What Value Does Economic Development
Produce in Society?

I think many people are asking this question right now, so let's deal with it. The question has reared its head a number of times during my 27 years in this fine and worthwhile business. The "value question" has a tendency to surface during problematic and challenging times. I think that is an apt description of our current environment.

Job development immediately comes to mind to most people, when you ask them what economic development is all about. The majority of people associate economic development with job creation, and increasingly "quality" job creation. In this sense, we add value to people's lives by providing them with meaningful employment opportunities that help them prosper and use their God-given talents. Through our jobs, we contribute to the good of society. That is what makes economic development so important.

When I started in economic development with the Greater Cleveland Growth Association back in the late 1970's, we saw our mission as "saving" jobs and businesses for Cleveland and the surrounding region. The Greater Cleveland economy was in dire straits, not unlike our "not so quiet crisis" today.

The Cleveland area was hemorrhaging both jobs and businesses. Greater Clevelanders had lost confidence in their city. This was a difficult time to show results. Few could see the value added by economic development because we were unable to counteract the effects of many years of neglect and mismanagement of the city. On top of that, an oil embargo, heightened foreign competition, increased federal regulations, major technology shifts and globalization were altering the capacity of local economies to grow and prosper.

Every problem we encountered seemed too large to tackle. The economy was growing increasingly unforgiving, businesses were closing and moving southward, business and community leaders didn't trust each other, the city was headed to bankruptcy, and any place on Earth looked better than Cleveland. Then, our national economy fell into back to back recessions in the early 1980's, making it even harder to demonstrate what value economic development gives to a city and region.

We survived because we changed how we were thinking about the problem. We realized that we had many opportunities and we needed to spend more time thinking about opportunity. Light began to appear at the end of the tunnel. The economic fog lifted from our nation.

George Voinovich took office as Cleveland's mayor. Business leaders formed Cleveland Tomorrow and went to work on some of our most difficult economic challenges. The Growth Association and its New Cleveland Campaign began to turn some heads. Our deal packaging got better and we were actually able to save some companies and jobs. We started paying attention to the nettlesome details that often plague the development process. We launched a series of target industry initiatives that focused on transitioning and emerging industry sectors. Greater Clevelanders' self-confidence grew and people across the nation and worldwide began to see Cleveland as the poster-child "Comeback City." In short, we decided to invest more, not less, in economic development. Maybe we should use the same line of thinking today as we attempt to cope with the mammoth economic problems facing us.

As I reflect on Greater Cleveland's economic development experience of the late 1970's and early 1980's, I am reminded of two other essential forms of value that economic development provides. The first is "perseverance." Unless you persevere, nothing really gets done. Most economic developers I know have great tenacity and the will to persevere. They bring these gifts to the communities they work for. A close relative to perseverance is "vision." A community must have a vision of what it wants to become. Our ability to persevere is diminished where there is no vision of the future.

The second value we add in today's ever-changing and complex world is "calculated risk-taking." To grow in value, you must take some risks. Economic developers help communities take appropriate risks. We are rapidly becoming "economic risk managers," which I see becoming a bigger part of our jobs in the coming years. Risk assessment and risk management are two new knowledge and skill sets that all of us must acquire if we are going to continue to add value to society.

As I look across the country, I see too many government, business and community leaders turning into "David Stockman-type budget managers." It has become fashionable to cut economic development budgets because everybody else is doing it. We do these things because we think everyone expects us to do them. That's wrong-headed thinking. Economic development is an investment, not an expense.

It's true that money is tight and we don't know how long the current environment will linger. At the same time, we must be careful not to give up on our long term economic hopes and dreams. With that in mind, I would encourage all of you to wield that budget knife with great care, and remember that the true sign of a community's worth is how it does during the really tough times. Stop blaming your economic developer for the sad state of world affairs, and start helping him or her. Economic development is not an easy job, and it's even tougher in today's environment.

This is a time for pulling together and not pulling apart. If you do that, there will be no question in your mind about what value is provided by your economic development program.