Article 4: Where is Economic Development Headed?

How might the economic development future-cast be approached?

Lead sponsors must exist for the project. Who might they be? I would suggest the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) and the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA). Supporting sponsors could include: American Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association (ACCRA), the National Association of State Development Agencies (NASDA), the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO) and selected other groups.

How should the project be organized? Here are some initial thoughts:

1. A small public and private advisory committee should guide the project.

2. State task forces should be formed to guide the future-cast process in those states committed to participation.

3. A carefully designed scope, building on the ideas in these ED Futures articles, should be prepared.

4. Project funding should come from a combination of prominent national private foundations, state development agencies, and the EDA.

5. A study team should be assigned to undertake the work.

6. A detailed plan for use of the future-cast results should be formulated to ensure that it has the greatest benefit to concerned stakeholders, including the economic development profession.

7. The final work products could include:

* A high-quality overall executive report.

* A detailed overall study technical report.

* Individual reports for participating states.

* An interactive website that is built around the future-cast and that can be used to support the recommendations implementation process.

* A national conference dedicated to dialogue about the future of the ED field.

These are some starting ideas. What are yours?

Don Iannone's email and phone (440.449.0753).