Earlier this month, Ohio launched a major new information infrastructure, the Third Frontier Network. Among other benefits, the high speed data network holds the promise of accerating commercial development of research and impriving the way health care is delivered.

The high speed network will also connect primary and secondary schools. So, for example, a high school and a college can now partner in the development of improved science enducation. Read more.

You can learn more about the network from this web site.

Kansas will be launching a new branding campaign in January. Read more. You can get a preview from this site.

One sure way to improve a regional economy comes through investments in higher education. Unfortunately, many state legislatures, facing budget cuts, have reduced the relative priority of higher education. But that is only part of the problem.

A more serious structural problem in most states comes in the systems of administrative control over different types of higher educational institutions. This administrative burden translates into less flexibility on the ground. Students have a harder time transferring credits among educational institutions.

For the past number of years, innovations are seeping into some states to improve the responsiveness of higher education to its prime customers: the students. Here's an example.

This week Vermont issued a report on their creative industries strategy. You can read more about it here. You can also download the report.

Also, in Michigan this week, the governor's Cool Cities initiative listened to Malcolm Gladwell, author of The Tipping Point. Over 1,000 people attended the conference. Read more about the conference.

Jacksonville's new branding campaign is based on the tag line, "Where Florida begins". The campaign, according to the mayor, is designed to differentiate along two dimensions: "First, how does Jacksonville compare with other Florida cities? And secondly, what characteristics differentiate us from other U.S. cities?" Read more.

Each week, Chuck Lawton writes a column on economic development for the newspaper in Portland, ME.

Here's his contribution from last week. It provides us a clear framework to think about the challenges of globalization. Read more.

The competition for recruitment deals has never been more intense. But there's also a new skepticism about whether incentives make sense.

It used to be that only economists and public policy professionals raised much question about incentives. Now we see the debate shifting more to the popular press. Some are questioning whether incentives are justified. Others argue that there are better long term returns if we increase investments in early child care.

Here's another article from Memphis that raises questions about the value of incentives. Read more.

A prediction: in the years ahead, economic development incentives will start to shift from companies to people. Here's a good article from San Antonio.

One of the clear lessons we face is this: A high school education is no longer enough for a middle class job.

In Montana, a leadership group is grappling with how to increase the number of young people moving on to college. They have broken down the challenge into some workable components. Learn more.

We face a looming challenge to improve our deteriorating math skills. That;s the message of a new report that compares the U.S. to other developed countries. Our young people rank near the bottom. Learn more.

We are already seeing the consequences of weak basic skills throughout the economy. Here is a good example from Louisiana. A recent study finds that weak basic skills translate into unfilled jobs and less competitive companies. Learn more.

If you want to get up to speed on this issue, I recommend that you read Teaching the New Basic Skills. You can buy it used on Amazon for less than a buck. But don't let the price fool you. It's written by economists from Harvard and MIT, and it provides the best outline of the challenges we face as EDPros.

Maine recently completed a site analysis for biomed facilities, and the report holds some promise for second tier cities. According to the report's author, John Boyd of the Boyd Company, Inc.:

"There's a shift from large, (cost) prohibitive markets like Boston, Princeton and Atlanta to smaller markets with low cost-of-living indexes, low tax structures, low cost of doing business. Really, it's no secret. There's an exodus away from the large cities, especially with respect to California."

Read more. Here's some additional background.

Silicon Valley is a region thick with networks and support for entrepreneurs. But this fact does not deter EDPros from continuing to build out their infrastructure of support networks for innovation and entrepreneurship.

The latest project: a partnership between an established organization with a strong track record -- The Enterprise Network of Silicon Valley -- and a new organization -- the Institute for International Business Development. The partnership will provide new international business opportunities for Hispanic businesses. Learn more.

Here's an interesting idea out of Montana. The TRACE program, which stands for Transforming Rural Artisans into Creative Entrepreneurs, provides training to rural artists in the basics of business development. Learn more.

Clusters typically form around anchor investments. These anchor investments most commonly take the form of large company facilities (the Toyota plant in San Antonio, for example) or university-based research centers.

Here's an example of an anchor investment in a university: The Virginia Modeling, Analysis and Simulation Center at Old Dominion University. The center has spawned over 4,000 high paying jobs in the region. Learn more.

Economic development used to be about "things": developing an industrial park, recruiting a business, building a spec building.

Increasingly, we are coming to understand that this "thing theory" of economic development is inadequate. Sustainable economic development requires balanced investment in a range of areas. EDPRos need a deeper, systems view of their economies.

Here's a report that illustrates importance of understanding interdependencies. A report that will be released this week in albany notes that if EDPros are successful in recruiting high tech companies, there are not enough skilled people around to fill the jobs. Read more.

After months of discussion and a major consulting report, Toledo and Lucas County has apparently agreed to merge their economic development efforts.

This move reflects a deeper trend. Regions can no longer afford the multiplicity of efforts that leads to confusion and stalemate. Read more.

The Corporation for Enterprise Development has released its 2004 Development Report Card for the States. You can download it from this page. The data are freely available for download in an Excel format, as well.

Winston-Salem is putting together a big package for Dell: $37 million. (That's three times the $12 million package proposed by Greensboro.) Read more.

Meanwhile, transportation and people were two of the prime business reasons for choosing the Triad, according to Dell. Read more.

Competition has hit the Monongahela Valley of Pennsylvania hard. There are no simple answers, no easy path to prosperity.

In the late 1970's and early 1980's, US Steel, Westinghouse Electric, Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel and others closed major manufacturing plants in the Mon Valley. These facilities provided a major portion of the employment base of not just the Mon Valley, but of Western PA.

Late last week, civic leaders in the Valley gathered to hear the key points of a new strategy. Learn more.

You can visit the project web site and download the strategy documents from this page.