovation... In 1898, Reverend Hannibal Williston Goodwin was issued a U.S. patent for his invention of celluloid photographic film. posted by Ed | Strategies for state associations Friday, September 12, 2003 Mark James and I are participating in a workshop on strategies for state ED organizations. The workshop happens Sunday at the IEDC meeting in Cincinnati. Mark and I have been consulting with the Kentucky Industrial Development Council (KIDC) to develop their strategy as a state association. Frank Salisbury, past president of KIDC, has kindly given us permission to share what we have learned with others in our profession. Several facts are clear. First, state associations are the pivot points around which the economic development profession turns. They play a key role in connecting EDPros to both education opportunities and policy influence. (In education, state associations share this role with basic courses.) Second, state associations have significant opportunities to work together with shared development of continuing education. EDPros want and need higher level training. Developing these opportunities may be outside the scope of any one association, but two or more can work together to deliver this content. Third, the business models for state associations need to rely increasingly on the Internet to create and deliver value to members. The key here is to figure out ways to reduce upfront costs of development. You can view our presentation on line. Go. Alternatively, you can download it as a pdf file. Go. Today in our history of innovation... In 1956, engineers completed construction of the first U.S. commercial coal pipeline. posted by Ed | Finally, a sensible approach to the "brain drain" Thursday, September 11, 2003 This issue of the brain drain is getting a lot of attention recently in places like Maine, Ohio, and New York. Most of the popular press gets the story line wrong. Their approach: "The sky is falling." Then there's the line of thinking that says the brain drain is caused by places not being "creative" enough. Here's one of the more sensible articles I've read. The story has two basic points: There is a brain drain in New York State because there are not enough jobs. (Translation: braindrain is a symptom, not a cause.) The best way to make New York State "sticky" is to invest more aggressively in colleges and universities as "engines" of economic development. Read more. Today in our history of innovation... In 1946, the first mobile long-distance car-to-car telephone conversation took place between Houston, Texas and St. Louis, Missouri. . posted by Ed | Wisconsin's governor releases new ED plan Wednesday, September 10, 2003 Wisconsin's Democratic governor and the Republican controlled legislature have each released economic development plans for the state. Read more. Not surprisingly, the governor's plan focuses on increasing technology and infrastructure investments, as well as improving education. The Republican plan focuses on reducing taxes and regulations. See a summary of the governor's plan. Go. Review a summary of the Republican plan. Go. posted by Ed | Everett leaders feeling good about the 7E7 Political and business leaders in Everett are feeling pretty good about their chances. They are looking for the Boeing board meeting on October 29 as a key decision point, even though others have suggested the decision will come at the end of the year. And why not be confident? The state has put forth a $3 billion in tax incentives and $4 billion in transportation improvements. They have an existing, underutilized assembly facility, and the Port is building a $15.5 million rail and dock facility to handle the larger containers that the 7E7 needs. In the face of all this, it seems nuts for Boeing to build a new facility somewhere else (that is, if the project goes forward at all.) Read more. posted by Ed | Tulsa's sales tax passes for $885 million package Tulsa voters passed four propositions yesterday to support economic development. Together, they for an $885 million package. One of the proposition provides $335 million in incentives for Boeing's 7E7 project. Another provides $22 million for American Airlines to maintain its maintenance depot. (The impact of passage was immediate. American announced that it would add jobs to its maintenance depot. Read more.) But these two propositions dealing with Boeing and American are the side show. The core of the proposal is a list of about 30 projects that form a larger plan: Vision 2025. Read more. Learn more about Vision 2025. Go. posted by Ed | Web Watch: Toledo Arts Toledo is focusing on integrating the arts into its economic development agenda. Good quote from Mayor Ford: ""At the heart of the task force’s initiative lies a shared belief that the arts are vital to the broadest well-being of cities and to their economic success. Community support for the arts is community support for economic development." Learn more. They are starting to build a web site as part of the effort. Visit the site. posted by Ed | Web Watch: New approach to marketing office space Bellevue, WA has a new public/private partnership to market commercial real estate in the city. Through a web site, the city, the chamber, and the commercial real estate association are merging data to make it easier to market commercial and industrial properties. One of the big headaches for trying to implement this approach is keeping leasing information current. The Commercial Brokers Association has solved this problem by commiting to update this information continuously at no cost. Read more. Or, visit the site. Today in our history of innovation... In 1846, Elias Howe of Spencer, Massachusetts, received a patent for his hand-cranked sewing machine. Isaac Singer patented one five years later. Howe sued Singer for infringement and won...but by that time Singer was well ahead in the sewing machine business. posted by Ed | Arizona builds its innovation networks Tuesday, September 09, 2003 Here's a good article that gives you an overview of what Arizona is doing to support more start-up companies. Read more. posted by Ed | New study on the future of NYC's economy A new report argues that New York City needs to revamp its economic development startegy. Among other steps, the city needs to become more receptive to entrepreneurs. You might find some policuy ideas that are helpful to you. Read more. (Download the report from the link on the right sidebar.) posted by Ed | Alliance of EDPros in California studies manufacturing firm relocations A group of economic development professional in Southern and Central California have joined together to understand the impact of Californi'as business climate on manufacturing firm relocations. The sponsors hope that their work will lead to specific improvements in the state's business climate. This approach could provide a good model for other regions to follow. Read more. Today in our history of innovation... In 1945, Grace Hopper discovered the first "bug" in a computer program. She removed a moth with tweezers from a relay and taped into her log book. posted by Ed | More on Tucson, Phoenix collaboration Monday, September 08, 2003 Tucson and Phoenix appear to be getting their act together as collaborators in economic development. here's another article. Read more. (For the earlier article, check the post on September 2.) posted by Ed | State infrastructure report cards The 2003 report of the Society of Civil Engineers provides a state by state report of infrastructure. A typical report includes: roads , bridges, transit , airports , public schools, drinking water, municipal wastewater facilities, stormwater, solid waste, and brownfields. Look up your state. Go. posted by Ed | Alabama tax plan headed for defeat Tomorrow, Alabama's governor will watch his tax plan implode. Pre-election polls predict that Governor Riley's tax plan will go down to defeat. A large group of opponents has surfaced to oppose Riley's tax plan. They argue that the increase will harm local businesses and scare companies away from building manufacturing plants in the state. According to the Tax Accountability Coalition's web site Alabama citizens should vote no on the tax plan: "We're already taxed enough!" Visit the site. At the same time, Riley and his supporters argue that Alabama does not invest enough in education, the core of economic development. He's got the right message, but the politics aren't there for Alabama to make the leap. Learn more. posted by Ed | A Fort Wayne perspective on economic development Fort Wayne is in the midst of a mayoral campaign, and the newspaper raises an interesting question: What can a mayor do to improve economic development prospects? In an interesting article, the author suggests that the place to start is "do no harm". As one former mayor puts it: "There is no formula for success, but there is a formula for disaster." Read more. posted by Ed | Arizona's investments in higher ed Sooner or later it will sink in. Many, if not most, states are cutting back higher education investments. Political leaders see higher education as a "soft" target for budget cuts. Instead, they should be thinking of their colleges and universities as "factories of the future" that produce our only competitive edge in a global economy: brainpower and innovation. Not so in Arizona. The state is making major commitments to upgrade its campuses. Read more. (To give you some perspective: 25 states anticipate decreases in funding for public higher education. The deepest of cuts are in Colorado -- 13.7% -- with California, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wisconsin all experiencing cuts between 9.1 and 10.5%. This data comes from a survey by the State Higher Education Executive Officers.) Today in our history of innovation... In 1930, Richard Drew developed Scotch tape. posted by Ed | Economy Watch Saturday, September 06, 2003 Here are some of the best articles on the economy in the past week: The role of women in the labor pool will expand as the economy improves Mutual funds: Fund managers believe in the economic recovery China's monetary policy is a double-edged sword for the U.S. economy Defying Forecast, Job Losses Mount for a 22nd Month. Bush admits economy poor US job loss data stunned economists, not companies Mortgage Rates Hit 2003 High posted by Ed | Report: Savannah's on the Boeing list The frenzy continues....An Amarillo newspaper is publishing a report out of Savannah that Savannah is on the 7E7 short list. Read more. Amarillo, you say? Yes, Amarillo is one of the locations that submitted a proposal to Boeing. Boeing wants access to a deep water port. Last time I looked, Amarillo was in the Texas Panhandle. posted by Ed | Health care survey among Michigan manufacturers Michigan Manufacturers Association has completed its 2003 health care survey. The data is on line, and it can help you in structuring your own health care survey. View the results. Some of the more interesting findings: 82% of the companies are "extremely concerned" about the rising cost of health care. Respondents overwhelmingly implicated "rising prescription drug costs" as a main cause of rising health care costs (more than 83%). Nearly half of respondents (48%) believe health insurance rates in Michigan impede their companies' competitiveness. posted by Ed | Arizona needs "flamethrower" leaders Friday, September 05, 2003 The Morrison Institute at Arizona State University has released a new report on building Arizona's science and technology base. The report concludes that Arizona needs "flamethrower leaders" who understand the economic value of science and technology. Read more about the report. Go. Or, download a copy from the Morrison Institute web site. Go. posted by Ed | Managing the Chinese manufacturing juggernaut Here's an interesting Business Week commentary on the challenge of Chinese manufacturing imports. The basic message is a good one: the only sustainable advantage we have is brainpower and innovation. Go. posted by Ed | New Britain, CT builds ties with Poland Here's an interesting story of how a smaller community is building business connections in Eastern Europe. Go. This move is smart. Market dynamics in Eastern Surope are shifting. Ten Central and Eastern European countries about to join the European Union's single market. (In 2004, 10 new states -- Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Malta, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia -- will join the European Union. That's about 75 million people.) Auto manufacturers, especially, are interested in Eastern Europe. As one analyst notes: "The big thing that's driving the East European industry at the moment is the fact that countries like the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Poland are about to join the EU. This really makes starting up a new factory in Central Europe very, very attractive to vehicle manufacturers, especially the Japanese and the Koreans, who want to increase their market share in Western Europe. Because if these countries all become part of the European Union, it means they can build a new factory, on cheap land, with nice government grants, and a well-trained labor force." Read more about what is going on in Eastern Europe. Go. Today in our history of innovation... In 1885, Sylvanus Bowser, inventor of the first U.S. gas pump, made his initial sale to Jake Gumper, owner of a service station in Fort Wayne, Indiana. posted by Ed | Promoting biodiesel development in Georgia Thursday, September 04, 2003 One corner of Georgia is interested in biodiesel development, and they held a conference to explore what needs to be done to accelerate business development. Biodiesel is a fuel produced from oilseeds and animal fats. Learn more. If you want to learn more about biodiesel and its potential impact on a farm economy, visit the Biodiesel Board. Go. posted by Ed | Western NC works to build venture capital, fiber optics Some interesting entrepreneurial efforts are underway in Western North Carolina. An angel investor network announced the start of a $5 million fund this week, and the region held its first venture capital conference, the Carolina Connect Conference, to match investors and entrepreneurs. Read more. Meanwhile, through an innovative partniership involving Southwestern Community College, the region is also taking steps to upgrade its fiber optic backbone. The collaborative four-year effort will bring high-speed fiber to Western North Carolina. The region will not be relying on the large phone companies, like Verizon and BellSouth. Learn more. posted by Ed | More signals that 7E7 will land in Everett As regular readers know, I've looked at the Boeing 7E7 project as a way for the company to leverage concessions from the Washignton State legislature. It worked. The legislature passed a $4 billion package. Now, Governor Gary Locke believes that Washington State has made Boeing's short list for the 7E7. He makes his conclusion from the "very intense and very specific" talks his administration has been having with the company over the past several weeks. Read more. Here's an updated story from another paper. Go. Meanwhile, EDPros in other states are saying little. Go. Today in our history of innovation... In 1882, the Edison Electric Illuminating Company in New York City became the first electric central station to supply light and power. It operated one generator which produced power for 800 electric light bulbs. posted by Ed | Job cuts at call centers Wednesday, September 03, 2003 The nationwide "do not call" list goes into effect on October 1, and call center operations are starting to show a contraction. If you have an outbound call center in your community, there may be some changes coming soon. Learn more. posted by Ed | SC Governor supports joint recruitment with NC South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford wants to encourage more collaboration between North Carolina and South Carolina. These steps would include joint business recruitment. The Charlotte Regional Partnership promotes this approach. Governor Sanford agrees and sees collaboration as "the wave of the future". Read more. posted by Ed | Web Watch: Creative Tampa Bay A group in Tampa is following Richard Florida's prescription for a dynamic economy...be a cool place for the Creative Class. They have launched a new web site as part of the effort. (If you can't find anything on this site that interests you, give it up, you're not creative.) In economic development, what you say you will be doing is not nearly as important as what you do. This group will take hold if they can identify some specific initiatives on which to work. Visit their web site. Go. Contest: How many times does the word "creative" appear on the home page? Today in our innovation economy... In 1931, the Lackawanna railroad inaugurated electric suburban service from Hoboken to Montclair, NJ, in an effort to keep smoke down around New York. Thomas Edison was at the controls. posted by Ed | Michigan's tax credit program is under fire Tuesday, September 02, 2003 Michigan's $1.4 billion tax credit program to spur economic development is both up for renewal and under fire. Peter Fisher at the University of Iowa, puts it bluntly: ""It's an expensive way for a state to bring about a very modest increase in job creation...If most of the credits go to firms that would have located there anyway, which I suspect is the case, then you've blown a lot of money for nothing." But the governor is afraid to let go. "...We have to compete with other states around us and all over the country. If you're not offering any package to come here, why would companies choose to move here?" That's lame thinking on the part of the governor. Over the long term, Michigan would be better off terminating the program and increasing investments in higher education. In total, the state invests $2.3 billion in higher education. Eliminating the tax break could significantly boost state support for the real engine for economic development...the state's colleges and universities. Here's a review of the program from The Detroit News. Read more. posted by Ed | Phoenix, Tucson collaborate Here's another sign that collaboration in economic development is reaching a new level. Tucson and Phoenix are working more closely together on economic development issues. Good quote from Rick Weddle: ""You can't breed competition out of the process and we wouldn't want to...The secret to economic development collaboration is competition and collaboration and knowing when to do each." Read more. posted by Ed | President creates "manufacturing czar" In a clear effort to head off an emerging political issue, President Bush announced that he was appointing a high level "manufacturing czar". The idea seems a little half baked. An Assistant Secretary is four levels down from the Secretary. The Commerce Department has no timetable for creating the position, no clear responsibilities for the position, and no mention on its web site. Since the recession began in early 2001, we have lost 2.7 million jobs: 2.4 million have been in manufacturing. Read more. posted by Ed | Wisconsin launches New Wisconsin Economy forums Monday, September 01, 2003 Wisconsin is launching a new statewide series of meetings to explore the new economy. The Building the New Wisconsin Economy forums start on Spetember 16. Before each forum, a panel of experts will draft a "context paper". The goal is to raise the level of public discussion of economic development issues over the next fifteen months. Representatives from Wisconsin’s academic, business, and labor groups, as well as the news media, have come together in support of the statewide effort to inform Wisconsin citizens about important economic development issues. The promoters also hope to involve citizens in making economic development decisions (but it's not clear to me how that will happen). Read more about the forums. Go. Or, visit the project web site and download the first context paper. Go. posted by Ed | Greensboro increases its commitment to retention Greensboro Economic Development Partnership expects to spend about $500,000, or 45 percent, of its annual budget over the next five years on retention. According to EDPro Andy Burke, head of the Partnership, the budget will be spent on salaries, overhead, and a "massive database system" that will help business retainers make more targeted calls on companies. The big three chambers in the Triad have also undertaken a 4,000-firm survey to cultivate valuable information for retention and expansion efforts. Learn more. posted by Ed | |
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