| |
|
Resource: Cross-border regions
Monday, July 31, 2006 Some EDPros have regions that cross state lines. If so, you'll want to read this report from North Carolina that explores cross-border regions. You can download the report here. posted by Ed | Rhode Island focus on an innovation agenda Rhode Island is getting its act together. When I lived there in the early 1980's, the atmosphere was highly polarized. Loss of manufacturing jobs -- particularly textile jobs to the South -- had not led yet to a new direction. Now, it appears that Rhode Island is on its way and clearly focused on an innovation agenda. Read more. posted by Ed | Ft Smith confronts slow implementation The region around Ft. Smith, Arkansas is trying to move to a new model of economic development. last year, a consultant outlined the strategy in a report, "The River Valley: At the Tipping Point". A year later, the consultant was back to warn that the region is "on the tipping point". Read more. The region has been slow to implement, and now the civic leaders are entertaining the idea of bringing the consultant back to help with moving ideas into action. The article underscores the challenge of moving in a new direction. People need to see action, but managing expectations is equally important. In my experience, you need to accomplish three steps to get people to move on in a new direction. First, they need to recognize the need for change. Second, they need to see a practical pathway from "here" to "there". Finally, they need to be convinced that if they move in this new direction, they will experience some success. Why change if you you are confident of failure? So, planning small victories is very important. From this perspective, the consultant's framing the issue of a "change or perish" choice is, in my view, not all that helpful. At the same time, the recognition by some that the old "top down" model doesn't work is a good sign: A recognition of the need to change. You can download the Ft. Smith plan here. posted by Ed | Milwaukee focusing on Denver Milwaukee's civic leaders have locked in on Denver as a region to emulate. You can learn more here. posted by Ed | Youth savings and entrepreneurship From this week's National Dialogue on Entrepreneurship newsletter:
You can download the report here. You can subscribe to the weekly newsletter by visiting this page. posted by Ed | Boston's wireless plan Boston has released its WiFi plan to cover the city with open access wireless connections. Read more. You can vist the Boston Wireless Task Force web page here. posted by Ed | Economy Watch Sunday, July 30, 2006 Here are the articles on the economy I came across last week. U.S. Economy: Growth Slows as Consumers Apply Brakes GDP Slowdown May Give Fed Pause US economy sees growth rate halved U.S. growth from 2003 through 2005 revised down Welfare Reform Worked—Mostly Corn-based Ethanol: Offering Some Relief Spending Less? You're Helping Slow the Economy Globalization: A bleak future posted by Ed | Incentive Watch Here are the interesting articles on incentives I came across last week. Georgia is starting a process to re-evaluate incentives. Read more. Competition is heating up in Florida for a biomed research institute. Read more. TVA does not want to disclose the details of an incentive deal, but a newspaper presses on. Read more. Recruiting retirees is becoming a rage in Texas. Read more. Folks in South Carolina are not so sure. Read more. New York's governor has signed legislation to accelerate rural broadband. Read more. North Carolina's governor has signed legislation expanding incentives. Read more. Memphis is competing with four other cities on a Nucor steel deal. Read more. posted by Ed | Fiber optic infrastructures Here's an interesting commentary on how fiber optic networks are spurring city economic development. Read more. posted by Ed | The new role of libraries In a knowledge-based economy, libraries can play a vital role in supporting new ventures. They can become an efficient system for delivering information to entrepreneurs. Read more. posted by Ed | Indiana Venture Center: Attracting Hoosiers Indiana is beginning a concerted effort to attract Hoosiers back to the state. Read more about the plans of the Indiana Venture Center. posted by Ed | NJ's Angel Guarantee Program In an effort to stimulate angel capital, the New Jersey Economic Development Authority will guarantee the repayment of $94,000 of a $285,000 investment a group of six angel investors is making in an early-stage software company. Read more. The Angel Guarantee Program allows angel investors to insure up to one third of the capital at risk The investors belong to Jumpstart, a network of early stage investors that is affiliated with the New Jersey Technology Council. Only Jumpstart members are eligible for the Angel Guarantee Porgram. You can learn more about Jumpstart from its web site. posted by Ed | Baltimore's video gaming opportunities Here's an article out of Baltimore that highlights the emerging power of digital media and video gaming. Read more. posted by Ed | Clemson as EDA center The Economic Development Administration has opened competition for its university center initiative. In South Carolina, EDA selected Clemson among the competing proposals. Read more. posted by Ed | Shreveport's new convention center Shreveport, LA has been investing in a convention center, largely ignoring the softening market for conventions and meetings. Read more. Convention center projections are routinely presented with happy face optimism. (The better to serve the architects, bond lawyers, and others who generate some healthy fees...) (In Shreveport's case, an audit of the convention center found that the architects were walking away with some hefty fees, and that a range of other consultants got loosely paid. You can read an auditor's report here.) posted by Ed | Resource: Food incubators Here's a good page of resources for EDPros interested in food incubators. Read more. posted by Ed | Leveraging a university Here's a good example of how a small community in Kansas is leveraging the resources of a university. The Hillsboro City Council is investing in a new incubator that will be guided by the Innovation Center at Kansas State University. Read more. posted by Ed | Tech Valley in New York New York's Tech Valley is gaining traction with AMD's chip plant. But the $1.2 billion in incentives -- while not as controversial as Dell's North Carolina deal -- is still raising questions and provoking defenders. Read more. posted by Ed | Assessing Knoxville's workforce Knoxville is undertaking an assessment of its workforce. Learn more about what they are doing here. posted by Ed | School readiness When will school readiness for kindergarten become a vital economic development metric? Read more. In a global economy built on brainpower, how long can we afford to wait? Last week, the Committee for Economic Development released its latest report: The Economic Promise of Investing in High-Quality Preschool: Using Early Education to Improve Economic Growth and the Fiscal Sustainability of States and the Nation. Read more. You can download CED's reports on early childhood education here. posted by Ed | Arts as economic development The Center for Arts and Public Policy (CAPP) at Wayne State University has produced a new report on the importance of the arts to economic development. Read more. You can download the report from CAPP's web site. posted by Ed | Virginia faces the challenges of regions Pulling a regional alliance together is never easy. Take the case of the Hampton Roads Economic Development Alliance. As the following article notes, "Nearly 17 months into a merger that created one regional economic development agency for Hampton Roads, some family counseling might be needed." Read more. The difficulties emerge on the other side of the state, as well. A recent study team pointed to the challenges of coordinating activity between Blacksburg (home of VIrginia Tech) and Roanoke. Read more. At moments like these, I recommend civic leaders take the "Shanghai Perspective". It may be true that the civic leaders in Hampton roads are having difficulty workiing together -- or, that civic leaders in Blacksburg and Roanoke are not on the same page. But businesses in Shanghai don't care. If we're competing in a global economy, we should be able to see ourselves from Shanghai. From that perspective our local differences shrink in importance. posted by Ed | Wal-Mart faces living wage campaign Wal-Mart continues to be easy target for political activists. The courts recently struck down a Maryland law that mandated a certain level of health care coverage for Wal-Mart workers. Nevertheless, pressure on Wal-Mart continues. In Chicago, Wal-Mart and other big box retailers are facing pressure to raise wages under a "living wage" standard. Read more. posted by Ed | Changes in ED education Education in the economic development profession is changing. Twenty years ago most of the curriculum focused on land development and business recruitment. Now, new approaches to professional education are emerging. Here is an article out of Minnesota that describes the recent basic training provide in Duluth. Read more. posted by Ed | The emegence of Lorain County Community College Lorain County in Northeast Ohio is in a tough spot. Older line manufacturing firms have been contracting. In the midst of this contraction, a relatively small group of civic leaders have taken the initiative to launch some promising new ideas. Lorain County Community College stands at the center of these developments. College is the hub around which the county's new economy is beginning to form. GLIDE (Great Lakes Innovation & Development Enterprise) Where his cents a model of new business development that other counties can adopt. GLIDE that represents a partnership among the business community, the political leadership and the college. Headed by skilled business team, GLIDE accelerates the development of new businesses by quickly linking the business to needed resources. Around GLIDE, the college is developing other elements of an "ecosystem" to support new business development. Read more. posted by Ed | Regional energy policies The Southern States Energy board has released to report that explores the energy options for the nation's transportation. In the absence of a strong Federal energy policy, this report from 16 Southern states has generated some important debate. Read more. You can downloaad the report from this page. The report highlights what I see as an emerging trend: Multi-state regions will continue to develop their own economic development policies in order to compete in the global economy. We have already seen multi-state compacts develop policies toward global warming. Read more. Energy policy will be a logical next step. We will also see the emergence of regional sustainable development policies. This approach is already taken hold in the United Kingdom. Earlier this month, the UK government released to report on sustainable development in its regions. Read more. We are now starting to see regions in the U.S. embrace this approach. Read more. posted by Ed | New Jersey's uncertain future A new report out of New Jersey raises some serious questions about the future of the state's economy. According to the report, {"New Jersey now faces its most uncertain long-term economic future since the Great Depression." Read more. Downaload the report here. posted by Ed | Economy Watch Monday, July 24, 2006 Here are articles on the economy from last week. US wages can grow: Bernanke Fed Minutes Show `Significant Uncertainty' About Future Policy THE FED: Bernanke Keeps Options Open As Economy's In Flux Global growth, weaker dollar unleash a wave of U.S. exports The New SBA Chief's Honeymoon Period Southern Leaders Release New Plan to Achieve American Energy Security Fed: Flexibility needed in monetary policy Fed Chief Eases Inflation Fears with Policy Report Vital Signs: More Bets on a Pause From the Fed Emerging Giants Green Wonders of the World posted by Ed | Indiana: Partnering in biosciences Indiana is moving ahead with an imaginative partnership strategy in biosciences. Read more. posted by Ed | Maryland's business image The courts struck down Maryland's "Wal Mart" legislation that sought to force large employers (Read: Wal Mart) to spend a certain portion of payroll on health insurance. Maryland business leaders fret that despite the legal victory, the state's image has been tarnished. Read more. posted by Ed | Building a better San Jose Part of building an innovative economy involves integrating economic development and physical development strategies in new and different ways. Mixed use (live/work) districts. Cultural activities. Connected greenspaces. These are the challenges facing San Jose. Read more. Orlando is facing the same challenge. Read more. posted by Ed | Factory closings in rural areas In the years ahead, factory closings, especially in rural economies, will continue. Here's an article from Arkansas. Read more. The challenge for rural communities involves shifting to a more collaborative, entrepreneurial strategy that involves "weaving networks". posted by Ed | Keeping Iowa workers Worker shortages are spurrnig business leaders in Iowa to act. Read more. posted by Ed | Rural collaborations Here's a good example of rural communities coming together to promote their region. The example comes from South Dakota. Read more. Accelerating rural collaboration is critical in order to assemble the resources needed to support a more entrepreneurial economy. The Kansas City Federal Reserve has a number of good studies on the rural economy. You can access them from this page. posted by Ed | Moving wind power Moving a new technology into the market is a complex undertaking. Wind power is a prime example. For wind power to work, especially in metropolitan regions or places (like Cape Cod) that are environmentally sensitive, a lot of local education will be needed. Model zoning ordinaces will need to be drafted and adopted. Here's an article from Pennsylvania that illustrates the point. Read more. When it comes to hydrogen (if that, indeed, ever comes) the storage systems will likely require a huge rewrite of local building codes and zoning ordinances. posted by Ed | Aligning economic development One of the challneges of forging a regional strategy comes in aligning economic development organizations and resources. Here's where you can run into trouble if you take a simplistic perspective of putting things into boxes. From this vantage point, economic development organizations often appear fragmented and overlapping. But often, the economic development organizations assemble different tools and different constitutencies. The challenge comes in aligning these organizations and focusing their energies. This article from West Virginia touches on some of these themes. posted by Ed | Life science innovation zone Over the past year or so, I have been watching the Keystone Innovation Zone initiative in Pennsylvania pick up steam. The University City Keystone Innovation Zone in Philadelphia focuses on life science start-ups. Here's a news release that updates their progress. Read more. posted by Ed | Broadband in Seattle Municipal broadband is a hot, controversial topic. Here's a perspective from Seattle, where the city is considering a citywide braodband network. Read more. CNET has published a useful map of municipal braodband projects. You can view it here. The National Journal has published a useful series of articles on municipal broadband. Read more. And the blog that keeps up with municpal wireless (although with a clear point of view) is Muniwireless. Read more. The Knight Foundation is connecting communities to municipal wireless strategies. Read more. You can access their web site here. posted by Ed | Skills and innovation "The currency of where growth will occur in our new economy lies with innovation and the availability of a skilled work force." Pennsylvania Governor Rendell put his finger on the challenge. It's not just a skilled workforce. Regional economies need open innovation networks to convert brainpower into wealth. Read more of the governor's comments here. posted by Ed | Entrepreneurial campuses The Kauffman Foundation is pushing entrepreneurial activities on a series of college campuses (so called "Kauffman Campuses"). Here's an article from Arizona State University. Read more. You can learn more from the resource center on the foundation's web site. Go there. posted by Ed | Making Madison, WI Work And interesting series of articles reviews the economic development options and challenges facing Madison, Wisconsin. Here the articles in this series. Making Madison Work: From Eden to Everytown? Here's an editorial that appeared over the weekend. The main point: Update Madison's economic development strategy: For a new era, a new strategy posted by Ed | New debate in Northeast Ohio Over the weekend, the local newspaper here in Cleveland ran a series of stories on the region's economic development strategies and performance. You can read the stories here: Team NEO: Idea works, but not here Money, urgency help other economic regions High-tech success eludes NE Ohio My colleague Valdis Krebs sees a new day emerging in Northeast Ohio. Read more. Characteristically, my friend Don Iannone is more philosophical. Read more. Another friend, John Ettorre, comments on the changes taking place in the region, as Case announced that the business school dean is stepping down. Read more. In Northeast Ohio, blogs, led by George Nemeth's Brewed Fresh Daily, are having an important impact on the regional economic development. More people are engaged. More voices heard. More ideas generated. Fast stuff happens. posted by Ed | Economy Watch Sunday, July 16, 2006 Here are the interesting articles on the economy I came across last week. Britain and world set for ‘hard landing’ G8 leaders seeking global innovative society World's Smarter Agenda Global venture capital trend emerging Supply and demand: Doing it the Wal-Mart way Americans More Focused on Achievement, Less Power-Hungry Vital Signs: Stop, Go, or Pause for the Fed? How Big Is Your Trade Deficit? U.S. commuters resist remote working Study Concludes That Workforce Instability Is Number One Fear of HR Professionals Inflation likely to stay contained: Dallas Fed posted by Ed | Incentive Watch Here are the articles on incentives that I came across this week. Massachusetts has a new economic development package on the governor's desk. Read more. The Cabarrus County Board of Commissioners (near Charlotte) voted to increase incentive packages. The motion passesd despite some opposition that existing companies generally do not receive these incentives. Read more. Oklahoma has invested its $15 million from its new "Opportunity Fund". Read more. Denver found out that United was not really serious about relocating its headquarters outside Chicago. Read more. Here's more background on the big AMD chip deal New York landed recently. Read more. posted by Ed | Investing in a riverfront Public investments on Wilmington, DE's riverfront now total $250 million. Here's a status report. Read more. posted by Ed | Web Watch: Biosciences in the Triad The Piedmont Triad has launched a new web site to promote the biosciences. Read more. You can visit the site here. posted by Ed | Creating a first ED plan Oneida, in upstate New York, is embarking on a strategic planning process. You can read about it here: Economic development plan next for Oneida Focus group offers ideas for city economy The city has never had a plan for economic development, but they are starting off on the right foot with focus groups. The first is on commercal and retail opportunities. The second is on manufacturing. The third one is on tourism. And the final one is on workforce issues. That's a good way to kick off a process. posted by Ed | Milwaukee looks to Cincinnati's deal strategy Civic leaders in Milwaukee are refocusing their Initiative for a Competitive Milwaukee to build stronger minority-owned businesses. They are looking to Cincinnati for ideas. An initiative of the regional chamber has demonstrated some relatively quick success, and Milwaukee's leaders want to learn about CIncinnati's "deal strategy". Through this approach, minority-owned businesses can experience impressive growth through mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures with other firms. Read more. posted by Ed | West Virginia's creative strategy Like Vermont and Kentucky, West Virginia is another laregly rural state that is hooking into the idea of the "creative economy" as an economic development strategy. You can learn more here. You can learn more about arts in the Kentucky economy here. You can learn more about Vermont by downloading the report, Advancing Vermont's Creative Economy. posted by Ed | Colorado's bioscience investments Colorado is another state pushing bioscience research. Here's an update. Read more. posted by Ed | KC bioscience initiative A new bioscience partnership in Kansas City has announced an ambitious initiative to develop a new campus. The plan calls for a new bioscience research park and a bioscience business incubator. Read more. Kansas State University will anchor the site with 40 acres of the 90 acre total. Read more. posted by Ed | Gambling for Ohio? Ohio faces the prospect of a ballot initiative to allow gambling casinos in Cleveland. Proponents of the casinos argue that the state will get needed money for higher education. But the money comes with a cost. (No free lunch, remember?) According to an economics professor at John Carroll University, the math is simple: the state stands to lose $2.8 billion in income to gain $900 million for education. Read more. (Much of the money will end up in the pockets of real estate developers and casino owners.) If Ohio gains casinos, it's not likely to have much of a boost to the economy. In Michigan, where casinos are allowed, gambling accounts for 0.6% of the state's gross state product. posted by Ed | Collaboration in North Central Florida Regional leaders in North Central Florida are trying to move their collaboraiton to a new level. Read more. The article points to an important trend: the importnat role of smaller community colleges. "Central Florida Community College, Santa Fe Community College and Lake City Community College are leading the way in developing programs that help bring jobs to the region," according to one research economist. "The smaller schools are more responsive than the university system." posted by Ed | The emerging role of the university Here is a very good article on the emerging role of the university in economic development. Read more. The article referes to a paper by Glaeser and Berry. You can download it here. The paper has a lot of technical stuff, but the main point is smart places attract smart people, and they grow faster. In other words, brainpower matters. This linkage between educational attainment and economic growth appeared in an important paper in 1999 by Paul Gottlieb and Michael Fogarty, "Educational Attainment and Metropolitan Growth". Here is a good follow-on study on the importance of higher education. Download. posted by Ed | Deeper educational reforms on the horizon Increasingly, I'm picking up conversations about new innovations in education. Part of the pressure for these new conversations comes from the projected skill shortages we face. (To learn more, read The 2010 Meltdown. Another source of pressure comes from the understanding that our old educational models just do not work very well. Here's an example of the new commentary. Read more. And here is another. Read more. You can download the report Tapping America's Potential: The Education for Innovation Initiative here. posted by Ed | Expanding the manufacturing talent pipeline A new program in Nebraska is focused on expanding the pipeline of workers moving into manufacturing. Read more. A manufacturing leader in Wisconsin sees the projected shortages as an opportunity to innovate. As he notes, "(Shortages) force schools and colleges to reinvent how to get people skilled up for open jobs. Training a welder can't take three or four years, as a former administrator of the Milwaukee Area Technical College recently pointed out. It has to get done in six months or a year, and it has to be done with lots of hands-on training to keep the students interested as they plow through the necessary academics." Read more. posted by Ed | Google chooses Michigan Google has announced that it will make a significant investment in Ann Arbor. The company will open a sales and operations center for its AdWords online advertising program. Porjected direct employment: 1,000 over five years. The press release contains some interesting economic impact projections. Read more. The president of the University of Michigan waas quick to jump on the news. She reminds us all of the evolving importance of research universities to economic development. Read more. posted by Ed | Maine's political leadership The political leadership in Maine may be getting the message: Innovation matters. Here's a commentary from Beth Edmonds, president of the State Sentate. Read more. And here is a commentary from Glenn Cummings, the House Majority Leader. Read more. posted by Ed | Branding Gastonia Developing a regional brand is tricky. It's a challenge to come up with a set of themes that make sense to people. It's even tougher to get people to align themselves with the new brand. Leaders in Gastonia, NC are getting some free advice from ad firms in nearby Charlotte. Read more. You can download a report on branding your city from CEOs for Cities. posted by Ed | Wisconsin's "Declaration of Energy Independence" Check off Wisconsin as another state that is looking forward to the opportunities from developing new energy sources. Last week, the state's govenor launched an effort to focus the state's development efforts. Wisconsin's "Declaration of Energy Independence" sets broad goals for the state to become the nation's leader in the drive toward energy independence. Read more. posted by Ed | Syracuse incubators Upstate New York has been making some moves to build an innovation economy. Here's a good overview of developments taking place around Syracuse in three incubators. Read more. posted by Ed | New Mexico's move into commercial space industry New Mexico has been moving ahead to establish a position in commercial space businesses. Here's an update. Read more. posted by Ed | Clusters study in Collier County, FL Florida Gulf Coast University’s Regional Economic Research Institute has launched a study of clusters in Collier County, FL. Read more. posted by Ed | Economy Watch Saturday, July 08, 2006 Here are the interesting articles on the economy from the last week or so. Vital Signs: Testing the Softness The imagination economy Globalization’s Hidden Benefits Economy Adds 121,000 Jobs in June - Economy Slows Down G7 Should Adapt To Shifting Global Economy - US Treasury Study The G8 summit: A chronicle of wasted time Business looks to costs of climate change The importance and danger of the Productivity Mantra Employers hire less but pay more The Competitive Edge posted by Ed | Incentive Watch Here are some articles on incentives I came across. The cost of local incentives is soaring, as unicipalities in the Kansas City region are figuring out. Read more. Massachusetts has a new package of economic development investmetns. Read more. Wisconsin has enacted several bills on rural development. Read more. Governments in Northeast Ohio are working on trying to figure out a "no poaching" policy. Read more. Folks in Missouri are tyring to judge the impact of their Quality Jobs Act, modeled after Oklahoma. Read more. posted by Ed | Cutting a board down to size The Triad Partnership is paring down its board from 57 to 18. Read more. On the face of it, a large board is unmanageable. But consider looking at a board in another light -- as nodes in a network. In that case, a large board is an advantage, not a disadvantage. We are considering the same issue at Commerce Lexington, where the board is over 60. Rather than work to cut the board down (a contentitious problem that can burn up a lot of time), we are focused on how to redeploy the board. Read more. (In fairness, the North Carolina situation is driven in part by the state auditor.) posted by Ed | A report card for Lincoln Lincoln, NE has just received its report card on its development strategy. Read more. You can download a copy here. These type of reports can keep a leadership focused on the right priorities, and they are helpful. But an annual report card may be too infrequent to have much of an impact on leadership behavior. Consider the alternative of quarterly reports on key metrics -- not letter grades -- to keep specific intiatives on track. (Letter grades can be arbitrary and too general to lead to action. The key question to ask yourself: After we have heard our progress report, what are we going to do? A report card should lead to action.) posted by Ed | Building biotech in New Mexico Biotech business development is inherently complex. (There is no Bill Gates of biotech for that reason.) New Mexico is figuring out the different dimensions that make for vibrant biotech business development. It's a slow process. Read more. Take heart. Even a place like Massachusetts experiences difficulties getting all the biotech elements to work together. Read more. posted by Ed | Louisville's health enterprise network Like most relatively large metro areas, Louisville has a relatively strong health care economy. Unlike a lot of metros, though, Louisville is focused on the economic development opportunities througha health enterprise network. The network has produced a report outlining the orpportunities. Read more. You can download the report here. You can learn more about the enterprise network, a potential model for other regions, by exploring its web site. posted by Ed | Georgia looks at vaccines Georgia has an interesting strategy to build a market position as a leader in vaccine research and production. Read more. The Georgia Research Alliance is leading the implementation. The GRA represents a strong network of research universities across the state. With this network in place, the state can move quickly on new opportunities. Other states, stuck in old rivalries among state universities, find it harder to act quickly. posted by Ed | Building a research anchor Here's a good example of how universities are becoming more of an anchor in reginal economic development. Communities are recruiting the University of Florida as "essential infrastructure" to attracting stronger research anchors. Read more. posted by Ed | Don't do this at home If you haven't seen this video on the power of Diet Coke and Mentos, take a couple of minutes and understand creativity in a new way: Go. posted by Ed | Early childhood education and economic development The Committee for Economic Development is a hard-boiled group of executives. So, it is significant when they latch on to an economic development issue and push it. For a couple of years, the CED has relentlessly focused on a simple message: investments in early childhood education pay off for economic development. They have issued yet another report. Read more. You can download a copy here . posted by Ed | A quote to remember "If you don't like change, you're going to like irrelevance even less." --General Eric Shinseki, former U.S. Army Chief of Staff posted by Ed | Incubators in upstate NY As Maryland is showing, incubators can play an important role in name regional economic development strategy. Here are couple of articles that illustrate how incubators are starting to play this role in upstate New York. A matter of hello, goodbye at RPI incubator Incubators offer starting point posted by Ed | Collaborating in a knowledge economy Florida is making the transition to a knowledge-based economy. As part of this transition, civic leaders are beginning to understand the growing importance of a regional approach to economic development. Read more. This article sparked a few random thoughts. Increasingly, knowledge is becoming primary source of wealth. The creation and management of knowledge is dependent on collaboration. Why? Because knowledge arises out of interaction, and interaction arises out of dialogue and collaboration. Regions with thick networks of collaboration a be more prosperous. The will generate more knowledge. In practical terms, they will learn faster. They'll spot opportunities faster. And they will act faster. posted by Ed | Brew pub as economic development? Here's an interesting commentary that promotes the idea of a public private partnership in a brew pub. Read more. posted by Ed | Attracting young professionals Increasingly, prosperity depends on brainpower. New research from the organization and CEOs for cities underscores the importance of creating a quality, connected place to attract and retain brainpower. According to the research, two thirds of young professionals choose a city in which to live and then look for a job. You can download a copy of the report here . posted by Ed | Web Watch: Technology portal in Dallas Sunday, July 02, 2006 Here's some background on how Greater Dallas Chamber's Regional Technology Business Council (TBC) is promoting the region's technology-led economic development efforts. The press release provides some good promotional ideas, such as a speaker's bureau guide. Read more. They have launched a new web site that you can access here. posted by Ed | Alliance among smaller communities Here's a good example of how an economic development alliance can work among smaller communities. Edwardsville, IL (population 23,000) is part of the St. Louis metro. Read more. The village of Glen Carbon, another partner in the Alliance, has 11,000 people. Pin Oak Township has about 2,600 people. The article gives some useful background on how the Alliance is financed. posted by Ed | Berkshire County's Compact: A Higher Education Passport A group of civic leaders in Berkshire County, MA have come up with an innovative set of ideas. The Berkshire Compact proposes a Higher Education Passport, which creates a pathway from pre-K thru college for all students. The Compact report conveys an overall vision of every resident of Berkshire County attaining at least 16 years of education. Read more. You can download the report from this web site. posted by Ed | The health effects of sprawl An interesting report out of Oregon suggests that sprawl creates hidden adverse health effects: a higher probability of auto accidents and a higher incidence of obesity. Read more. You can learn more here. posted by Ed | Maytag leaves: Time for new questions Maytag is leaving Newton, Iowa. Here's an article that describes the departure. Read more. As the pressures of globalizatioon continue to mount, we can expect continued plant closings. The challenge comes in preparing our communites for our new opportunities. EDPros will need the skill of asking effective questions to get people thinking in new directions. So, for example, what can Newton, IA learn from Farifield, IA, one of the most entrepreneurial communities in the country? Fairfield is about a 2 hour drive from Newton. posted by Ed | Building green businesses in upstate New York Communities in the Finger Lakes region of upstate New York are exploring the connection between environmental sustainability and economic development. They recently held a conference on the opportunities for "green business" development. You can learn more about the conference here. The conference included several case studies of manufacturers that had developed sustainable business practices. You to learn more about the case studies here. posted by Ed | Maryland's growing incubator network Maryland is busy moving on its incubator strategy with some good results. In Montgomery County, a third incubator is 70 percent full. Read more. The County is planning four more incubators. posted by Ed | Illinois launches "Innovate Now" for Chicago manufacturers Illinois officials have announced a new program to support manufacturing in Chicago area. The million-dollar program, called "Innovate Now", is designed to encourage innovation among mid-sized and large manufacturers. Read more. posted by Ed | Regional collaboration in Baton Rouge Jay Garner sent along an article on regional collaboration in Baton Rouge. Three site consultants (Jay was one) emphasized the importance of taking a regional view in economic development strategy. As Jay notes in the article, “A lot of people in the room care about geographic boundaries. But your customer does not.” Read more. Breaking down geographic mindsets still slows innovation in regions. As people spend energy defending their "turf", they are distracted from the real opportunities in front of them. posted by Ed | Innovation in Iceland Larry Holt, Director of Research at the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce, has sent along a report on how Iceland is tackling innovation. You can downlaod a copy here. We need to learn more abotu how other regions around the world are focusing on innovation as an organizing principle for their economic development efforts. Please send along any other reports or stories that I can share. posted by Ed | |
|
|
|
|||||||||
|
 |
|||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
