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Economy Watch
Sunday, May 16, 2004 Here are some good articles from last week. US consumer optimism hits lowest this year U.S. Treasuries defy strong data to march higher Dollar Posts Gains After Economic Data U.S. trade gap hits record high Producer Prices Up; Retail Sales Down Dollar posts gains after U.S. economic data Economic momentum begins forcing companies to hire posted by Ed Morrison | Interested in promoting angel investing? Saturday, May 15, 2004 You might check out an upcoming seminar at the University of Southern Illinois. This is the type of seminar you could launch in your community in order to explore interest in angel investing. Read more about the seminar or visit the web site. If you want to learn more about angle investing, visit the Angel Capital Association web site. The Kauffman Foundation promoted the formation of this Association and is a major supporter of this approach to economic development. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Greensboro searches for collaboration Greensboro faces the same problem confronting many regional economies. The ground has shifted under our feet. We can no longer focus on a narrow "local" economy. We need to "think globally and act regionally". In Greensboro, that means trying to find the right path to collaboration. The Greensboro Economic Council is suppposed to find these pathways, but it is not easy.Read more. Meanwhile, in Maine, they are facing the same challenges of deifning and executing a regional agenda. EDPro Chuck Lawton advises Mainers to focus on small steps. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | CSI: Indianapolis? In Indianapolis, work is underway to develop a hub in forensic sciences. The anchor investment will be a $4 million lab. The Indiana Forensic Science Initiative is promoting the idea with a coordinated strategy. Yesterday, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education approved a new bachelor's degree in forensic science to be offered in the fall at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | School buys town for anti-terror training Now here's an interesting idea. New Mexico Tech has purchased an old mining town from Phelps Dodge. The school plans to use the town for anti-terrorism training. The town includes houses, an apartment building, a community center, a bank, a library and a bowling alley. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Are the winds of change sweeping Louisiana? Louisiana's got a new governor. I might be dreaming, but it appears that change may be starting to take hold in the Bayou State. For years, efforts at economic transformation have been derailed by insider, corrupt politics. Huey Long's legacy still lives on. This may be changing a little, at least in the southern part of the state. (It's too much to hope for wholesale reforms.) Here are some articles that provide hopeful signs that the conversation is shifting. Biotech researchers and entrepreneurs met last week in New Orleans. Read more. Information technology executives held a summit in Lafayette. Read more. And the Universrity of New Orleans held an entrepreneurship summit in New Orleans. Read more. Harvard University has selected the manufacturing extention program in Lafayette as one of a handful of finalists in its Innovations in Government awards. Read more. LSU, a day after the biotechnology gconference, announced formation of a venture capital fund. Read more. And Jimmy Lyles, head of the Baton Rouge Chamber, gracefully decides to move on after a distinguished career and taking the time to set the table for his successor. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Web Watch: Fremont, CA Some communities don't have a lot of incentives to throw at retail companies to bring them downtown. (That's a good thing.) In Fremont, CA EDPros are capitalizing on something that they do have: information. They have built a useful GIS-based web site to provide information to attract retail development. Read more and visit the site. posted by Ed Morrison | Blacksburg Electronic Village The Elecetronic Village in Blacksburg, VA represents a model for a connected rural community. People in Humboldt County, CA have begun to look at Blacksburg for some lessons on how to get connected. Blacksburg Electronic Village is a protal that serves as the starting point for citizens to get connected. It also serves as a valuable source of lessons on how to build a connected communtiy. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | North Carolina's biotech bet Friday, May 14, 2004 North Carolina has bet big on biotech, even though some EDPros remain skeptical of its potential. The pay-off may be there, but most agree that it will be a long time coming. Currently, biotech's 18,000+ jobs account for less than 0.5% of the state's workforce. Here's a good overview of where North Carolina stands in biotech. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Chicago's 311 service for city services For the past five years, Chicago has been operating a 311 system. It's a one-stop call center for residents and businesses to find out about city services. This approach makes sense as a good business retention initiative. This week, Chicago held a conference to share what it had leared from its 311 service. Learn more. posted by Ed Morrison | Combatting brain drain Student entrepreneurship initiatives are one way to get smart people to stick around. Read about what is happening at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Albany, NY. Go. posted by Ed Morrison | Senators try to reverse MEP decision Fifty-two senators have written the Seecretary of Commerce to try to reverse a decision to cut drastically the Manufacturing Extension Program (MEP). Congress earlier passed legislation to cut the pgoram from $106.6 million to $39.6 million. (A number of EDPro readers joined me in a letter to the Congressional leadership last January. Our letter objected to the cuts before they passed the Congress.) The Senate letter suggests transferring funds within the Commerce Department to restore funding for MEP. Read more. You can keep up with the MEP program (including links to the letter) from the website of the Modernization Forum. posted by Ed Morrison | Northern tier of Massachusetts looks for opportunities Consultants for the northern tier of Massachusetts have identified five promising areas for growth: manufacturing, renewable energy, the arts, ecotourism, and homegrown entrepreneurial businesses. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | The changing dynamics of site selection Thursday, May 13, 2004 During the Charleston Innovation Summit, David Ginn, head of the Charleston Regional Development Alliance, made an intersting point about how the Internet has changed the site selection process. In the pre-Internet days, Charleston would learn of projects 18 months ahead of the investment. Now, 80% of the site selectors rely on the Internet as a principal source of information. Places like Charleston learn of projects later in the cycle. When Charleston learns of a typical project, the decision is four to five months out, and Charleston is typically competing against four to six locations in two states. The point is simple: marketing cycles in economic development are compressed and intense. Communities need to be ready. posted by Ed Morrison | Charleston Innovation Summit explores strategies for the region Wednesday, May 12, 2004 For the next couple of days, I will be tied up with events in Charleston, SC. I will be attending the Charleston Innovation Summit, where business leaders will be exploring innovation strategies in the Charleston Region. The agenda gives you an insight how we are thinking about the challenges ahead. Read more. I'll pick up EDPro on Friday. posted by Ed Morrison | Incentives issues brewing in Nebraska Tuesday, May 11, 2004 Before it is even published, a KPMG study on tax incentives is drawing controversy in Nebraska. Read more. If you are interested in a listing of statewide tax reform studies, visit this page from the National Council of State Legislatures. I recently commented on the tax reform proposal prepared by Governor Fletcher in Kentucky. In my statement, prepared for the kentucky Industrial Development Council, I outlined tha main factors to consider in state taxation policy for economic development. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Michigan pushes regional skills alliances Suppoted by a $450,000 grant from the Mott Foundation, Michgan Governor Jennifer Granholm has announced a $1 million program to promote regional skills alliances. This initiative should be interesting to watch. For years, we have relied on a dysfunction Workforce Investment Act as a means to address training issues. A wide range of initiatives on the local level suggest, however, that employer consortia, work skills certifications, flexible career pathways, and more flexible credit transfers work. We'll see if the Michigan initiative can successfully leverage these lessons. Learn more. In another promising initiative, Michigan is moving to an on-line permitting system. The Michigan Timely Application and Permit Service will automate more than 32 different manufacturing-related permits and licenses. posted by Ed Morrison | Forbes magazine's best places for business Forbes magazine has published it annual list of the best places for business. Madison, WI heads the list of leading metros. Sioux Falls, SD heads the list for the best among smaller metros. Find your city. Go. posted by Ed Morrison | Columbia schools resist incentives Here is an increasingly common story. A local school district resists the pressure from economic developers to offer tax breaks. The school officials are right on this one. Local economic developers, citing a survey of firms, indicated that incentives ranked as the most important factor in location decisions. Before jomping on these "facts", economic developers should pause. There is very little economic evidence that incentives matter much. But let's assume that they do work. Does it make sense to add to the costs of a local school system (by adding families through successful recruitment) at the same time that you are reducing the tax base? Let's assume that you add a plant with 250 employees, and that translates into 200 families, or about 400 school age kids. If the expenditures per pupil are, say, $6,000 per year, your recruitment effort adds $2.4 million in added operating cost to the school system. (Capital costs -- the investment in new school buildings -- is another factor, but I'll exclude that.) The strategy is simply not sustainable, especially in a global economy where brainpower matters. Read about what's going on in Columbia, MO. Go. posted by Ed Morrison | The survival challenge for rural hospitals Hospitals often form the hub of rural commmunities. But anyone who has spent much time in rural areas knows, these hospitals are having a tough time surviving. Here's a good article that reviews the situation. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Economy Watch Sunday, May 09, 2004 The most helpful articles I found last week: The Coming Week: An Eye on Prices 300,000 new jobs added in April Economic momentum pushes companies to add new workers Deficit Threatens Economy, Greenspan Says Services Growth Hits Record, Jobs Gain Outlook Brightens as Factory Orders Up Return of an economic demon: oil shock posted by Ed Morrison | Organizing a clean-up Saturday, May 08, 2004 It sounds simple, and it's one of the easiest places to start in economic development: Organize a clean-up. Mobilizing volunteers translates vague ideas into action. This step is critically important, especially in communities where cynicism runs deep: "Nothing ever gets done around here". Too much whining can paralyze economic development. Get inspired. Read what citizens are doing in Laramie, WY; with an old mill in Maryland; in Fairbanks, AK; in Prescott Valley, AZ; in Pascagoula, MS and along the Cuyahoga River here in Cleveland. posted by Ed Morrison | Quality urban design and economic development Building quality, connected places represents one of the central challenges in economic development in the years ahead. Smart people can live anywhere. They will choose to live in regions which pays attention to the details of quality urban design. Increasingly, we will be seeing the integration of urban design and economic development in leading edge communities. In rural areas, leading communities will embrace Main Street programs. States will support rural redevelopment by promoting quality design through programs like Renaissance Kentucky. (Learn more.) In metro regions, the issues are more complex, but no less important. Here's an example of a good resource from Kansas City. Go. At the state level, we are seeing this issue emerge through the growing attention to "smart growth" or redevelopment of existing infrastructure. Here's an update, for example, of what has been happening in Alabama, Mississippi, and Ohio. (In earlier posts this week, I also noted the challenges of "no growth, sprawl" in places like Pennsylvania and quality growth in South Carolina.) Importantly, these new initiatives transcend the old divide of "pro-growth" versus "no growth". They focus on a much more important issue of how to support quality, sustainable growth. In the past month, the European Union has released an insightful report on sustainable urban design. The report explores these issues, including the costs of sprawl and the challenges of building an affordable infrastructure to support growth. You can download the report from this page. posted by Ed Morrison | Anatomy of a deal: Williams International Last year, Utah enacted an incentive to lure aerospace firms to the state, and they have used it to attract two companies so far. Here are some details on Williams International. Read more posted by Ed Morrison | Richard Florida: Maine's got a mixed message The Richard Florida Creative Class Tour hit Maine this weekend, and his assessment was mixed. Read more. My guess is that Maine should not lose sight of the other aspects of its economy, though. Both the state's marine economy and boatbuilding are likely to be larger than Florida's "creative economy". Read more. And both are also good source of higher value added jobs. posted by Ed Morrison | Civic responsibility tax on the Big Boxes Here's an idea that's likely to get some legs: a "civic responsibility tax" on big box retailers. It's based on the premise that the national chain retailers do not reinvest in their communities to a sufficient level. Read more. This grassroots trend against the national chains is building some momentum. Austin has emerged as the epicenter. In Austin, the City Council has voted funds to study the local economic imapct of big box retailers. Learn more. The effort in Austin started with an independent bookseller, Steve Bercu. He commissioned a study on the economic impact of national retail chains. Learn more. You can download the economic impact analysis here. posted by Ed Morrison | Arkansas bags a Japanese auto parts plant Friday, May 07, 2004 Eastern Arkansas lost the Toyota plant to San Antonio, but they are continuing to market aggressively. This announcement makes the fourth parts supplier tied to Toyota that has announced a location in Eastern Arkansas in the past year. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | SCEDA focuses on clusters Cluster mania has hit South Carolina. Fueled by a recent report by The Monitor Group (Michael Porter's firm) and another report by Regional Technology Strategies (RTS), the state's economic developers are turning their attention to cluster development. Here's an update from their meeting this week. Read more. Read more about what's going on in South Carolina. Download the Monitor presentation from December 2003. Go. Download the RTS report from March 2004. Go. posted by Ed Morrison | Pennsylvania launches cyber security initiative Thursday, May 06, 2004 Pittsburgh's Digital Greenhouse has launched the Pennsylvania Cyber Security Commercialization Initiative (PaCSCI), as a new economic developemnt initiative. The goal is to accelerate the development of student ideas into Pennsylvania-based businesses. PaCSCI will provide university student teams with support as they work to move their products and ideas from the conception phase at the university to commercialization. Participating students will receive support at the university in the concept phase where their cyber security ideas are initially developed. Students will continue to receive support from PaCSCI for the research and development of their product or idea. If the product proves to be successful, the students will then receive assistance from the program to form a Pennsylvania-based company. The final step of the program will be to provide early stage funding for the new company. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Madison's mayor begins dialogue with business leaders Madison, WI has a lingering reputation of being "anti-business", and the mayor is out to change that. He has published his vision for the city and asked business leaders for their thoughts. Madison represents a good case for competitive mid-sized cities. Learn more about what is going on. Download the mayor's vision. posted by Ed Morrison | Quality growth for South Carolina Wednesday, May 05, 2004 A new report by the Urban Land Institute calls for a new approach to managing growth in South Carolina. The report represents the first statewide effort to guide how cities should grow. It calls for more efficient land use planning to decrease the amount of land developed. It also encourages revitalization of existing communities, mixed-use development, and the preservation of natural resources. Read more. Download the report. posted by Ed Morrison | Not enough scientists A new report alerts us to a growing challenge: not enough young people are heading into careers in engineering and science. In the past, we did not have to worry so much, because foreign students came in to fill the gap. Increasingly, though, curbs on immigration and more intense global competition are drawing these foreigners to other markets. United States ranks 17th in the share of its 18-to-24-year-olds who earn natural science and engineering degrees, behind Taiwan and South Korea, Ireland and Italy. In 1975, we were third. Read more. (Free registration required.) posted by Ed Morrison | No growth sprawl Pennsylvania is facing the worst of all worlds: no growth sprawl. To illustrate, between 1982 and 1997, Pennsylvania's population grew by 2.5 percent, but the "urbanized footprint" in the state grew by 47 percent. This pattern of growth consumed farmland and open space. The consequence is higher "social overhead": the costs of providing public services -- everything from school buses to water lines -- goes up, but the economy is not expanding. David Rusk, a noted expert in the field, offers some suggestions on what to do. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | Medical device industry attractive to Massachusetts Tuesday, May 04, 2004 In Massachusetts, the medical device industry represents about 6% of the manufacturing base, but it is one segment that is poised for long term growth. Equally important, the state views medical devices as a key leverage for other technologies in biosciences, pharmaceutical sciences, and nanotechnology. Learn more. posted by Ed Morrison | Venture capital market is starting to turn Here's a good article from the Washington, D.C. area that explores the shift underway in the venture capital market. First quarter activity is up from a year ago. Depending on how you measure it, nationwide activity is up between 10% and 24%. Read more. posted by Ed Morrison | SW Virginia explores broadband options A number of rural communities are too small to attract private investment to deploy broadband. Added to that problem, federal and state regulations often hamper smaller communities as they try to build their own systems. A group in Southwest Virginia explored these issues in a recent Internet confernce. Read more. Article 1. Article 2. posted by Ed Morrison | Ohio commission pushes for business support of higher education A commission appointed by Ohio's governor has recommended that the business community get more engaged in impriving higher education in the state. The Commission calls for creating a private-sector-led Ohio Business Alliance for Higher Education and the Economy. The group would promote an expanded role for colleges and universities as contributors to the state's economic development. The commission's report is one of several state-level commissions on higher education in recent years. Business and political leaders are starting to connect the dots on the importance of higher education to economic development. Read more about the Ohio commission. Go. Download the Executive Summary or the full report. posted by Ed Morrison | Economy Watch Sunday, May 02, 2004 Here's what's going on in the economy. Vital Signs for the Week of May 3 Consumer spending rises modest 0.4 percent in March keeping economy rolling Economy and prices rise in U.S. Dollar Sags as U.S. GDP Comes in Below Expectations US economy grew 4.2 percent in first quarter; inflation creeps higher Insourcing Benefits For US Workers Debated High Energy Prices Could Affect U.S. Economy, Greenspan Says posted by Ed Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | Kerry's manufacturing plan Here's John Kerry's plan to revitalize manufacturing. (But where's the czar?) Go. posted by Ed Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | 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 Morrison | |
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