Higher Education Contributions Up

You might find this one of interest: "Contributions to colleges and universities in the United States increased by 3.4 percent in 2004, buoyed by a spike in gifts made by individuals, according to an annual survey released today by the Council for Aid to Education (CAE) at the RAND Corporation.

Nearly half of the $24.4 billion raised in 2004 came directly from individuals, a 9.7 percent increase over the year before, according to the survey. Though alumni giving is the traditional base of higher education giving, representing between a quarter to almost a third of all voluntary support, alumni giving only grew by 2 percent in 2004. Individuals other than alumni drove personal giving up. Gifts from nonalumni supporters increased by 21.5 percent."

Creating Better Citizens: A Must Read for All Economic Developers

The University of Michigan's highly respected Institute for Social Research recently released a thought-provoking analysis of what it takes to produce "better citizens." This is recommended reading for all economic developers, who need to contribute more to this goal.

Having dealt with these issues in many communities in the context of new economic development plans and strategies, I believe our profession has considerable work ahead in this arena. Go here to read the report.

Should the Public Sector Be in Wi-Fi Business?

Texas State Rep. Phil King recently introduced a telecommunications bill that could ban Texas cities from building wireless 'wi-fi' broadband networks.

The outcome of Rep. King's bill has not been determined, but his proposal, according to the Competitive Enterprise Institite (a conservative voice in the wilderness), does highlight the debate over whether creating municipal wireless networks is a wise use of public funds. More here.

"Pay Me and You Can Keep Me"

That's sort of the bottom line message of a recent Plain Dealer article about Avery Dennison Corporation.

The firm wants tax breaks to help it build a corporate center in Willoughby Hills and move 450 jobs from its existing site in Concord Township, also in Lake County (Ohio).

Company officials said the relocation/expansion is partly based on incentives, including a proposed 100 percent tax abatement on the Willoughby Hills site over the next 15 years. Do the math. This is an important investment deal, but that's a lot of tax revenues.

The company says it will add 60 new jobs over the next three years related to with the new facility. That's the good news. Currently has 450 employees at the Concord facility. Including its other operations, Avery has nearly 1,800 workers in Northeast Ohio, which makes it an important employer in the region.

More here.

Site Selection Magazine Says North Texas #1 in 2004

North Texas was the country's best region for corporate relocations and expansions in 2004, and Fort Worth led the way, according to a new national tally. Site Selection Magazine ranked Dallas-Fort Worth No. 1 for expansions, logging 277 companies that invested more than $3 billion throughout the 12-county area. More here. (Free registration required.)

Washington State Indian Tribe Enters the Racing Business

The Cowlitz Indian tribe of Washington state has been meeting with the International Speedway Corp. and proposed a plan to build a track for NASCAR races somewhere in the southern part of the state.

A tribal spokesman would not publicly discussed possible sites, but said any location within south Cowlitz County would be near the tribe's proposed $400 million casino and resort in the La Center area.

More here.

Vermont's New Brownfield Initiative

Vermont is moving forward with a brownfield redevelopment program. Click here to read more about it.

Chinese Business Connections in Greenville, SC

Here is one to note. More than 100 Chinese companies will display their wares at a new trade center designed to promote business ties between Greenville, SC and the Chinese city of Tianjin. It's a good start. Read more here.

The Competition Solution by Paul London

Q: What is the book about?

A: The Competition Solution provides an in-depth look at what makes our economy thrive. Contrary to popular belief, our economic success is not rooted in tax or monetary policy. It is primarily a result of competition, which could not exist without courageous bipartisan political support. Much credit goes to the presidents who stood up against the established industries and their unions in the 1970s and allowed new upstarts to challenge them. Today, two sections of our economy remain in dire need of reform: health care and education.

Note: The author points to how we handled competitiveness issues of autos, steel, and other manufacturing industries back in the 1970s and 1980s. What happened to jobs in those industries? Well, you know...they shrunk dramatically in the interest of productivity. Healthcare (almost all types) and educational services (especially private for-profit and various related services) are the two industry sectors that are growing in a significant way in most local economies. Where does reform leave these two sectors in the future?

Read more here. Buy the book here.

Louisville Consolidation and Next Steps

So Louisville has pulled off the most significant municipal consolidation in 30 years. What's next?
Click here to read an insightful analysis of the situation.

Urban Age in Our Suburban Nation

That is the title of a recent presentation by Bruce Katz from the Brookings Institute. Here is the essence of his remarks:

"The late 20th Century was the age of economic globalization. The first part of the 21st century will be the age of the city, the 'Urban Age'.... The design of the built environment, the distribution of urban density, and their impacts on social inclusion and the quality of life, are at the forefront of political discussion in towns and cities across the globe."

Is an Urban Age possible in our suburban nation?

-Competitive cites that create and nurture strong, resilient, adaptive economies.

-Sustainable cities that promote accessible transport, residential and employment density and energy efficiency.

-Inclusive cities that grow, attract, and retain the middle class and integrate individuals across racial, ethnic and class lines.

-Physical cities where the built environment—neighborhood design, the architecture of private and public space—is a critical foundation of competitiveness, sustainability and inclusivity.

More here.

More Mergers and Acquisitions on the Way

It has only just begun; that is the merger and acquisition wave. Click here to read the February issue of the Association for Corporate Growth's Merger and Acquisition Magazine. There are telltale signs everywhere that more M&A deals are headed our way. What's driving this "tsunami" wave of M&A deals? In one word: globalization! That is, globalization of our major manufacturing and service industries.

What does this mean for companies in your backyard, or those you seek to lure from other places? Maybe your ED organization should hire an M&A specialist. That strategy may pay bigger dividends than hiring someone to manage your industry cluster program.

"Lean" and Economic Development

Lean manufacturing has become a way of life for manufacturers today. Click here to read how lean is transforming the way manufacturing is done in the automotive industry. (Free site registration required.)

Bottomline: Expect even fewer auto jobs in the future, and expect companies to become even MORE agile and mobile in the future. What does this say about the long-term commitment of companies anywhere, including China? Do the math!

Insights Into Dell's Strategy

Here is one of those "must read" articles about how corporations plan and locate business facilities. This one talks about the company's planned new North Carolina facility and how it relates to other facilities it has opened in recent years.

Are You Targeting Medical Equipment Manufacturers?

Many areas are giving attention to developing medical equipment manufacturers. Historically, this has been a growth industry for many areas. Have you considered where the industry is headed in the future -- China. That's what a new KPMG consulting report says. Moreover, KPMG is encouraging companies in this field to produce -- Where? China. Download the brief here. (Free site registration is required.)

Should Your Organization Have a Chief Marketing Officer?

Most EDOs operate marketing programs. Marketing is the most important function of some ED groups.

What are the pluses and minuses of creating a Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) position in your organization? If you are close to asking this question, you might want to read this article that discusses the CMO in the business world. Very interesting read. (Free site registration required.)

Leading Change in Complex Organizations

This sounds like a course economic developers should take. It's offered by MIT, and if I wasn't so tight with my time and money, I'd probably sign up for it. More here.

Does This Sound Familiar to You?

"Incidents of workplace violence, such as last month's fatal shooting at Jeep's Toledo North Assembly Plant, grab media and public attention. But more common - and more manageable, for forward-thinking companies - are cases of simmering employee resentment that one local expert refers to as "cubicle rage." Source: Crain's Cleveland Business

Workers are not very happy right now, and for good reason. Their ability to advance economically is being undermined by those they work for. I'm not pinning blame here, but I believe it is understandable why workers (on all levels) are uneasy these days. All of us in the ED field need to work harder at rebuilding trust within work organizations everywhere.

Here to read more. (Subscription may be required)

Do You Know People Like This?

Click here and ask yourself whether the market segments described apply to your community or region. Interesting implications for economic development--I think.

One We Should Be Concerned About

While some argue that economic development is mostly about jobs, I would maintain that it is really about personal income and wealth creation. We're experiencing some difficulties in this area now, and we should be encouraging the type of economic development that contributes positively to personal income growth. Click here to read more.

Insights on Performance Management

Those of you interested in the human resource topic, performance management, might find this article by the Gallup Organization to be of interest. It has implications for the workforce development side of economic development. Read it here.

New Report Looks at U.S. Science and Tech Position

AeA’s new report, Losing the Competitive Advantage?: The Challenge for Science and Technology in the United States, finds that America can no longer remain idle if we hope to continue our lead in science and technology. We are neglecting the factors that sparked the U.S. technology revolution. Ultimately, this threatens U.S. economic vitality and our competitiveness in the global marketplace. Read more here.

My thanks to Paul Raetsch, who directs EDA's Northeast Office in Philadelphia for calling my attention to the report.

Northeast Ohioans Not Optimistic About Their Economy

According to a new Gallup Organization poll, Northeast Ohioans are not very chipper about their economy. See the related Cleveland Plain Dealer article on February 26, 2005, which I cannot seem to access today from the newspaper archives. (I guess bad news does not stick around at the PD, or maybe it has been replaced by some new bad news.)

Here are some concerns from the survey. 38 percent of respondents from Cuyahoga, Summit, Stark, Lorain, Medina, Geauga, Lake and Portage counties rated the region's economic conditions as negative, compared to 30 percent last year. Only 17 percent rated economic conditions as positive; a four percent drop from the previous survey. When asked about the performance of the economy in five years, respondents saying they thought it would be better fell from 47 percent last year to 36 percent in 2005.

NEO residents number one concern was jobs, with participants stating that creating new jobs and attracting new businesses to move to the region should be the highest priorities for economic development activities in Northeast Ohio.

When asked to rate how Northeast Ohio is doing at keeping jobs from leaving the area and creating new jobs, on a scale from very good to very bad, 58 percent gave a negative rating for keeping jobs from leaving and 46 percent reported a negative rating for creating new jobs. However, among individuals who reported knowing "a great deal" about economic development activities, the more positive are their feelings about how the region is doing at keeping jobs from leaving (33 percent doing a good job versus 10 percent), creating new jobs (31 percent versus 14 percent), helping businesses grow (40 percent versus 20 percent) and attracting new businesses (33 percent versus 16 percent).

The poll results indicate support for regional approaches to economic development across the region.

Read more here about the NEO poll. Also, click here to read my article "Let's Change Our Minds," which was written before I saw the Gallup results.