| |
|
Eastern North Carolina region comes together
Friday, April 30, 2004 Eastern North Carolina, while not as organized as Western North Carolina, is making progress on implementing regional intiatives. The region's leaders are beginning to define a common agenda for action. Before you can act as a region, you have to think like a region. Read more. Vist the web site. Go. posted by Ed | EDA's annual meeting on regional innovation The Economic Development Administration has got it right. They are promoting the concept of regional innovation for their annual meeting in June. Learn more. Visit the conference web site. posted by Ed | Denver's new logo Denver has selected a new logo to promote both tourism and economic development. Two interesting facts make this story stand out. First, the logo will combine economic development and tourism. (A lot of communities have separate logos for each effort, a wasteful practice.) Second, the mayor got the new logo without spending anything. He understands that a community logo provides strong marketing, especially for local firms. Read more. posted by Ed | Fayetteville publishes indicators report Fayetteville, NC produces an “annual report card” that is agood example of how indicators can focus attention on specific areas to improve the community. MetroVisions is a citizen-participation forum, affiliated with the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce, which produces the report card. The report uses the technique of “Gold Stars” and “Red Flags” to rate the city’s performance. The report covers the areas of government, economy, education, health, mobility, natural resources, public safety, recreation and social well being. Learn more. posted by Ed | Wichita makes progress Wichita seems to be making traction on its economic development agenda. The new partnership, Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition, has set a long-term goal to create 8,000 jobs within five year. Learn more. Visit the web site. posted by Ed | Speed Wednesday, April 28, 2004 Now here's an interesting news release. The Census Bureau is starting in 2004 to survey small business owners for the 2002 Economic Census that will be released in 2005. True. posted by Ed | Upstate New York expands collaborations Two important groups in upstate New York have come together to strengthen regional collaboration. The Greater Binghamton Coalition is about 18 months old, and it is following a strategy -- The BC Plan -- developed in 2002 by Angelou Economics. Metropolitan Development Association of Syracuse and Central New York is implementing the Essential New York Initiative. Now both groups are promoting even wider regional collaboration. Read more posted by Ed | Illinois venture fund Governor Blagojevich wants to create a $200 million venture fund. His proposal has passed the Senate, and now he is modifying it to get some traction in the House. The final initiative should come together in the next few weeks, since the legislature is scheduled to adjourn at the end of May. Read an update. Go. posted by Ed | Kerry's manufacturing plan Here's John Kerry's plan to revitalize manufacturing. (But where's the czar?) Go. posted by Ed | Insights on outsourcing This morning's New York Times carries a good article on why some programming jobs are difficult to outsource. As one observer notes, "Only certain kinds of tasks can be outsourced — what can be set down as a set of rules. That which requires more creativity is more difficult to manage at a distance." Another point: Labor rates in India are lower, but productivity in the US is higher for some more complex projects. Finally, if innovation and speed matters to the business, outsourcing can undercut that strategy. Read more. (Free registration required.) Inc. also has an interesting article on outsourtcing from the perspective of the smaller enterprise. Read more. posted by Ed | Bank consortium for life science start-ups Tuesday, April 27, 2004 In what could be the first collaboration of its kind in the country, eleven banks in Kalamazoo have formed The Bank Consortium for Innovation. The focus will be to build life sciences in Southwest Michigan. The banking group has initially committed $130,000 of $200,000 needed annually to run Kalamazoo Venture Tuesday, a monthly forum to match entrepreneurs with venture capitalists. Consortium members will use the forums to learn about life-sciences and venture-capital strategies. Learn more. posted by Ed | Pennsylvania starts Keystone Innovation Zone initiative A year ago, Governor Rendell proposed his vision of establishing innovation zones around the state's coolleges and universities. Today, he accepted the first application for such a zone from Franklin & Marshall College in Lancaster. The idea makes sense. Keystone Innovation Zones (KIZs) are designed to create "knowledge neighborhoods" close to colleges, universities and research institutions. KIZ status allows eligible companies located within the zone to apply for a pool of $25 million in tax credits. Franklin & Marshal College can also apply for $10 million in Innovation Grants to be used to start a tech-transfer program. Read more details. posted by Ed | Anatomy of a deal: Wichita's Bass Pro deal State legislators in Kansas are considering restrictions on financing that might delay a Bass Pro deal in Wichita. The proposal would block the use of sales tax and revenue bonds, known as STAR bonds, to construct a building to be used by Bass Pro Shops. Wichita officals are counting on Bass Pro to anchor a downtown development, Wichita WaterWalk. Legislators say that STAR bonds should be used for infrastructure, not to build a building for lease to Bass Pro. Read more. posted by Ed | New York's Empire Zone debate heats up In New York, the legislature is trying to figure out whether to reauthorize the state's extensive and controversial Empire Zone program. Republicans argue that the program is needed to stimulate growth. Democrats counter that the only thing the program stimulates is campaign contributions to the Republican party. Read more. posted by Ed | Site selectors talk During a recent panel discussion in Tucson, corporate site selectors gave their views on what a community must do to be competitive. Read more. posted by Ed | Ohio's Third Tier Network Ohio is building a dedicated fiber network to link the state's colleges and universities, their business partners, hospitals and K-12 schools to improve research and education. Yesterday, promoters visited the University of Cincinnati's Genome Research Institute (GRI) and demonstrated how the network will support medical research collaboratorions. For example, GRI will be linked with other Ohio researchers to share expensive instruments and educational resources for disease analysis and treatment. The network will allow researchers at one university to view the output of a scientific instrument at a research lab 100 miles away, reducing the time and costs currently incurred in research and development. A researcher at Youngstown State University can now partner with an industry researcher in Cincinnati to work on drug design as if they were in the same room. Learn more. Visit the web site. posted by Ed | South Carolina launches health research initiative Leaders of South Carolina's health research institutions announced an ambitious plan to establish 20 health-research centers around the state. Greenville Hospital System, the Medical University of South Carolina, Palmetto Health and the University of South Carolina signed a memorandum of understanding today to establish the South Carolina Health Sciences Collaborative. The initiative calls for four of the state's largest universities and health systems to invest $80 million over the next ten years to increase health sciences research, drive economic development, and improve the health status of the citizens of South Carolina. Each partner in the coop intends to contribute $2 million per year -- a total of $8 million per year -- which is eligible for matching contributions from the South Carolina Research Centers of Economic Excellence Act, also known as the Endowed Chairs Program. Read more. posted by Ed | New Mexico launching marketing campaign for manufacturers Monday, April 26, 2004 New Mexico is launching a direct mail campaign targeted to manufacturers who produce for the Mexican market. The campaign will run over four months with a budget of $100,000. The state has targeted 4,000 U.S. companies that export to Mexico. Ther campaign encourages them to move to southern New Mexico for better proximity. An initial test mailing of 1,000 in January produced good results, so they have decided to roll-out the entire campaign. Read more. posted by Ed | Charlotte leaders head to Nashville The Charlotte Chamber of Commerce has organized its annual field trip for local leaders. This year they are headed to Nashville. This is a good practice that most cities should follow: get out and see how other cities are coping with the same challenges you face. Read more. posted by Ed | Announcement: Digital Cities Conference 2004 We're holding an exciting Digital Cities Conference 2004 in Cleveland on July 30 and 31. With thousands of free public wireless access points, Greater Cleveland has become one of the largest open wireless laboratories in the world. The Digital Cities Conference is a celebration of the remarkable impact of wireless broadband connectivity is making in people across the planet. Part symposium, part trade conference, part world's fair, Digital Cities will bring together innovative thinkers and doers. Thanks to generous support from Intel, Cisco, Sprint, Allied Telesyn and a growing list of technology sponsors, we're convening a global symposium that celebrates the positive impact breakthrough technology has on the world's cities. And we're going to award the best of show with a check for $10,000. Other cash awards will go to innovators in each major category of application. If you would like to submit a proposal, go to the Digital Cities web site. Go. We’re building the archetypal Digital City in Cleveland, complete with neighborhoods defined by major market segments. Explore the Healthcare Neighborhood and see how a surgeon in Paris confers with a radiologist in Cleveland during a procedure. Explore the Government Neighborhood and learn how the a major Midwestern city enhances public safety and convenience through a computer tracking system that manages snow removal (it knows where every plow is and which streets still need attention). Experience an interactive theatrical event in the “Cultural “District” where dancers in New York perform live with artists in Cleveland though a multi-media experience. We’ve organized the inaugural Digital City into 18 neighborhoods. If you have a story to tell, a demonstration, a lesson learned, partnership success, or a cool technology we’re inviting you to share it with the world when it comes to Cleveland. Healthcare in the Digital City Art in the Digital City Music in the Digital City New Media in the Digital City Higher Education and Leadership in the Digital City Government Services and Strategic City Planning City and Regional Transportation Services in the Digital City Public Safety and Homeland Security Media and Journalism in the Digital City Converged Public Broadcasting, News, and the Public Interest Bridging the Digital Divide in the City Organizing and Servicing Technology Companies in the Digital City The Creative WorkForce in the Digital City Schools in the Digital City Financing the Digital City Building Strategic Partnerships or the Politics of the Digital City Smart and Green in the City – Technology and the Environment Technology Innovation: Smart Tools and Systems for the Digital City Learn more. posted by Ed | Economy Watch Sunday, April 25, 2004 Economics 101 for this week: Vital Signs for the Week of Apr. 26 G-7 forecasts high growth, says oil price a concern Administration Says U.S. Trade And Budget Deficits Not A Threat To Global Economy U.S. Reports Jobless Claims Fall by 9,000 Fed looking for jobs, inflation signs IMF projects stronger world economy Greenspan Sees Increase in Interest Rates TEXT-Greenspan's comments on U.S. economy posted by Ed | The expansion of convention space Nationwide, convention space grew at 6.6% from 2002 to 2003. The pace of growth is not slowing. Increasing space and slowing demand makes the conventions center business very comeptitive. Here's a view from Washington State. Go. Although demand is down nationwide, dozens of cities are building convention centers – one source found that over 60 centers are under construction or being planned, according to industry expert Heywood T. Sanders, professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio. Many convention centers already built are underperforming. The problem starts with the "feasibility studies" for these centers. Here's what Sanders has to say: “I have reviewed over 70 such consultant studies for convention centers. They all say that if you build a new center lots of people will come, spend millions of dollars, create jobs and boost the local economy. "Those studies are typically based on inadequate data, poor analysis and inappropriate methodologies. If you go back, as I have, and compare how the studies have done in predicting how convention centers have actually done, their track record is remarkably poor.” Read more. posted by Ed | The retirement wave in Wisconsin Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development's Chief Economist, Terry Ludeman made a presentation last week to members of the Oneida County Economic Development Corporation. His message was sobering: Wisconsin faces a major challenge in filling the jobs of people set to retire over the next ten years. (His comments are important, because his analysis, I suspect, applies to more states than Wisconsin.) "We are faced with a tremendous number of people in the State of Wisconsin turning retirement age; approximately 40,000 people per year are turning age 65, and by 2010 that figure will reach 50,000. "The question is, 'Where do we find 40,000 or 50,000 people per year to replace those who are leaving the labor market?'" He goes on..."We have to figure out a way to hold on to our young, talented population. We cannot afford to continue to send them to college and turn around and give them a ticket to go somewhere else in the United States. We need to keep those young people in the communities they were raised in, or else our chance of making an economic success in small communities is nil." Read more of Ludeman's analysis. Go. posted by Ed | Durham looks to create "museum without walls" Durham, NC is considering an ambitious plan to revitalize a downtown street, Parish Street, by combining exhibits and kiosks that illustrate the history of Durham's tobacco industry, African-American entrepreneurship and traditional arts and crafts. Parrish Street was the birthplace of the city's first tobacco operations. In the early 1900's the street represented the center of the city's African-American commercial district. Read more about the plan to revitalize Parish Street. You can download the report here. posted by Ed | Black Hills Technology Corridor Business leaders in the Black Hills of South Dakota are putting up $1 million in investment funds to build a techniology corridor. They are retaining Battelle to assist them in their planning. They are looking to the Oak Ridge Technology Corridor around Oak Ridge National Laboratory as their model. Read more about the South Dakota corridor project. Go. posted by Ed | Reviving Main Street in Winfield, KS Smaller rural communities often face a difficult challenge of building their economic base. Main Street programs represent a successful approach. Here's a good example from Winfield, KS. Winfield has a population of 12,000, and it is located about an hour southeast of Wichita. Here's a good background on how they have used their Main Street program to attract visitors from Wichita. Go. posted by Ed | North Carolina governor set to push more incentives Hammered by rural job losses, Governor Easley is planning to push the legislature next month for more incentives for economic development. Here's a good overview article of the situation in North Carolina. Read more. (Registration required.) In part because of aggressive incentives, the share of state revenues from corporate taxes has been dropping in the state. Read more. At the same time, Governor Easley will push hard for these incentives, since he is looking at a tough re-election campaign. posted by Ed | Incubator insights from Connecticut Here's an interesting story of a new incubator in Oxford, CT. The important lesson: incubators have a better chance of success if they are tied to regioanl educational institutions. If you are thinking about developing an incubator, this story can give you some guidance. Read more. posted by Ed | Regional government proposal for SE Connecticut: DOA Some municipal leaders reacted poorly to a consultant's proposal to establish a regional vision for economic development in Southeast Connecticut. A core idea: Create a regional profit-sharing system that would have the ability to raise taxes. One participant in the meeting reacted bluntly, ""It will never happen". Read more. posted by Ed | Web Watch: California TradePort California's trade web site has gotten caught in the downdraft of crumbling state finances. Now, a group of entrepreneurs have stepped in to revive the site. Read more. Visit the site. posted by Ed | Mississippi after school program Acrtiss the country, economic development organizations are stretching the traditional boundaries. Here's another example. In Mississippi, Three Rivers Community and Economic Development Corporation operates an after-school program for "at risk" students. What's the sense of this? We all face the same realities: We have too many students dropping out of high school. As a result, we have too few students pursuing postsecondary education. Workforce shortages are appearing across the country in everything from physical therapists to long haul truckers. Equally important, drop-outs add to the high social costs we all must pay. We not only lose their potential income, we are more likely to pay direct costs for dependency. For example, it generally costs over $20,000 per year to house a prisoner. Learn more about the after school program. Go. posted by Ed | Creating Enterprise: Igniting innovation Saturday, April 24, 2004 For the past day and a half, I have been participating in our Creating Enterprise seminar at Case. The sessions have explored the latest thinking in how to ignite innovation through government-business-university partnerships. You can see more of the schedule here. Here are a sample of the points that I found interesting: Irwin Feller: Throughout American history, federal and state involvement in economic development has tended to be directed at perceived economic oppportunities. As we have moved to the knowledge economy, federal and state polices have shifted to research, technology development and technology transfer. This shift started around 1980. That's the good news: government tends to be flexible. Here's the bad news: government tends to ignore objective evaluations. The Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) has generated positive evaluations, but the Bush Administration has drastically curtailed the program. Entrepreneurship is the next wave of economic development thinking. John Butler: Immigrants to Austin played a critical role in building the region's wealth. "Austin's wealth was created by immigrants and minorities who didn't belong to the yacht club in Boston". For example, George Kozmetsky played a key role in shaping the early direction of the region. Bob Litan: The Kauffman Foundation identifies Seattle Community Capital Development as a good model for growing minority businesses. The key to the success of this approach is the assurance that participants will receive financing if they successfully complete training. This approach overcomes the fragmentation that is common in most settings. Mike Lugar: We need new approaches to cluster development. Mike presented a very useful paper exploring how to integrate and extend cluster analysis. David Morganthaler: Venture capital is not a constraint to building innovation. Venture capital will follow good deals. (Once established, however, firms tend to invest in local firms over distant firms.) Older industrial regions like Ohio have not been able to develop new foundations of wealth. The older industries have extended their "S" curves into the mature phase. VC-backed firms represent a very small fraction of growth companies. Only about 1% of the total companies formed in a year receive venture funding. Too often the probelm is not a lack of venture capital, but rather a lack of quality business plans. Scott Shane explored the dynamics of university spin-offs. Most university licenses go to established firms, not spin-offs. There are a number of steps that policy makers can take to increase the rate of spin-offs. These steps include increasing the level or research, strengthening early stage financing, expanding flexibillity for faculty to move back and forth between the university and commercial ventures, and providing company support, such as incubators. Marcus Stanley summarized research on manufacturing that he is conducting with Sue Helper. Their research is leading us to form the contours fo a regional manufactuirng strategy for Northeast Ohio. Eric Bettinger has been exploring the details of brain drain and the impact of state tuition and financial aide policies on holding talented people. he has developed a useful four stage model to help us develop policies that can hold on to smart people. An interesting insight: one big opportunity may be in "roundtrippers": young professionals who leave the state, but could return. Mike Fogarty's paper pointed us in the direction of viewing regional commercialization as a system with four major components. He explored this issue in the context of MEMS development in Ohio. Commenting on Fogarty's paper, Bill Seelbach pointed to the importance of defining the appropriate scale for competitive success in new technology development. His comments led us to a discussion of how to define appropriate scale. Bo Carlsson compared research on European and U.S. innovation systems. In Europe the thinking about regional innovation systems is more advanced than in the U.S. Former Kentucky governor Martha Layne Collins provided some valuable insights into how to forge consensus around difficult policy innovations. It's clear that we need to develop a new type of leadership skills to translate collaborative policy ideas into action. These skills are closely aligned with concepts of servant leadership developed by Robert Greenleaf I thank George Nemeth who provided an on-going summary of our conference on his blog. posted by Ed | Cabela's and Bass Pro Shops Thursday, April 22, 2004 In a nation of shoppers, both Cabela's and Bass Pro Shops have become major retail anchors and tourist attractions. Here's a story about Cabela's in Ft. Worth and Bass Pro Shops in Alabama. posted by Ed | One way to put the choice: prisons or higher education Here's an opinion piece that makes a good point. We increasingly face a choice: do we invest in prisons or higher education? In most states, investments in correctional facilities has been increasing steadily. Investments in higher education are moving in the opposite direction. Here's a perspective from North Carolina. "Each year the state invests $8,000 per student enrolled in a University of North Carolina System institution. Compare that to the $25,000 to $32,000 a year it takes to imprison an inmate." Read more. posted by Ed | Kalamazoo's plan to invest in start-ups Wednesday, April 21, 2004 A new plan to invest city pension funds into a venture capital fund went before the Kalamazoo city commission this week. This idea first surfaced last summer as Kalamazoo tried to adjust to lay-offs from Pfizer. Southwest Michigan First, the county ED organization, proposed establishing a venture fund to enable scientists to launch their own ventures. The first proposal didn't fly. Now a second proposal went before the commission this week. Learn more. Read about Kalamazoo's "Stick Around" Talent Retention/Company Creation strategy. Go. The strategy is showing promising signs of success. Read more. Article 1 and Article 2. posted by Ed | Was NAFTA "oversold"? Maybe so, accoording to participants in a conference in San Diego. Looking at the border region, these experts find that the predicted integration of the cross-border region has not happened. Instead of one robust, internationally connected economy, "We have two dynamic economies that benefit from each other but are by no means dependent on each other," according to San Diego Regional Economic Development Corp. vice president Erik Bruvold. Read more. posted by Ed | Anatomy of a deal: Federal Mogul In an effort to keep 800 jobs form leaving the state, Michigan increased the flexibility of its tax credit program offered through the Michigan Economic Growth Authority (MEGA). The modification is targeted to keeping Federal Mogul. Through MEGA tax credit program has the authority to award tax credits as incentives to companies that choose to expand in Michigan. Read more. posted by Ed | Automation Alley breaks ground on new headquarters Tuesday, April 20, 2004 Automation Alley in Southeastern Michigan represents one of the best examples of regional cooperation in economic development. The initiative is designed to put the region on the leading edge of advanced engineering and manufacturing. Automation Alley reveals the steps to build innovation networks within a region. Read through the benefits that Automation Alley providews to its members. Go. Today, Automation Alley started construction on its new headquarters. Automation Alley participants include the City of Detroit, Genesee County, the Economic Development Council of Livingston County, Macomb County Government, Monroe County Industrial Development Corporation, Oakland County, the Economic Development Alliance of St. Clair County and the Washtenaw Development Council. posted by Ed | Economy Watch Sunday, April 18, 2004 These articles are not "The Economy for Dummies", but it's the same idea. Get smart fast. Fed's patience tested by strong economic data Government, economists debate outsourcing and legislation Global View: Inflation! And deflation Economy not hitting all its spots, but analysts unworried Small Businesses 'Major Force' In U.S. Economy Rise in unemployment claims does not shake economists' belief that job market is rebounding US consumers brighten up on the economy posted by Ed | Canada opens Tucson trade office Here's more evidence that foreign economic development policy is happening at the level of cities and regions. Canada has opened a trade office in Tucson. The office will support an evolving high tech trade relationship between Ottawa and Tucson. It's the first time that the Canadian government has agreed to open an office based on a city-to-city relataionship. Learn more. posted by Ed | NC county loses incentives law suit Alleghany Conty thought it had an enforceable "clawback" provision in its incentive agreement with Bristol Compressors. The jury disagreed. The county saw the clause this way: If the company didn't stay for 10 years, it must repay incentives. The company saw it this way: If the company failed to meet benchmarks for employment and investment from 1993 to 2003, there will be a pro rata payment, not pay back of everything. Moral of the story: Pay attention ot the language of the agreement. Read more. posted by Ed | Resource (for Southern EDPros): Book on the South Here's an interesting review of a recent book on the economic emergence of the South after World War II. The book is "The Southern Advantage: Why You Should Consider Doing Business in the World's Fourth-Largest Economy," by Joe Hollingsworth Jr. with Mike Randle and Trisha Ostrowski. Read more about the book. Go. The process of Southern economic development actually started during the Depression in Mississippi. The construction of defense plants in World War II (and the conscious decision by the federal government to locate these plants outside the industrialized corridors in the North) led to the acceleration of economic development in Southern states after the war. Southern EDPros mastered the art of branch plant recruitment, and meanwhile Northern economies, especially those in the Northeast, suffered as manufacturing plants headed South. Rhode Island, alone, lost over fifty textile plants between 1950 and 1965. The authors are a little too brash, though. The South faces another major transition to a global economy. In this new world, branch plant recruitment is not a winning strategy. All across the South, plants that opened from the 1960s to the 1980's are now closing down. Impacts in rural economies have been particularly severe. In a global economy, we can't build prosperity by sewing underwear. Southern EDPros face a major challenge in altering their thinking to compete in a global economy. We must now all compete in a world in which brainpower is king. posted by Ed | If it quacks like a duck... Now here's a good one. The Brownsville Navigation District in Brownsville, TX wants to build a bridge to link Brownsville with the Mexican port of Now allegations have arisen the the BND has paid bribes to get the project moving. Officials at the BND deny any bribes were paid. But an investigation has revealed that the BND wired hundreds of thousands of dollars through a local bank to an account in the Bahamas in the name of unknown interests and that payments were made to some consultants without seeking proposals or contracts. (My guess, but I could be wrong, is that wiring a boatload of cash to an offshore account in the name of an unknown party probably tipped somebody off.) Read more. posted by Ed | Retirement? Not so fast... Here's another factor that is shaping our economic development landscape. We have shortages looming in just about every career category from teachers and pharmacists to nurses and auto techs. Why? Two reasons. First, we have an age bulge of baby Boomers set to retire. Second, our education system is so inefficient, we are producing too few people with the capability to move into postsecondary education. As a consequence, we are going to see more stories about older workers working longer. Read more. posted by Ed | Anatomy of a deal: Bass Pro Shops Saturday, April 17, 2004 Denham Springs is locatedd tothe east of baton Rouge, and its a site of a planned Bass Pro Shops. Although Bass is viewed as a destination retailer, locating a store within a region will give rise to some painful dislocations. For example, sales tax reveneus in East Baton Rouge parish will go down, while revenues in the more prosperous Livingston Parish will go up. In sum, the Bass Pro Shop development will accelerate a suburban sprawl and leave behind a bigger budget hole. In contrast to the Denham Springs store, the bass Pro Shops in Bossier City, LA and Oklahoma City are located downtown, and they serve to strengthen the region's core. Is the Denham Spring project the type of development that deserves subsidies? Not likely. Read more. posted by Ed | Florida increases the stakes in biosciences Over the next three to five years, Florida will beinvesting up to $1 billion -- or about 1% -- of the state employee pension fund in biosciences. The money will be divided among four money management firms. These firms will, in turn, invest in venture capital firms. The announcement comes on top of Florida's succesful campaign to attract the expansion of Scripps Research Institute. The state and Palm Beach County have committed to spending $510 million on land for a Scripps laboratory, along with equipment, top scientists and operational expenses for seven years. Read more. posted by Ed | Balancing confidentiality and disclosure Louisiana is going through a public debate about how much of economic development deal-making should be private. Governor Blanco has proposed an exemption from the state's sunshine laws for economic development negotiations. Information on the negotiations would become public after the negotiations are completed or terminated. Governor Blanco's approach strikes the right balance between the practical realities of negotiation and the transparency we need to insure some accountability. Read more. Local EDPros can use this approach as a model in dealing with their own disclosure issues. posted by Ed | Rural development and clean energy As we move toward more renewable sources of power and distributed power generation, energy development is moving to the center of the rural development agenda. You see it in the wind power projects that are coming on line. (For example, In Kansas, a state task force is working on rules to determine where to develop wind farms. Read more. In New Mexico, solar manufacturing is rapidly emerging. Read more.) Here's a good perspective on these developments from the Pacific Northwest. Read more. As one observer notes, ""In regard to renewable energy, there's been a transition during the past few years. Two or three years ago, renewable energy was still looked upon as marginal and irrelevant for farmers, but now more farmers and rural leaders are recognizing it can be an excellent tool in economic development." posted by Ed | One problem with tax incentives Using the tax code to target economic development is not a good idea. Here's one reason why. When you allow one firm to claim incentives, you are tilting the field against that firm's competitors. In Rhode Island, Dunkin Donuts is fighting a potential sales tax exemption for a rival firm. Read more. posted by Ed | SBANE's retention initiative The Massachusetts legislature has established a new initiative to help struggling manufacturers. The initiative has a clumsy name: Layoff Aversion Through Management Assistance, but the basic idea is sound. Targeted businesses can hire a private consultant of their choice, and the Layoff Aversion Program will provide funds for 50 percent of the entire costs, up to $10,000 per business. Read more. posted by Ed | Anatomy of a deal: Luring NASCAR to the Northwest Friday, April 16, 2004 EDPros in Washignton Sate are preparing to make a big push to convince NASCAR to expand in the Pacific Northwest. Already, they are comparing the project to the Boeing 7E7. Read an update. Go. posted by Ed | Michigan: Connecting with the foundations in economic development Wednesday, April 14, 2004 The economic development finance landscape is shifting. The ferderal government is gradually getting out of the economic development business. In Michigan, the state government has developed a new positon to connect the state government with the state's foundation community. Learn more. posted by Ed | Chattanooga's challenge: more than federal dollars Federal earmarks are here to stay. (That's when Congress passes an appropriations bill with a budget for a specific project.) From an economic development view, some of these earmarked projects are simply silly. Iowa's $50 million rain forest or Alaska's $200 million "bridge to nowhere" come to mind. Chattanooga, however, has used federal earmarks to build a technology-led economic development strategy. Now there's a move to the separate initiatives into one place. Read more. There's one big risk in pouring so much federal money into technology-led economic development. The ability to translate these investments into prosperity depends on having a strong entrepreneurial base of companies and a technically skilled workforce. . These are the serious challenges facing Chattanooga. Eighteen months ago, the University of North Carolina issued a very good report outlining these challenges. Download the report. Go. posted by Ed | Web Watch: Indianapolis Indianapolis Economic Development (IED) launched their new web site earlier this week. The site links to two other web-based sites: the Indy Partnership's Information Warehouse and the Indianapolis Economic Development Portal, a site selection tool. Visit the new site. Go. posted by Ed | Resource: Angel capital networks Tuesday, April 13, 2004 The Angel Capital Association provides a set of practical guides and white papers on angel capital networks. If you are interested in starting a network in your community, stop here first. Go. posted by Ed | Michigan governor: One czar is enough Michigan's Democratic governor has vetoed a bill from the Republican-controlled legislature to create a state manufacturing czar. She thinks one (federal) czar is enough. Read more. posted by Ed | Pennsylvania stimulus package In the high point of his administration, Governor Rendell of Pennsyulvania signed a $2 billion economic development stimulus package last week. Critics argue that the state lacks a clear strategy for its investments. They are concerned that business as usual will simply acclerate sprawl. Read more. Last December, the Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy issued a report critical of Pennsylvania's economic development strategy. Read more. You can download the report from this page. posted by Ed | Bringing broadband to the Eastern Shore Monday, April 12, 2004 The Eastern Shore of Maryland is another rural area that is starting to define a broadband strategy. If you are an EDPro in a rural area, you might be interested in following the developments. Read more. posted by Ed | Economy Watch Sunday, April 11, 2004 Impress your friends. Impress your boss. Read these articles and get smart about the economy. Outsourcing could drain tax coffers Americans are Getting Shorter Consumer Confidence Benchmark Hits Lowest Point Since October More Silicon Valley Residents Optimistic About Economy Jobless Claims Lowest in More Than 3 Yrs Economists See Job Growth, But With Little Impact Report: Offshore IT outsourcing helps economy posted by Ed | Alaska's bridge to nowhere One of the most curious developments in Congressional politics in recent years comes in the transformation of the Republican party. Remember Newt Gingrich and his Contract with America? (Modestly subtitled: A Bold Plan by Rep. Newt Gingrich, Rep. Dick Armey, and the House Republicans to Change the Nation.) Well, you can throw that idea out the window. In steps Republican Rep. Don Young from Alaska. He wants to spend $200 million on one of the natioon's largest bridges to connect Ketchikan (population: 7,845) with the local airport (six flights a day). The bridge will be 80 feet higher than the Brooklyn Bridge and about the same height as the Golden Gate Bridge. Once the bridge is built it will actually take longer for residents to get to the airport than it does now by ferry. Sounds like a joke, right? Sadly, no. Read more. (Registration required.) posted by Ed | Beaverton launches a software incubator Here's another type of strategy that is gaining steam: industry-specific incubators. You can see a good example in Beaverton, OR. The City Council has agreed to invest $1. million over three years to get a software incubator off the ground. The incubator will be 15,000 to 20,000 square feet in downtown Beaverton. It will house 15-25 start-up businesses. The incubator will focus on companies in five areas: open source development, electronic design automation, financial services, health care applications and educational software. Each category has a group of promising companies in Beaverton. According to the business plan for the incubator, the start-up companies will likely have one to four employees, they will spend 18-24 months in the incubator getting assistance and guidance, and they will graduate with 20-25 employees The incubator will require a subsidy to start: $450,000 for the first year and $350,000 for the second and third years. Read more. posted by Ed | Better late than never (maybe) Saturday, April 10, 2004 Eight months after declaring manufactuing a priority issue for his administration, President Bush named his "manufacturing czar" (an appointee in the Commerce Department, really). Read more. It's not at all clear what this new "czar" will actually do. posted by Ed | Building clusters in Monterey County, CA Monterey County, CA has followed an organized, deliberate approach to identify and develop a cluster-based economic development strategy. Study this example, if you want to learn more about how this approach works. Here's a backlground article. Read more. You can get an overview of the process with a project time line. Go. You can dig deeper into the individual clusters they are developing: agriculture, tourism, and education services/research. Learn more. posted by Ed | Triad entrepreneurship networks Most regions are lucky to have one entrepreneurial organization that works. The Triad region of North Carolina has two, and they are beginning discussions on a merger. Triad Entrepreneurial Initiative (TEI) and the Piedmont Entrepreneurial Network (PEN) both provide services to high growth entrepreneurs, but at different stages of a company life cycle. TEI deals more with emerging companies still in the idea stage, while PEN focuses on more experienced firms. The difference in these organizations underscores an important point. The challenges of launching and growing an entrepreneurial company shift as a company moves from ideas to launch and expansion. We need to become increasingly sophisticated about understanding the different needs of companies as them move toward profitability and growth. Read more about the two organizations. Go. posted by Ed | Michigan's cool cities Friday, April 09, 2004 Building quality, connected places is one of the key components of a strategy for building competitive communities. Michigan has launched its Cool Cities initiative to underscore the point. Read more. The genesis of this initiative is no surprise...Richard Florida's book on the Creative Class. While Florida is right to emphasize the importance of a quality place, we will need more than bike trails, urban parks and fern bars to compete in today's global economy. Brainpower is the core element of a competitive economy. Its the only resource that any community has on which to build an economic future. Every community faces the same challenge. We have too many kids dropping out of schools, too many kids graduating from high school with weak skills and no career plans, and too few kids heading off to some post-secondary education. In another area, we need new ways to convert brainpower into wealth through innovation and entrepreneurship networks. Building these networks is not easy and takes time. Here's a good commentary on these challenges from Mark Lang, former executive director of Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Go. posted by Ed | Food fight The Jell-O is starting to fly in Columbia. It all started when the governor got upset that the legislature was loading down an economic development bill with a bunch of pork barrel amendments. (Now that's never happened before.) He threatened to sue the legislature for violating the state constitution. (Dumb Move Number 1.) The legislature told him, in turn, to go pound some sand. Realizing that his agenda for the state was effectively dead without some measure of cooperation, the governor has backed off his threat. In the meantime, a state legislator taped a closed door session that the governor was having with 40 House Republicans. During the session, the governor was asked whether he had decided to hold a press conference announcing that he would be suing the legislature. The governor indicated that he had not decided. One problem. The governor apparently did not tell his staff. During the meeting, legislators started getting e-mails announcing a press conference. (Dumb Move Number 2) The governor subsequently accused a legislator, Mark Tripp, for the taping. "Certainly what he did was absolutely in my book unethical", fumed the governor in Charleston last week. Read more. (By the way, if you are curious about Jello-O, visit the Jell-O museum web site.) posted by Ed | Bioinformatics in Buffalo Buffalo is another place where new appraoches to economic development are taking hold. Earlier this year, Buffalo landed the new Geico facility. With Warren Buffet cheering from the sidelines, Buffalo's leaders showed a new level of teamwork and focus. Learn more. Now comes another impressive story of collaboration: the Buffalo Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences. The developers of the center have assembled an impressive package of financial support: $290 million from state federal governemnts, philanthropies, and business partners. Learn more. posted by Ed | Sustainability in upstate New York Here's another trend: the emergence of sustainable development as an organizing principle for economic development. Here's an example from Ithaca, NY. Led by Ithaca College, a community is emerging to define economic development strategies in a different way. Learn more. posted by Ed | Think interdependence Mark Drabenstott is one of the leading vopices for new economic development strategies in rural areas. He's vice president and director of the Center for Study of Rural America with the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. Last week in Iowa, Drabenstott put the challenge clearly: "We need to start believing that we are interdependent, not independen. We need to stop thinking like the independent Swedish farmer and start thinking like a quilting bee. We can't let county, city or state lines keep us from working together." Read more. Drabenstott spoke at one of the first events of the new Cedar Valley Alliance. Formed in February, the Cedar Valley Alliance connects Waterloo andd Cedar Rapids. The Alliance strikes a balance between supporting cooperative action and supporting the individual identities of the member organizations. The Alliance brings together chambers, Main Street groups, tourism bureaus, economic development organizations, and local governments. Learn more about how the Alliance is put together. Go posted by Ed | North Carolina's pledge of necessity North Carolina is having difficulty enforcing a requirement in its incentive regulations. No wonder. Under state law, a company must pledge that it would not locate in North Carolina without the incentive. The requirement is both silly and unenforceable. Read more. posted by Ed | Anatomy of a deal: Lures for Cabela's in Ft. Worth Cabela's is a top retailer of outdoor clothes and equipment. Like its competitor, Bass Pro Shops, Cabelas has been reeling in incentive packages as it locates new retail shops. Here's an example from Ft. Worth. Read more. Here's an enterprising project for some smart graduate student in economic development: Compare the different incentive packages that these two large retail chains have landed in the past few years and figure out the payback on these incentive packages. posted by Ed | The inner city is not a wasteland Some years ago, Michael Porter, the guru of clusters, made a surprising assertion: some companies can thrive in the inner city. He published his findings in the Harvard Business Review and went on to found the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City. Each year, ICIC joins with Inc. magazine to publish the Inner City 100. The list helps to destroy the myth of the inner city as an economic wasteland. The 2004 Inner City 100 companies created more than 11,600 new jobs between 1998 and 2002, and these jobs paid an average hourly wage of $13.80. Learn more posted by Ed | Resource: Texas Center for Rural Entrepreneurship Although its web site is only partially built, the Texas Center for Rural Entrepreneurship has compiled some useful pages for rural EDPros. Here is a page of useful web sites on rural entrepreneurship. Go. And here is a page of useful tools that rural EDPros can use in your community. Go posted by Ed | Ohio group fights sprawl Tuesday, April 06, 2004 Greater Ohio, a new statewide advocacy group launched in January, is trying to reframe the sprawl debate. The group is advocating development policies that focus on redeveloping communities and strengthening regional cooperation. Read more. If you are interested in learnimg more, read The Restoration Economy, a book by Storm Cunningham. Go. Although this strategy is relatively new in the U.S., it is well-establlished in the U.K. EDPors in the UK refer to these appraoches generically as regeneration strategies. Learn more posted by Ed | Resource: Report on manufacturing Since 1998, manufacturing has lost approximately 3 million jobs due to structural changes in productivity and overseas competition. In this report commissioned by the national Governors Association, Mark Zandi of Economy.com examines the state of manufacturing in the U.S., the impact of productivity and global competition on manufacturing jobs, and the prospects for growth. Download the report. Go. posted by Ed | Bush proposes reform of WIA President Bush proposed reform of the Workforce Investment Act yesterday. He has set a target of doubling the number of people served by the WIA to about 412,000. The President is not proposing new money for retraining. Instead, he is focusing on reducing the administrative overhead in the system. There's a lot of room for improvement. WIA is currently training only about 200,000 people nationwide, at a cost of $4 billioon. That's $20,000 per worker. Read more. posted by Ed | Web Watch: Metro Denver Saturday, April 03, 2004 Two months ago, Metro Denver Economic Development Corporation launched a new web site for site selectors. It is another example new economic development web sites that integrate GIS technologies. These sites can zoom down to a specific building or lot available for development, lease or purchase, and provide information, such as traffic counts, that is refined down to a city block. Read some background on the site. Go. Or, visit the site. Visit a similar site in San Francisco. Go. posted by Ed | Hampton Roads connects to Germany Friday, April 02, 2004 Here's an example of another trend taking hold. Regional economies in the U.S. are becoming more aggressive in developing connections to foreign regions. These connections go beyond single transactions or one-time visits. They are more focused and strategic than traditional sister-city arrangements. Unlike opening a foreign office or retaining a foreign agent, this strategy entails a joint venture approach to development. Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance is building commercial connections to a similar regional development organization in Bremen, Germany. The working agreeemnt establishes a framework for the two regions to develop mutually beneficial commercial relationships. Read more. posted by Ed | Massachusetts leads tech index The Milken Institute has published its latest report ranking the states. Massachusetts comes out on top. Read more. In 1999 the Milken Institute published a groundbreaking economic study that set the standard for defining the new economic geography of America’s high technology metropolitan areas. This report is the latest update. You can download the report from the Milken Institute web site. (Free registration required.) Go. posted by Ed | More details on the 7E7 Thursday, April 01, 2004 More details of Washingotn State's prposal to Boeing on the 7E7 are revealed in 300+ pages of documentation that has been made public. Read more. posted by Ed | |
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
 |
|||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
