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The vacation perspective
Thursday, August 31, 2006 I've moved my post on Cleveland's business leadership to a new blog, Cleveland 2.0. I (and others) will use this blog to provide commentary on the challenges and opportunities of building an innovation economy in Cleveland. I'll announce the launch in a few days. A vibrant regional innovation economy relies on networks, and networks call forth a different type of civic leader. In Cleveland's case, the city needs a chamber of commerce leadership that is more transparent and less manipulative; more open to learning and less arrogant; more accountable and less cynical. Trust represents the currency of networks. Regions that consistently develop civic leadership committed to transparency, collaboration, and mutual respect will form more resilient civic networks. They will become more competitive. They will learn faster. They will spot opportunities faster. And they will act faster. They will also become the regions attractive to younger people with new ideas. Cleveland 2.0 is a blog dedicated to thos ideals. posted by Ed | Resource: Census report on self-employment Self-employment is becoming an increasingly important factor in our regional economies. You can download the latest Census report here. posted by Ed | North Carolina's research infrastructure North Carolina continues to focus on building its research infrastructure. Heere's how the state's research universiies are connecting through a very high speed national network, National LambdaRail. Read more. posted by Ed | Manufacturing in Southeastern Wisconsin The Milwaukee 7 has produced an important report on the future of manufacturing in their region. You can read more about the report here. You can downlaod a copy here. posted by Ed | Maine rural broadband report Tuesday, August 29, 2006 A new report outlines how Maine lags in the deployment of rural broadband. You can read about the report here. You can download the short report from this page. (Free registration required.) The report provides a quick, understandable summary on broadband and why it is important to rural areas. posted by Ed | Community wireless conference Here's a community wireless conference that might interest some EDpro readers. Read more. posted by Ed | Higher educaton and the New England economy Here is a valuable article on the role of colleges and universities in the emerging New England economy. Read more. The authors, Neal Pierce and Curtis Johnson, take a clear-eyed look at the flow of brainpower through the regin's education system: "Take 100 graduating ninth-graders in New England today. Based on recent performance, there’s not a state in the region in which more than 77 will actually graduate from high school, 52 will actually enter college, or 29 will successfully graduate with either an associate or bachelor’s degree." The same conclusion would come from an analysis of regional economies across the country: We are training far too few people with post seondary educations. We have far too many young people dropping out of high school. And far too many high school graduates with weak skills andd no career plans. posted by Ed | Pittsburgh's new angel fund Pittsburgh is launching a new angel fund with about $2 million in early institutional commitments. The fund paln to leverage these commitments to attract individual investors and grow the fund to several million dollars. Read more. posted by Ed | Emerging entrepreneurship in New Orleans This press release outlines how entrepreneurial ventures are popping up around New Orleans. Read more. The future of South Louisiana will be tied tightly to the emergence of these new businesses. Louisiana has a good opportunity to experiment aggressively with new approaches to economic development, approaches that rely on Internet-based business models that can leverage the culture, music and brand of the region. Here's a view of the challenges ahead. Read more. posted by Ed | Economy Watch Monday, August 28, 2006 Here are the articles I came across on the economy last week that I found interesting Non-Friction: Toward A Global Economy Can You Outsource Innovation? Does globalization ease pressure for rate hikes? Economics Symposium Jackson Hole 2006 China's High-Tech Export Threatens U.S. Competitiveness The productivity watch Wake up America - Four ways to compete with China Hey, manufacturers: Innovation's not just for the big guys posted by Ed | Incentives Watch: Biotech competition in Florida Most of the incentives news last week focused on what is happening in Florida. The state is aggressively going after medical research anchors. Here's a rundown of the stories. PSL: No 'bidding war' in store for Torrey Pines A jump-start for high-value, high-wage jobs Biotech competition in Florida Satellite lab part of $310 million bid by Sunshine State Burnham picks Orlando over Port St. Lucie Torrey Pines picks PSL as new home posted by Ed | Building a weather cluster in Norman, OK Sunday, August 27, 2006 It has taken a number of years to start realizing the promise. Yet, development among the National Weather Center, the University of Oklahoma and associated private research companies is starting to ignite. The chamber of commerce in Norman has served as an important catalyst. Read more. The emerging clusters point to an important role chambers can play in economic development. Clusters need a core. These cores have several dimensions. They must include participants (anchors) with access to a technology platform. (This is what Florida is trying to build with its aggressive attraction of medical R&D anchors. Learn more.) In addition, a core needs a "civic space": A place where participants can convene on a regular basis to define opportunities and align resources. A core also needs explicit or implicit (better explicit) rules to guide the behavior of participants in the cluster. These rules handle such elements as how intellectual property issues are handled when they arise. Clusters also need supportive business development networks that can quickly align reources to take advantage of emerging business opportunities. These networks need to be fast, adaptive and open. They work best when they include investors comfortable with the technology platforms and experienced entrepreneurs who understand how to integrate technology with emerging business models. NC IDEA good example of an adaptive business development network. Civic leaders in Bend, OR announced this week that they are starting a similar network. Read more. posted by Ed | Resource: Digital Economy Factbook Saturday, August 26, 2006 Progress and Freedom Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. has released its leatest version of the Digital Economy Factbook. You can download a copy here. This eighth edition of the fact book includes information on the growth of the Internet, plus the hardware sector, the communications sector, and e-commerce. Learn facts like: The total number of Internet users passed 1 billion in 2005, up from 420 million in 2000, A combined 233.6 million residents of the United States and the United Kingdom used the Internet as of the end of 2005, English was the language used by 312.8 million Internet users. Chinese was the second most popular language, with 132.3 million Chinese speakers on the Internet. 18.3 percent of the world's Internet users are from the United States, while 11.1 percent are from China and 8 percent are from Japan. posted by Ed | Building creative industries I have arrived in Vienna for a few days. At the airport, a woman handed me a tourist overview newspaper. Here is the first paragraph from the lead story: "The City of Vienna was quick to recognize the growth potential of the so-called creative industries and established a funding platform in autumn 2003 as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Vienna Business Agency. As a business promotion agency, it primarily funds enterprises in the fields of fashion, multimedia and music, as well as industrial and product design. This support ...has helped the creative industries become a motor of the Vienna economy, and the city has assumed a pioneering role in the field in Europe. "Around 18,000 of Vienna's 74,000 companies can be regarded as part of the creative industries."' (That's 24%.) Other cities are moving in this direction. For example, the recent report from Toronto illustrates where that city is heading. Read more. posted by Ed | Monitoring the Gathering Storm EDPros need to head the call... The National Academies will convene leaders of industry, government, research, and education from around the country on September 28, 2006, to share knowledge and discuss ways to advance U.S. competitiveness. They will focus on education, research and innovation -- action areas identified in the report, "Rising Above the Gathering Storm", publlished earlier this year. The National Academy is working hard to broaden the discussion across all 50 states. They are recruiting: State & Local Policymakers State & Local Economic Development Leaders State & Local Industry and Business Leaders Media, including Newspaper Editorial Boards School Board Members K-12 Teachers University and College Leaders Researchers Students Unions Foundations Non-Governmental Organizations More information on the "Convocation on Rising Above the Gathering Storm: Energizing and Employing Regions, States, and Cities" is available online here. posted by Ed | Biofuels in rural Kansas Friday, August 25, 2006 The emergence of biofuels has changed the dynamic in some rural economies. Here's a perspective from Kansas. Read more. posted by Ed | Milwaukee EDPro puts bioscience in perspective "Research parks, like everything else in economic development, are market driven. In our case, the market is in information technology-based companies." That's how the EDPro in charge of the Milwaukee County Research Park sees it. Bioscience gets a lot of publicity, but information tech companies will likely generate more employment for southeastern Wisconsin. He takes a sober perspective of university-based technology transfer: ""The success of the research park has had to do with the commercial and industrial base of Milwaukee area, rather than university-based technology transfer." Read more. posted by Ed | Setting goals for Northeast Ohio NorTech, the technology promotion organizatin in Northeast Ohio has set out some goals for the region: By the year 2020, NorTech wants the area to: > Be a recognized leader in one to three of the fastest growing technology markets. > Have a per-capita income 15 percent above the national average. The area has been below the nation's per-capita income since 1999. > Have at least 12 Fortune 500 companies in the region. It currently has 10. > Have more than $1 billion in venture capital invested in the region annually. Read more. To try to reach these goals, NorTech recently produced a report offering a map of the future. You can download a copy of the report from the NorTech web site here. posted by Ed | Make life easier for entrepreneurs A new angel capital group in Fort Wayne is working to reduce legal fees for start-up companies. Smart move, but why stop there? Why not reduced accounting fees, special health insurance deals, health club memberships, a consierge service for city and county permitting, designated librarians to assist with research? Make life easier for entrepreneurs, and you'll get more of them. Read more. Think these ideas are different? In Canada, the government is speeding the immigration processing for entrepreneurs. Read more. posted by Ed | Michigan economic diagnosis A new report from the Upjohn Institue argues that Michiga's economic challenges are driven by the contraction of the auto industry, not high taxes. Read more. You can download a copy of the report here. posted by Ed | BMW and Clemson University Here's a god article on the strengthening relationship between BMW and Clemson University. Read more. posted by Ed | Personal Note: Travel and audio interview Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be traveling in Europe. My postings will be more infrequent, and the EDPro News may be delayed. On another front, Dan Loague, a loyal EDPro reader, runs the Capital Formation Institute. A couple of weeks ago, Dan approached me about an audio interview. Dan launched my audio interview last week. Listen. posted by Ed | Automation Alley's innovation plans Automation Alley is a dynamic economic development organization in Southeast Michigan. Here's an example of what they are doing to accelerate innovations in product development. Read more. posted by Ed | Teacher education in workforce development One area of workforce development has been largely ignored: Developing skilled teachers is a good, high leverage activity. The Carnegie Commission has supported this trend. Read more. Here's the first article I've seeen that explores the role of teacher education in workforce development. Read more. posted by Ed | Export promotion cut backs The U.S. is generally behind the curve when it comes to export assistance. This policy is ironic, in that export assistance is one of the strong areas for the federal government. Nevertheless, with few exceptions state and regional programs are generally weak or nonexistent. Now, it seems, federal initiatives may be scaled back. Read more. posted by Ed | Consulting news: Some recent stories Jay Garner has let me know that his firm, Competitive Strategies Group, was involved in the recent international strategy launched recently by Research Triangle. Read more. Here's some news on Catalytix, a consulting firm that works closely with Richard Florida. They are working in Aberdeen, SD. Read more. Ernest Andrade of the Charleston Digital Corridor has launched AndradeEconomics to spread his work with the Charleston Digital Corridor to other communities. You can visit the new site here. (Disclosure: I have been working with Ernest for a number of years on his work in Charleston, and Ernest has been helping me refine our I-Open approach to Open Source Economic Development.) Toledo's Regional Growth Partnership is working with IBM Global Services - Plant Location International. IBM will help Toledo "to develop world-class strategies to bring jobs and investment to Northwest Ohio". Read more. Deloitte has completed a big study for Wheeling, WV. The consulting team is telling the region's civic leaders that they are "on track". Read more. Ed Bee uses a project in Clark County, AR to explain how his firm, Taimerica, works with clients. Read more. Three consultants in Hampton Roads reported the need for more flexible incentives to attract investment to that region. Kate McEnroe was part of the consulting team. Read more. AngelouEconomics is continuing their work with the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada. Read more. posted by Ed | West Virginia's A Vision Shared West Virginia has an interesting process underway to forge broader citizen involvement in regional ec onomic development. Here's a summary of one of their most recent meetings. Read more. You can also visit this web site to learn more. As with all of these efforts, the real test is translating ideas into action. Can the process move from divergence -- brainstorming new ideas to convergence -- deciding the handful of steps to take next? posted by Ed | Maryland's efforts at vaccine manufactuing Maryland has completed an assessment of its efforts to become the "vaccine manufacturing capital of the world". The summary of the report -- revealed in talking points -- outlines the improvements the state needs to make to reach its goal. Read more. posted by Ed | Economy Watch Saturday, August 19, 2006 Here are articles about the economy from last week. Less-than-expected rise in consumer prices backs up Fed's rate pause The path to Internet access anywhere, anytime We need to assemble a workforce for our high-tech economy Vital Signs: Dog Days for Housing Inflation data suggests U.S. economy cooling Fed may raise rates in December: JP Morgan Study finds immigrants don't deny U.S.-born workers jobs Why economic development leads to democracy The uses of adversity posted by Ed | Incentive Watch Here are some articles on incentives from last week. Florida's legislature has approved $180 million in incentives for four projects. Read more. Here's another deal for the Burnham Institute. Read more. Missouri's governor is reserving tax breaks on ethanol plants for farmers. Read more. Mississippi's governor has called a special session to deal with an incentive package for a commercial and residential project in northeast Mississippi. Read more. Utah approved $9.3 million in incentives for two projects. Read more. posted by Ed | Wind turbine manufacturing coming to Iowa Gamesa was the first European wind turbine manufacturer to commit to producing in the U.S. They invested in Pennsylvania. Read more. Now, Siemens has committed to Iowa. Read more. posted by Ed | A micro story on global trade Here is an interesting story about how an import duty on glass blanks is undercutting a value added manufacturer of photomasks for integrated circuit manufacturing. Read more. posted by Ed | Gourmet food in Okland Here's an interesting article about how the Oakland, CA is trying to leverage its assets to develop a cluster in gourmet food production. Read more. As the article notes, food processing tends to be a business of large players and smaller niche companies. According to the article, "Of the 1,600 Northern California food processing companies, 1,000 have fewer than 20 employees, and only 20 have more than 500." posted by Ed | Street car comeback? Street cars may be coming back to Austin, TX and Columbus OH. Read more about Austin here. Read more about Columbus, here. Any metro economic development strategy should consider issues of physical development. "How do we create quality, connected places?" Businesses are mobile, and smart people can live anywhere. They will choose to live in places that are engaging, safe, healthy and connected. posted by Ed | State workforce training rankings Earlier this month, Expansion Management released its listing of the top state workforce training programs. Read more. posted by Ed | The view from Dekalb County Local EDPros held a breakfast panel on economic development in Dekalb County, GA last week. Read more. Some good quotes: “We don’t want to wait until the companies are leaving to find out their needs." “The economy is becoming more innovative. That is going to require people to have certain level basic skills. You cannot be an innovative employee if have trouble with arithmetic and reading.” “In advanced manufacturing, we are seeing a dearth of workers with the necessary skill set." (The basic skills needed include work ethics, integrity, motivation, dependability, and a willingness to learn.) posted by Ed | Colleges and universities collaborate on web portal In the years ahead, we will likely see more collaborations like this one in New York among colleges and universities. Both public and private universities in will collaborate on a New York web portal. Read more. posted by Ed | Gap financing in rural Iowa In Iowa, more rural towns are offering "gap financing". Read more. posted by Ed | New energy options for communities Here is an interesting opinion piece on the energy options that may be opening up for communities. Read more. The article introduced me to the concept of "community-supported energy". My guess is that our utility system is going to become a lot more "distributed" in the years ahead. Industrial, commercial and residential sites may be powered by a combination of renewable energy (wind, solar), biodiesel generators, other unconventional sources, and conventional power delivered through the grid. These source mixes will vary from place to place. (For example, coastal counties in Oregon are looking at wave power. Read more.) In Indiana, Governor Daniels is calling for more "home grown" energy options. Read more. posted by Ed | Campuses as anchors to revitalize downtowns Colleges and universities can play an important role in revitalizing the areas around their campuses. Here's what is happening in Binghamton in upstate New York. Read more. In Pennsylvania, the state government strengthens the catalytic role of college and university campuses through the state's Keystone Innovation Zone program. Last week, the State announced another zone. Read more. posted by Ed | Innovation in city and county government Building an innovation economy is not limited to businesses. Government can also lead the push for innovative practices that push up productivity. Here's a promising new center forming at Arizona State University. The new center will focus on innovation in city and county government. Read more. In the UK, a community has formed of local government officials who share learning about "what works" in local government innovation. You can learn more by visiting this web site for innovation in local government. posted by Ed | Chicago focuses on innovation Here's a good overview of what is happening in Chicago to accelerate the development of technology-based start-ups. Read more. People are starting to understand that innovation is best understood from the perspective of open networks. It is not really a linear process, except in the broadest characterization. Rather, innovation involves developing networks and continuously aligning the resources in these networks. These networks function in a "civic space" outside the control of any one organization. Last week, civic leaders in Rockford, IL, just to the west of Chicago, began heading down this path. Read more. Here's an example of the type of region we all need to be shooting for. This article outlines how bioscience entrepreneurs can get quick access to resources in North Carolina. In an effective innovation network, there is "no wrong door". People can enter the network at any point. The network is effective, because the start-up team is only a few short steps away from the resources they need. Regional innovation networks are "open" in that the boundaries are porous. They are focused, however, by a tight core of civic leaders who insist on results, outcomes and metrics. posted by Ed | Outsourcing to rural areas Rural areas are becoming more competitive with the expansion of communications networks. Here's a good story about how some high tech jobs are being "outsourced" to rural regions. Read more. Increasingly, rural counties are seeing that communciations networks are critical to their ability to compete. Here's a story from Pennsylvania this week. Read more. One community in rural Wyoming this week announced plans for a fiber optic network. Read more. posted by Ed | Building boats in eastern Tennessee Eastern Tennessee has developed a new business cluster in luxury boats. Here's an interesting article that provides an overview. Read more. At first, it does not make much sense that larger luxury boats should be manufactured in Tennessee. But as you dig deeper, the value proposition becomes clearer. The message: the strategic logic of clusters goes deeper than the surface claims of lower cost labor, good quality of life, and so on. posted by Ed | Buffalo: The consequences of sprawl Wednesday, August 16, 2006 Buffalo is only one of a number of regions confronting the consequences of sprawl. "Every town, village and city has a master plan, like postage stamps stuck all over the map. But nobody is pulling it all together to see where development should occur, and to prioritize the [enticements] to encourage it there. . . . The piecemeal stuff is killing us." Read more. posted by Ed | Competition in Research Triangle Tuesday, August 15, 2006 Business Week carries an interesting article in its issue for next week. It's about how counties in the Research Triangle region of North Carolina view competition and collaboration. Read more. Charles Hayes, chief executive officer of the Research Triangle Regional Partnership, has a good quote: "We have seen other regions and towns that have not survived because they didn't change. We don't want to wake up some day and say, 'What happened?' " Places like Milwaukee are starting to get the message. Read more. (The Business Week article refers to a study by Michael Porter. An analysis of Research Triangle was part of the Cluster Mapping Project of the Council on Competitiveness. You can learn more about that project and download some of the reports from this page.) posted by Ed | Atlanta's new international strategy Earlier this month, Research Triangle Park announced its international strategy. Read more. Now Atlanta is announcing one. Read more. You can get the details from the Atlanta Chamber web site. Go. posted by Ed | Pedal to the metal on biofuels Both Iowa and Illinois have made big announcements on biofuels this week. Iowa's announcement is here. Illinois' announcement is here. posted by Ed | The increasing value of place Here is an interesting article from Business Week on the value of place. The article notes that as the global economy continues to integrate, "The real contest isn't between nations. It's between communities, whether they be neighborhoods, cities, or tight-knit regions." The article goes on to quote Harvard Business School professor Michael E. Porter: "The paradox of globalization is that location still matters. The more barriers disappear, the more that capital and talent become mobile, the more decisive become geographic advantages." Read more. Here's an interview with Porter. Read more. posted by Ed | Economy Watch Sunday, August 13, 2006 Here are some articles on the economy from last week. The Pause that Perplexes U.S. Economy: Productivity Slows, Labor Costs Climb America’s competition worries Removing excess liquidity from global economy Vital Signs: Where Inflation Lurks Many jobs, little pay Panel says U.S. is losing ground in math, science Download the AEA report here. Beyond Outsourcing To Smartsourcing Panel calls for 'urgent reform' of higher education posted by Ed | Incentive Watch Economists are right when they argue that incentives matter. But the issue for EDPros is more complicated. Do economic development incentives matter enough to matter? (The prevailing evidence suggests that they do not.) More important, perhaps, what are the opportunity costs of investing public funds in this way? Would North Carolina have been better off investing its Dell incentive money in early child care? (Answer: almost certainly, "Yes". See the latest publication from the Committee on Economic Development here.) In my view, we are going to start seeing smart places investing incentives in people, not companies. Kalamazoo's Promise is one example. So, it's important for EDPros to keep up with how incentives are being used. Here are articles on incentives from last week. Dayton is making a significant investment in an old Delphi facility. The project involves establishing a new manufactuirng operation for composite products. Read more. Here's an innovative one. The city of Aurora, CO is considering giving a tax break to firms if they buy stuff from other Aurora firms. Read more. Incentives can create a political backlash. Here's an interesting article out of Iowa. Read more. There's aseries on tax increment financing. You can read more here and here. States are using incentives to attract tourists. Read more. They have been using incentives for sime time to attract film and television productions. This article out of Maryland outlines that state's strategy. Read more. posted by Ed | Regeneration strategies EDPros in the UK have a lot more experience with the strategy of "regeneration": recasting older industrial areaas into new development anchors. In the U.S. we have focused primarily on the threshold issue of land development: brownfield remediation. Regeneration strategies involve more. They focus on the competitive advantages of inner city locations, as well as the physical development issues involved in reusing old buildings. This week, a number of articles caught my eye. An article in the Boston Globe explores EDPros are reusing old buildings. Read more. In Rochester, a tire recycling company is starting up in an old warehouse. Read more. And in Dayton, the City Commission is helping to finance a new use for an old GM facility. Read more. The new company will manufacture composite products. The most ambitious regeneration strategies are even broader and more "holistic". Cuyahoga Valley Initiative, in my own backyard, represents an ambitious plan to regenerate an older industrial area. Read more. It's the type of regeneration strategy that we need to adapt and use more broadly. If you would like to learn more about regeneration strategies in the U.K. start here. Also, a few years ago, Storm Cunningham published an interesting book on this issue, called The Restoration Economy. posted by Ed | Leading research universities If you had to find a model for the new model of a university president, look no farther than Martin Jischke, the retiring president of Purdue. Read more. Since I started working with the Center for Regional Development at Purdue, I've been amazed by the energy on the campus...a distinct difference from my experience at Case. My office is in Discovery Park, and we are working on a dynamic new regiional model of economic devleopment based on high performance production. These are the type of innovations that are possible at Case. But first the university needs to find a leader who "gets it". Another good example: Look at President Lee Todd at the Univeristy of Kentucky. In my work in Lexington, I've come to work with President Todd's staff at Coldstream Research Campus. Another MIT graduate, President Todd is changing the way UK connects to the regional economy. In October, the Chicago Fed will be holding a conference on the role of universities in regional economic development. The conference will feature the work of Richard Lester from MIT, who has been exploring this issue for some time. Read more. posted by Ed | A list of Best Metros Expansion Management magazine has produced a list of Best Metros. Read more. posted by Ed | Developing new models of manufacturing Some strong advice about manufacturing: A consultant in Michigan advises the folks in Macomb County to leverage their strengths in manufacturing. Read more. For years, we have been confronting the consequences of a failed diagnosis: that manufacturing is "dying". Manufacturing is not dying, it is changing. Smart manufacturing companies are moving to high productivity business models based on networks -- with customers, research organizatioons, training partners, strategic partners, customers, teams of employees. Manufacturing based on stand-alone organizations producing stable runs of commodity products -- the old model of manufacturing -- are dying. This is not new. These facilities have been vulnerable for over twenty years. (Indeed, I got into the field of economic development after working as a consultant to General Electric. My assignments involved helping to build a global manufacturing network in product lines like appliances and electric motors. In reality, I spent a lot of my time recommending the shutdown of U.S. plants.) Old line manufacturing operations will continue to wither, because they cannot learn and adapt fast enough. (You can figure out which manufacturing facilities are in trouble in your region by asking about their business model: Who does the company partner with? How many new products have they introduced in the last three years? Does the plant manager know the employees on a first name basis or is work organized around more rigid job classifications and hierarchical reporting? These are all predictors of whether the company is flexible and adaptive.) At Purdue, we are focusing our WIRED project (Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development) on developing new regional models of high performance production. That's where the future lies for places like Macomb County. posted by Ed | Focus on the regions Thursday, August 10, 2006 We are starting to see an important alignment among local, regional, state and federal perspectives on economic development. The solutions to build competitive economies will be found at the regional level. Here's a good example from a forum in Connecticut. Emily DeRocco, the federal official who has been pushing the WIRED initiative, told the audience: "It is by combining all the assets of a region into an integrated economic development strategy that areas can compete and succeed in the global economy." Well said. Read more. posted by Ed | Govenors push competitiveness Wednesday, August 09, 2006 The summer meeting of the National Governors Association ended yesterday in Charleston, SC. The governors pushed the themes of creativity, innovation and competitiveness. Read more. You can read the summary from NGA here. posted by Ed | Honda's air operations in Greensboro As I mentioned in an eaarlier post on rural airports, a new day is emerging in light business jets. This week, Honda announced that it will locate the headquarters of its airframe operations in Greensboro. Read more. You can learn more about the HondaJet here. Here is some additional background on the market. Read more. posted by Ed | Data centers in rural Washington In rural Washington, data centers are emerging as companies look for cheap sources of power. Read more. posted by Ed | Chicago targets fashion Chicago is hiring a professional to help build its fututre in fashion design. Read more. We'll probably see more economic development positions like this one, especially in big metro areas. The goal is to attract brainpower, the talent that can power new businesses. The best example I have come across of an economy targeting the fashin industry is New Zealand. You can visit their site here. posted by Ed | National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility The Department of Homeland Security has narrowed its search for a new National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility to 18 sites. Read more. You can learn more about the facility here. You can read some of the press coverage of today's announcement from Kentucky, Georgia and California. The Department will make a decision in early 2007. posted by Ed | Ford commits to invest in Michigan Ford is making a major commitment to its facilities in Michigan. Even as the industry faces major overcapacity, Ford sees the need to invest in more flexible manufacturing solutions. Read more. Here's another article on the announcement today. Read more. The state will pitch in with incentives. Read more. posted by Ed | SBA financing programs Here's a useful article on SBA financing programs. Read more. posted by Ed | Wisconsin audit of ED programs Wisconsin has released an audit of its economic development funds. We can expect more of these types of audits in the future. North Carolina (Regional Partnerships), Louisiana (Shreveport convention center) and New York (Empire Zones) have faced scrutiny. These type of audits are healthy. They not only uncover weak controls or even malfeasance. As one state senator notes: "Things get thrown into the system piecemeal, unfortunately, and now through this audit we can make it more rational." In addition, these audits tend to reveal how funds are distributed geographically. They can uncover patterns of political bias. Read more. posted by Ed | The economic impact of county fairs A new report out of Oregon detils the economic impact of county fairs. the report outlines the leverage from public investment in these activities. it points to the fact that public investment in fairs can be levereaged by more than 10 times. Interestingly, the author also explores the personal networks that can form at fairs. "County fairs are pushing against a strong tide of social isolation," according to the author. Read more. The study will be available in September. posted by Ed | Wal Mart slows Down East Wal Mart is hitting expansion problems in Maine. Read more. Business Week carries an interesting article this week on how Wal Mart is altering its positioning. Read more. posted by Ed | Research Triangle moves with its global strategy Good economic development is based on Huck Finn's idea of "borrowing". When you see a good idea, take it. (You can acknowledge the owner later, if it works.) Here's a good example: Research Triangle has been reworking its global strategy. Yesterday, it announced the relaunching of its World Trade Center. Read more. The relaunching is based on the global plan that RTP announced last March. (You can read more here.) The RTP document is part of a broader strategy called "Staying on Top". Download the RTP global strategy plan here. Download the RTP "Staying on Top" plan here. posted by Ed | Rockford connects to Sweden Tuesday, August 08, 2006 Here's a good example of a community building global connections. Civic leaders in Rockford , IL are leveraging historical ties into new market opportunities. A delegation from Rockford will be visiting Sweden shortly to attend Swedish-American Entrepreneurial Days. The three day event is designed to foster overseas partnerships. Here's an intersting article that provides the background. Read more. posted by Ed | Boise's new EDPro Here's an interesting interview with the new top economic development professional. One quote that caught my eye: "I think incentives are probably the most overrated part of economic development. I have never had incentives to work with, and we've had phenomenal success without incentives. Incentives are necessary when you're dealing with companies that are so cost-conscious that they're probably not paying the wages we're interested in." Read more. posted by Ed | Economy Watch Saturday, August 05, 2006 Here are the articles on the economy from last week. Milken Says China's Economy Will Overtake the U.S. This Century Job, Salary Data Send Mixed Signal Job weakness raises rate optimism July Jobs: Pretext for a Fed Pause? Vital Signs: To Hike or Not To Hike? `Hourglass Economy' Divides Americans, Defines U.S. Politics Demise of Doha doesn't mean end of the line for free trade New Research on Globalization Managing Globalization: Trade pacts aplenty Paulson to Defend Globalization, Warn on Entitlement Spending America in the Creative and Innovative Economy posted by Ed | Incentive Watch Here are the articles on incentives I came across last week. Fidelity is adding 2,000 jobs to Research Triangle Park. Incentive package: $69 million over 12 years. Read more. Critics are going after a tax break in Oregon that was supposed to be for chip manufacturers, like Intel. Now smaller companies are making a claim. Read more. An addiction to incentives is hard to break. County Commissioners in High Point, NC can't stay away. Despite a 90 day moratorium on incentives, they want to keep going. Read more. Governor Bush in Florida wants the state's universities to throw money into the incentive pot to lure a medical researchinstitute. Read more. posted by Ed | Georgia's rural air strategy Thursday, August 03, 2006 Georgia is integrating its rural airports into a rural economic development strategy. Smart move. Read more. There are major changes underway in the air services business. One example: Air taxis. Learn more. Just this week, the New York Times published an article on this emerging market. Read more. Another example: Time sensitive deliveries of biomedical materials. posted by Ed | Virginia's regional meetings Virginia's new governor has been holding regional forums throughout the state to gather ideas for his workforce and economic development plans. Here's an update from a meeting in Hampton Roads. Read more. posted by Ed | New incubator at the University of Missouri Wednesday, August 02, 2006 The University of Missouri-Columbia is closing the financing of an $8.7 milllion incubator. The facility will be 33,000 square feet, located near the University of Missouri Research Reactor Center. Read more. posted by Ed | Promoting Northeast Indiana Ft. Wayne and Northeast Indiana are coming together to develop a regional marketing strategy. Here are some details on the financing among private companies and public sector partners. Read more. posted by Ed | More on sklll shortages In the coming years, we are going to be reading more articles like this one. Read more. Worker shortages are appearing across regions. The reasons: Increasing skill demands on behalf of employers; Accelerated retirements from the Baby Boom generation; unacceptably high levels of high school drop outs; and underskilled high school graduates. Faced with these challenges, the regions that will prosper are those that accerate the integration of their education, workforce development and economic development organizations. posted by Ed | Learning how to promote a region Milwaukee's civic leaders continue to learn valuablelessons from Denver. Learn more here, here and here. Metro Denver has set forth some important rules of the game: No poaching of businesses from one Denver-area community to another; no "negative selling," i.e., talking trash about another area community in an effort to land a business; the sharing of business prospects among all community representatives; and a commitment to keep a company in the Denver area if it decides to move out of its community. posted by Ed | FutureGen in either Illinois or Texas FutureGen is a $1 billon partnership between private industry, the U.S. Department of Energy and foreign countries to design, build and operate the world's first emissions-free, coal-fueled electric and hydrogen production plant. According to an announcement last week, the plant will end up in either Illinois or Texas. The government will make the decision next month. Read more. Learn more here and here. posted by Ed | Higher standards for NCs regional partnerships North Carolina has an interesting system of state-funded regional economic development parternships. The state's seven partnerships will be under tighter state supervision. Legislation recently passed to provide more consistent financial and operating standards, after a state audit revealed problems at two of the partnerships. Read more. In a smart move, the head of the NC Partnership for Economic Development moved quickly in the same news cycle to publish a good commentary. Read more. posted by Ed | The challenges facing logistics Tuesday, August 01, 2006 For all of you who put logistics into your development portfolio, you might want to read this article about some worrisome trends. Read more. Where are the oppportunities? In Northwest Indiana, for example, EDPros are focusing on building infrastructure to reduce congestion flowing through Chicago. posted by Ed | University earmarks Mississippi State has pulled in the pork to build its research assets. The big issues: Is it sustainable? Can these federal investments be leveraged into new business development opportunities? Read more. As I found out starting a biomedical research institute in Louisiana, getting the federal earmark is the easy part. posted by Ed | Retail is a herding mentality It is interesting to watch the dynamics of retail development. Here's a good overview of how retail markets are evolving in Lynchburg, VA. As one commercial broker notes, "Retail is a herding mentality." Read more. posted by Ed | Connecting university students It's not too often that I come across an editorial writer who understands the shifting dynamics moving economic development in new directions. As I reported last week, the EDA awarded Clemson a new center grant. This editorial points to the fact that in the knowledge economy, government grants, while still important, are not as significant as the connections that a university can make among its faculty, students, and the surrounding regional economy. True. posted by Ed | Resource: Global cluster report The report from the Global Cluster Initiative Survey (GCIS) is available. The GCIS conducted the survey last year. The report focuses on cluster initiatives in developing and transition economies. It contrasts them against cluster initiatives in advanced economies. The report, titled "Cluster Initiatives in Developing and Transition Economies", can be downloaded from the survey website. It is free of charge and requires only a simple registration. You can use this link to access the report download page. Thanks to Karla Krodel from Youngstown State University for tipping me to the release of the report. posted by Ed | |
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