Self-Employment and Computer Use

The SBA recently released an interesting story on computer use by self-employed individuals. Gee, that sounds like a story for me to read. It may be of interest to you if you are working to increase self-employment options in your community or you are working on a telecommuter strategy for your area.

Here is what the SBA found:

* Self-employed persons with computers numbered 10.5 million in 2000 compared to 9.2 million in 1998.

* Between 1998 and 2000, self-employed computer ownership increased by 14.7 percent.

* Access to the Internet by the self-employed grew 50.4 percent during these two years.

* In 2000, 83.2 percent of self-employed individuals had Internet access. Of these, 72.5 percent used a regular or dial-up service for Internet access.

*The three most important uses of the Internet by the self-employed were in 2000 were sending and receiving email, accomplishing job-related tasks; and searching for information.

* Computer prices dropped continuously throughout the 1990s. Between 1990 and 1994, prices of computers and peripherals fell by an average of 12.8 percent yearly.

* Between 1995 and 1999, computer prices plummeted twice as much, by an average of 24.1 percent annually.

* In 2000, nearly two-thirds (64.3 percent) of self-employed households had one computer, 23.3 percent had two computers, and 12.4 percent had three or more computers.

* In 2001 self-employed persons that were home-based businesses numbered 5.9 million and represented 29.7 percent of the self-employed.

* One-quarter of all capital expenditures by small and medium-size firms was spent on computer and communications equipment in 1998.

* Two-thirds (65.9 percent) of self-employed businesses with computers were unincorporated, and 34.1 percent were incorporated in 2000.

Get the full report here.

Foreign Investment Takes a Dip

Foreign direct investment (FDI) has dropped off significantly in the United States since 2000. A recent analysis by the Progressive Policy Institute in Washington looks at this issue and offers some explanations.

Here are the numbers:

Foreign direct investment flows to the U.S., 2000: $314 billion
Foreign direct investment flows to the U.S., 2001: $144 billion
Foreign direct investment flows to the U.S., 2002: $30 billion

Now what happened?

Since 2000, global FDI flows have receded and FDI flows to the United States have nearly dried up altogether. Total FDI in the U.S. dropped to $144 billion in 2001 and to $30 billion (including only $4.5 billion in manufacturing) last year.

Within the United States, investment from the United Kingdom has fallen most dramatically (from $82 billion to $14 billion since 2000); investment from France and Japan held up best. By sector, the most dramatic fall has been in the computer and electronics industry, where foreign outlays fell from $42.6 billion in 2000 to less than half a billion dollars last year. (Outlays are a slightly different statistic from total inflows; for example they include money raised within the United States but exclude new investment in existing facilities, and include borrowing within the U.S. for purchases.) Telecom has seen a similar steep drop, from $91 billion to $2.4 billion. On the relatively bright side, foreigners set up 9,785 new businesses in the United States last year; but this is still down from 32,885 in 2000.

Why the downward shift? The PPI suggests a couple possible answers: (1) slow global growth and thus a smaller global FDI pool; (2) weak technology investment levels; (3) falling confidence in long-term U.S. growth prospects, as perceptions of terrorist threats grow and structural budget deficits re-emerge after recent tax bills; and (4) higher dollar values relative to the euro in 2001 and 2002, raising the price of acquisitions here.

My own commentary on this trend is that things are improving and will continue to do so as the U.S. economy gets back on its feet. Yes, there are some major storm clouds on the horizon, but many are breaking up.

My advice is to continue to give adequate attention to foreign direct investment prospects in your area. As always, mergers and acquisitions will account for most of the deals in the future.

How Can EDO's Add More Value in the Future?

That is the subject of the keynote speech I will be giving to the Florida Economic Development Council (FEDC) on June 30 in Tampa. You may find my new Economic Value Chain Management model to be of interest.

Download the presentation.iannone_fedc_6-30-03.pdf

Advice for Colleges and Universities Planning ED Initiatives

You might find this presentation that I prepared for a recent Ohio Board of Regents conference to have some value if you are working on higher education-based economic development initiatives. There are lots of high-flying ideas out there, but here is some practical advice that you can use.

Download my presentation here.iannone_OBORpresent.pdf

City and Metro Growth Rankings

The Milken Institute just released its latest Best Performing Cities report, which ranks the 200 largest metro areas and 96 smaller cities. It's a worthwhile bit of reading. You can download the report, after registering with Milken. The full report is worth reading because it:

1. Talks about the factors influencing growth and where they have had the most influence.

2. Points to the role of the national economy in shaping growth prospects for all areas. This is very important to help your leadership and other stakeholders understand why so few ED results (investment, jobs, etc.) were produced in the past 3 years. The good news is things are getting better now.

3. Talks about the major factors you need to consider if you want to be a top-performing metro or city.

I thank Ed Morrison for calling my attention to the report's availability.

Milken Institute report.

Consumer Spending is Bonkers

What is happening with consumer spending?

The first quarter of 2003 was unique. Not only did the U.S. go to war with Iraq, but the country’s consumers focused their spending on nondurable goods in an unprecedented fashion.

Real growth in nondurable spending exceeded both durables and services by the largest margin ever. This suggests that when consumers have the cash and do not need any more SUVs and are scared to fly, they will still spend, even if it just means dining out more.

While this pattern of spending has changed in recent months, the last few quarters illustrate just how unusual consumer spending has been through the recent recession and slow recovery.

Spending on services, on the other hand, has been fairly weak across the board, which is consistent with its performance in past recessions. The only consistent source of strong growth has been medical services and even that has been slowing as of late. Transportation services have experienced fairly consistent spending declines as consumers hesitated to travel due to security fears. Growth of real spending on housing services has mostly remained under 2%.

Source: Economy.com (If you subscribe.)

People are the Key to Clusters

Many factors impact the success of industry cluster initiatives, but as most cluster managers are learning, human resources (talent) is most important to this success.

Stu Rosenfeld from Regional Technology Strategies (RTS) has released an interesting new paper on how community colleges can help to address the human resource development need associated with clusters.

Here is what he has to say: "Industry clusters have become, in the United States as well as in many other parts of the world, the new mantra for economic development policy. It is a fact that businesses tend to cluster in order to take advantage of suppliers and specialized services that are attracted by concentrations of customers.

But in recent years practitioners have learned that clustering is first and foremost influenced by talent—by concentrations of experienced and skilled labor and by the availability of the customized and specialized education and training that produces and upgrades skills and knowledge. The key to the success of almost every industry cluster is the presence of a labor force with the appropriate skills for and knowledge of the industries located within the commuting boundaries of the cluster. Industry needs the “commodity skills” that are easily transferable but also wants industry specific skills, which are more scarce. Companies value access to a labor pool familiar with the operations of their businesses and able to apply skills to the cluster’s particular work environment."

Download Stu's new working paper here.

Feedback, please

ED Futures has been up and running for 6 months. Several hundred articles have been published. Over 4,000 people worldwide have subscribed.

While we have heard what some of you think, we need to hear from more people about whether this web journal is valuable to you.

Please let us know whether it helps you and how it can be improved in the future. We'd like to know more about your future topical interests too.

Thank you.

Don Iannone
ED Future Editor

Is Cost of Accurate Knowledge Worth It?

Most EDO's have followed suit with the "data-mining" movement that has taken the business world by storm. The 'drill down' mantra is the buzz among those targeting industries and industry clusters for development. Is the cost of this information worth it? A recent Harvard Business Review (HBR) article may shed some light on this question.

Two University of Michigan researchers, Kathleen Sutcliffe and Klaus Weber, published an article entitled "The High Cost of Accurate Knowledge" in the May 2003 issue of HBR. The article says that while detailed information and knowledge are deemed to be valuable and useful in making better business decisions, the data alone is insufficient in revealing what decision a business executive should make. Businesses are spending more on data and information. These activities now constitute a more significant part of the annual budget. They should question whether the investment in more data is worth it.

What do the researchers suggest? They say that the way in which senior managers interpret their business environment is more important for performance than how accurately they know their environment. The authors suggest that business executives should focus more on "managing meaning" than "managing information."

The researchers recommend that business managers be more clear on what they are trying to perceive about their business environment. For example, what should the environmental scan undertaken in the strategic planning process focus on and why?

Typically, business managers assess their environment in three dimensions:

1. Volatility: Measures the reliability of forecasts and the risks associated with strategic investments. (This is a key issue for economic developers to understand about business decision-making.)

2. Growth Trends: Which reveals the quantity of resources available to companies in an industry.

3. Complexity: Relates to an industry's resources and how they are distributed.

The researchers found that perceptual accuracy related to assessing the magnitude of change in an industry paid off in the early stages and steadily dropped off over time, creating a U-shaped statistical curve. Perceptual accuracy's relationship to perfromance was found to be a straight downward line, suggesting that its value was wasted beyond the initial phase.

So, if accuracy is not the answer, then what is? The authors say it's the rules that executives use to intrepret their business environment. In other words, it's the assumptions, ideas, concepts, common wisdom, and basic attitude toward their business and its future. They say it boils down to "mind-set." Does the executive feel or believe the business can control those factors essential to success? Does the executive hold positive or negative expectations about future success?

Here is how I size up this interesting piece of research. Does this mean that companies should be run on hunches and intuition alone? No, but executives should carefully tune into their mind-set about their business and where it's headed. Is this an agrument for "emotional intelligence?" Yes, it could be to the extent emotions affect our ability to perceive reality. Does this suggest that companies should abandon business intelligence? No, but they should balance their intensive data efforts with the intrepretive frameworks they use.

What does this have to say about economic development? I think it reminds us that economic developers, their leaders, and their advisors should work harder at understanding the intrepretive frameworks and concepts used in judging area economic competitiveness, how businesses make investment decisions, what consumer and industrial markets want and a variety of other issues. This research suggests that we need to revisit the "world-view" of the economic developer before jumping into major data and information exercises. And that is logical advice. Moreover, it suggests that economic developers should have a better understanding of the intrepretive frameworks used by business executives. Maybe it is a good idea to read more business biographies to learn how business leaders think and make decisions.

For more information, go to HBR Online. (If you subscribe.)

Lilly Endowment Takes Aim at Brain Drain

Increasing meaningful economic opportunities in Indiana is a key aim of a new initiative from Lilly Endowment Inc. The Endowment is offering up to $40 million to Indiana colleges and universities to devise new educational programs that will lead to the identification and development of such opportunities in Indiana for college graduates.

Over the past several years, the Endowment has encouraged efforts to improve the unacceptably low educational attainment levels of Indiana’s residents. It has funded research to learn more about the problem, provided support to strengthen Indiana colleges and universities, and approved grants to an array of institutions from colleges and universities to community foundations and from K-12 organizations to Goodwill Industries. This initiative builds on these efforts.

Lilly Foundation Endowment.

NASA Space Biology Center Goes to Indiana

Indiana University at Bloomington will soon be the headquarters of one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's new Astrobiology Institute "lead teams," which are research institutes working on projects related to the search for life beyond Earth.

Based at IU and involving 18 scientists from eight research institutions, the new Indiana-Princeton-Tennessee Astrobiology Institute (IPTAI) will be directed by IU Bloomington biogeochemist Lisa Pratt. Other IU members are geologist Edward Ripley, artist Ruth Droppo and Digital Media Services managers Douglas Pearson and Michael Jasiak of University Information Technology Services.

NASA will provide IPTAI with $5 million in funding over five years, and the institute will be able to apply for a renewal of funding in 2008. IPTAI is one of 16 lead teams selected this year.

Link to NASA Astrobiology Program.

Target Growth Companies

The key to targeting the best prospects for your area is to focus on growth companies. These are the companies most likely to expand existing and locate new business facilities.

Where can you gain some insights into growth companies? You might want to start with the Business Week 2003 Growth Company list. Download it here.

How about the fastest growing tech companies. The Forbes Magazine 25 Fastest Growing Companies list is a good one. Get the list here.

Looking for more detailed information about growth companies? Try Hoovers Online here.

Looking for some valuable insights into what factors are driving growth in tech companies worldwide? Check this Deloitte and Touche survey report.

Interested in knowing which companies are growing the fastest in inner city business environments. Check out the Inc. Magazine 100 fastest growing inner city businesses list.

Want to find the hot companies in your own area? Give us a call and we will help you find them. DTIA Telephone: 440.449.0753, Email.

Oregon Downtown Development Association

Downtowns are strategically important to local economies. Many cities and villages are working hard to revitalize and enhance their downtown areas.

State associations can play an important role in helping cities and villages, especially smaller ones, across the state to successfully reach their downtown development mission. Here is an example from Oregon that is worthy of your attention.

Using a hands-on approach, the Oregon Downtown Development Association (ODDA) assists communities in developing local leadership and capacity to implement downtown revitalization in a thoughtful, comprehensive, and successful way.

ODDA Website link.

Other resources:

International Downtown Association.

Downtown R&D Center.

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).

Education and Training for the IT Workforce

The U.S. Department of Commerce has recently released a new report on the Information Technology workforce. This is a must read for any of you working to upgrade or grow your IT workforce in either traditional or high-tech industries.

Here are some of the report's highlights:

* Jobs in the IT field are varied, complex, and specialized, as are the knowledge, skills, and experience required to perform them.

* Employers seek workers who possess a specific combination of technical skills and experience, often coupled with a college degree, soft skills, and business or industry knowledge. Typically, employers prefer job candidates with the exact skill fit who require no additional training.

* There is no single path to prepare a worker for a professional IT job.

* The IT education and training infrastructure has grown significantly in size and scope over the past decade. Today, there is a vast array of IT education and training opportunities, with different types of programs and curricula serving different purposes.

* The training landscape is complex and challenging to navigate.

Download the full report here.

Why Should a Business Rebound Work Now?

Most folks are tired of hearing that the business rebound is coming and then they see reports that it has once again stalled. Could the latest news be accurate that it will really happen this time?

According to Economy.com, the rebound is very likely this time around because the longer a rebound takes, the more likely it is to occur soon. Business cycles occur because of excesses that build near the end of an expansion or contraction phase. To correct these excesses, such as the recent overinvestment in technology, market economies typically undershoot trend growth (the bust) to compensate for the previous overshoot (the boom).

Article link. (If you are an Economy.com subscriber.)

Article 3: Where is Economic Development Headed?

This article picks up where Article 2 (June 22) left off. My last thoughts were about why and how a future-cast of economic development should be undertaken. In that regard, I said that the future-cast could provide all EDO's with a more coherent overall context in which to approach their future planning and action. Moreover, that the future-cast might be best accomplished on a state-by-state basis for both pragmatic reasons and to ensure that the common structural economic, political (governmental) and social characteristics of particular states are considered in the future-cast.

Economic developers understand that economic development does not stop at local and state borders because businesses, industries, economies, technological systems, markets and people's lives extend beyond local and state boundaries. On an intellectual level, economic developers understand this. Some economic developers fight these relationships because they see them in competitive instead of collaborative terms. The "zero-sum" model of economic development is still very much alive and well, even with the progress we have made in advancing regional approaches to economic development. Just stop and think about your own area. The "I win, you lose" paradigm is in my judgment a very simplistic model of competition. I think even the Michael Porter, the competitiveness czar, would agree with that statement.

What's the alternative? It is the "interdependent system model of competition," which is increasing driven by the rapidly emerging global economy. The future-cast could help us understand how to make this new model work. What does the new model offer that the old one doesn't? I think it is a better shot at "sustainability." What is sustainability in the context of economic development? It's renewal...the capacity for local economies, communities, businesses and people to renew themselves, preserve and create value and adapt to change. Sustainability is also about ensuring that we truly understand the impact that the sum of all ED efforts have on society. Is this impact fundamentally favorable or positive, or is it fundamentally unfavorable and negative? Moreover, how do we function in the future in a way that contributes to a more favorable overall impact on society? We really do not have a way to answer this question right now, and I think we should be working toward an answer.

Connectivity to the global economy has grown in recent decades--propelled in large part by businesses in search of new opportunities, and technology, which has extended our personal and business reach in almost all directions. I think it is a valid assumption to make in the ED future-cast that this connectivity will continue to grow, even in directions that we cannot identify today. Our connectivity can be impeded by world events. Just look at the impact of SARS on business connections, or the impact of terrorism on trade and tourism. These larger events impact all of us--not just the world's largest urban centers. The future-cast, done right, can help us understand these larger events and envision emerging new connections.

As I look at local and state economies across America and the world, I see a myriad of inter-relations that link and bind them together. This "interdependence" speaks to the need for greater shared understanding of the national economic system, as it is organized by state. It also speaks to the need for economic developers to take this interdependence into greater consideration as they fashion future local and state policies, strategies and programs. Many geographic areas share the same major industries and industry clusters in common. In this light, would it make sense for them to work together to advance the needs and potential of their shared industries and also ensure that their programming has a net positive impact on those people and places affected?

There is a role for the Federal Government in helping the national ED system grow and develop in ways that have a positive/favorable impact on American society. That role is not one of control, rather one of supporting, encouraging and linking local areas in the system. The Federal Government should reward those places that work together and contribute more to society. That is a logical direction in which to focus our "incentives," not in helping one local place clobber another in a competitive battle for a business and jobs.

This is my break point for today. Look for the next installment. We will build from here.

Article 2: Where is Economic Development Headed?

On Saturday (June 21), I started a series on the future of economic development. This article picks up where the first one left off.

My last thought was to focus a future-cast of the ED field on those common elements of economic development found in U.S. communities, regions and states.

To make the results coherent, I would suggest organizing the future-cast on a state-by-state basis. This approach ensures there is adequate recognition given of state and local tax policies, various regulations that businesses must abide by, governmental structure and other state-based factors.

With a manageable goal in mind, which common elements should be included? These strike me as worthy of inclusion:

1. ED System Structure: How are ED policies, programs and activities currently organized into an overall "system?" How is that system, or aspects of it, likely to change in the next decade and what factors will drive these changes? Three levels should be assessed:
* Community (cities and counties).
* Regional (multi-county urban and rural areas and/or metro areas).
* State.

2.ED System Performance: What are the major priorities giving direction to economic development activities in each state, and how well are organizations and programs performing in reaching these priorities? What are the driving factors influencing performance today? What are the most probable future priorities for each state and what factors will drive performance? Priorities falling into three time periods should be assessed:
* Short-term priorities (next 1-2 years).
* Intermediate term (3-5 years out).
* Long term (beyond 5 years).

3. ED System Impact: What is the cumulative impact of the ED system on society in each state? Is this impact judged to be largely favorable or unfavorable? What factors explain this impact? What intended impact should the ED system strive to have in the future? What factors will be most instrumental to having this overall impact in the future? I suggest a focus on these key impact dimensions:
* Impact on geographic patterns of growth and development. A cost of growth dimension should be included.)
* Impact on wealth creation and prosperity.
* Impact on natural environment and quality of life.
* Impact on business and industry competitiveness.
* Impact on tax base and public/community asset value.
* Impact on increasing national and global connectivity.

Of course, in each state alternative future scenarios of the ED field would be created.

Note: these are the impacts that come to mind for now. I may add others after further thought.

As you can imagine, there are many considerations to be given to a future-cast of this magnitude. There are many interesting issues that could be included in an assessment like this, but the project must be manageable.

Why undertake this future-cast? Here are the three major reasons that I see at this point:

1. As a profession, we are not thinking collectively and cumulatively about what we're doing, what impact our efforts have and where we are headed in the future. By thinking about the present and the future, we can help each other by providing an overall context for future decisions and activities.

2. This effort could help set more clear expectations about what we should be giving attention to in the ED field. This will be valuable to various stakeholders, including citizens trying to plan their future work lives, ED leadership, and funding sources.

3. Hopefully, the future-cast will identify how EDO's across the United States can work more collaboratively in the future to achieve common or linked goals. This collaboration should extend to the global economy as well.

How might this future-cast be approached? Here are a couple starting thoughts:

1. Each state should undertake its own future-cast, using a common framework that allows for interstate and interregional comparisons.

2. Web survey technology could help facilitate this process. (Ed Morrison, are you listening?)

3. The future-cast should lead to state-level and national action agendas to build the ED field and make it stronger and more effective over the next decade.

And, this is my break point for today. I will be back to you with further thoughts. Please share your thoughts about this with me. I welcome them! Don's email and phone number: 440.449.0753.

New Book: Information Feudalism, Who Owns the Knowledge Economy?

Here is an interesting bit of reading for those of you trying to take aim at knowledge-based economic development. And in today's world, who isn't?

This is what the book's publisher has to say. "How multinational corporations are patenting life itself. Uncovering the story of how a small coterie of multinational corporations came to write the charter for a new global information order, Information Feudalism demonstrates why the world of intellectual property rights, patent regimes, and anti-trust laws is an urgent concern for ordinary citizens.

As an ever wider range of everyday activities—from swinging in a swing to traditional farming techniques—are identified and commodified as intellectual property, struggles over the control of information are destined to become crucial battlegrounds in the twenty-first century. A telling example is the five-year courtroom battle fought by a coalition of activists to bring cheap versions of desperately needed AIDS drugs to South Africa—in which time one million people died of AIDS in that country alone. Information Feudalism traces the rise of the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS), the little-known charter that now governs intellectual property disputes across the globe, through inside accounts of the backroom deals that gave birth to it.

Along the way, the book provides a mini-history of piracy, detailed accounts of the political involvement of multinationals like Pfizer, and a thorough set of proposals to establish democratic property rights."

About the authors: Peter Drahos is a Senior Research Fellow in Intellectual Property at the University of London. He is the author of A Philosophy of Intellectual Property and, with John Braithwaite, Global Business Regulation. John Braithwaite is a business regulatory scholar and former member of the Australian Economic Planning Advisory Council. His major works include Corporate Crime in the Pharmaceutical Industry and Corporations, Crime and Accountability (with B. Fisse).

Book information here.

How Healthy is Boeing?

The Boeing 7E7 project is the most highly sought after ED project in America right now. Excuse me for asking, but how healthy is Boeing? Recent news reports point to a loss of competitive position by Boeing to its archrival Airbus.

Since 1958, when it introduced the first U.S. commercial jet (the 707), Boeing had gone from success to success. As late as 1990, Boeing sold 62 percent of the world's commercial jets. Its closest rival, McDonnell Douglas, was at 23 percent, and Europe 14.6 percent, and Airbus trailed at 15 percent. No more. Boeing's eclipse is one of the biggest business stories of our time. In 2003, Airbus--now the only other major maker of big commercial jets--is expected to win more orders than Boeing, and the gap could widen. Airbus is developing a monster jet (the A380) that will seat 555 passengers and threaten Boeing's 747.

Boeing's history is taking huge risks and reaping huge rewards; both the 707 and the 747 were great gambles that paid handsomely. Can Boeing now reclaim some past glory? The answer may depend on the 7E7: a new widebody plane being studied that would seat more than 200 and have lower operating costs than today's planes. High development costs (perhaps $8 billion, according to BusinessWeek) have reportedly stirred strong internal opposition. If Boeing proceeds, it might conceivably request subsidies comparable to Airbus. Already, Boeing has threatened to move production out of Seattle if other localities offer bigger tax breaks or subsidies.

And what is the subsidy tab for Airbus? Subsidies to Airbus totaled $26 billion through 1989, estimated one U.S. study.

What does all this boil down to?

1. Boeing needs the 7E7 project to re-assert itself, even though it is a very expensive project at a very cash-short time. Boeing leadership is not even convinced that the company should undertake the project--there is indecision among the ranks.

2. Competition in commercial airline production is likely to stiffen in the future, putting even greater pressure on Boeing--even with some fat local, state and federal subsidies in hand.

3. This project is going to be a grizzly one in terms of ED incentive negotiation from all that I can see at this time. So, if your hat is in the ring, get ready for a big fight.

Article link.