Congratulations, your community is surviving through this economic slowdown. You took the initiative and made the necessary adjustments with your strategic plan, weeded out under-performing initiatives or projects, shed unreliable marketing efforts and concentrated your marketing dollars on channels that prove to deliver a strong return on investment. Your organization may even have downsized, either voluntarily or involuntarily.
Now, you are looking for the signs that the economy is on the rebound and the opportunity to increase investment into your community and some fun. Here are a few recommendations to plan ahead:
Focus on high-potential opportunities. Make sure you focus on building relationships with the individuals and businesses in growth industries, where pent-up demand is going to be unleashed once the economy turns the corner.
Don’t assume a return to normal. The competitive landscape will have changed and you need to listen closely to your existing business base and potential investors to revise your market assumptions.
Know your lead indicators. Every economic developer should be aware of the specific indicators, macro or micro, that predict demand and interest for their community. Use common sense, take a look around your community and region to see what is happening right now.
Be ahead of the crowd. Don’t wait to heard an official declaration the recovery is underway. Get ahead of the crowd and develop your recovery plan now and pull the trigger when your lead indicators say go.
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Economic Development 101: Economic Development Defined
Whenever the topic of economic development arises, even among those who have been in the industry for years, you will get a variety of definitions for what the term means. It’s not only a struggle sometimes to define economic development but throw in a few other terms like “community economic development”, “technology-led economic development”, “business development” and things can get very complicated.
Here’s a quick glossary to economic development terms based on a variety of sources including the International Economic Development Council, University of Waterloo and the Worldbank.
Economic Development (ED): Economic development is most commonly described as the creation of jobs and wealth, and the improvement of quality of life. Economic development can also be described as a process that influences growth and restructuring of an economy to enhance the economic well being of a community.
Community Economic Development (CED): A process by which a community and its institutions organize economic activity in ways that benefit the community as a whole, and leads to community and individual empowerment through strategies, which encourage cooperation and interdependence. CED creates community wealth and assets through developing and preserving affordable housing, developing viable neighbourhood-serving commercial activities, creating and retaining jobs and businesses, promoting labour force development, and cultivating indigenous leadership.
Local Economic Development (LED): Local economic development offers local government, the private sector, the not-for-profit sectors and the local community the opportunity to work together to improve the local economy. It aims to enhance competitiveness and thus encourage sustainable growth that is inclusive.
Neighbourhood Economic Development: Neighbourhood revitalization seeks to improve a neighbourhood's physical, economic, and social conditions to improve the overall quality of life and economic opportunities for neighbourhood residents.
Technology-Led Economic Development: Technology-led economic development fosters the development of new technology-based products and encourages the deployment of technologies to the private sector
Here’s a quick glossary to economic development terms based on a variety of sources including the International Economic Development Council, University of Waterloo and the Worldbank.
Economic Development (ED): Economic development is most commonly described as the creation of jobs and wealth, and the improvement of quality of life. Economic development can also be described as a process that influences growth and restructuring of an economy to enhance the economic well being of a community.
Community Economic Development (CED): A process by which a community and its institutions organize economic activity in ways that benefit the community as a whole, and leads to community and individual empowerment through strategies, which encourage cooperation and interdependence. CED creates community wealth and assets through developing and preserving affordable housing, developing viable neighbourhood-serving commercial activities, creating and retaining jobs and businesses, promoting labour force development, and cultivating indigenous leadership.
Local Economic Development (LED): Local economic development offers local government, the private sector, the not-for-profit sectors and the local community the opportunity to work together to improve the local economy. It aims to enhance competitiveness and thus encourage sustainable growth that is inclusive.
Neighbourhood Economic Development: Neighbourhood revitalization seeks to improve a neighbourhood's physical, economic, and social conditions to improve the overall quality of life and economic opportunities for neighbourhood residents.
Technology-Led Economic Development: Technology-led economic development fosters the development of new technology-based products and encourages the deployment of technologies to the private sector
Monday, March 2, 2009
So, You Want to be in Economic Development
Welcome to the boondoggle of Economic Development. It will frustrate you, empower you, challenge you, mock you, consume you and all before you’ve had your second cup of coffee. Are you sure you’re cut out for it? We asked a few economic developers to come up with a list of questions you should ask yourself before you determine whether this is the right job for you.
Are you willing and able to bear a great deal of responsibility on your shoulders? In economic development the good times and, particularly the bad times, rest on your shoulders. Have you created an environment for your community to grow? Did you do everything you could to attract the company that ended up locating in your competitor’s community? And, just for the heck of it, when are you going to turn this economy around?
Are you willing to sacrifice your lifestyle for potentially many years? This is especially true for communities just starting economic development. You will be called upon to attend every meeting and every event. You can be busy from 6 am to midnight, seven days a week. You will need to learn how to say no and how to ensure you are at the right meetings/events and not just wasting time.
Do you like all aspects of running a business? Because that’s pretty much what you will be doing as an economic developer. You will manage, you will budget, you will promote, you will sell, you will hire, you will fire. Depending on the size of your community, you will be the receptionist, the data entry clerk, the decision maker, the administrator, the finance guru and the HR specialist.
Are you comfortable throwing the playbook out the window? There are too many times when an economic developer has to make a decision quickly and efficiently. The “rules” don’t apply and you need to make sure you’re ready for any fall out that may happen. Your day is going to have very little structure and you will be making decisions with limited or no guidance whatsoever. You better make sure it’s always the right decision.
How persuasive and well-spoken are you? Many aspects of economic development relies on selling – your community, your businesses, your stakeholders. You will continually be called upon to sell your community’s vision and mission. You will need to get people to believe in your vision as much as you do. Your presentation skills will need to be polished. You will be in the public eye and many times you will be the face of the community.
Still willing to become an economic developer? Well, then, hold on – it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
Are you willing and able to bear a great deal of responsibility on your shoulders? In economic development the good times and, particularly the bad times, rest on your shoulders. Have you created an environment for your community to grow? Did you do everything you could to attract the company that ended up locating in your competitor’s community? And, just for the heck of it, when are you going to turn this economy around?
Are you willing to sacrifice your lifestyle for potentially many years? This is especially true for communities just starting economic development. You will be called upon to attend every meeting and every event. You can be busy from 6 am to midnight, seven days a week. You will need to learn how to say no and how to ensure you are at the right meetings/events and not just wasting time.
Do you like all aspects of running a business? Because that’s pretty much what you will be doing as an economic developer. You will manage, you will budget, you will promote, you will sell, you will hire, you will fire. Depending on the size of your community, you will be the receptionist, the data entry clerk, the decision maker, the administrator, the finance guru and the HR specialist.
Are you comfortable throwing the playbook out the window? There are too many times when an economic developer has to make a decision quickly and efficiently. The “rules” don’t apply and you need to make sure you’re ready for any fall out that may happen. Your day is going to have very little structure and you will be making decisions with limited or no guidance whatsoever. You better make sure it’s always the right decision.
How persuasive and well-spoken are you? Many aspects of economic development relies on selling – your community, your businesses, your stakeholders. You will continually be called upon to sell your community’s vision and mission. You will need to get people to believe in your vision as much as you do. Your presentation skills will need to be polished. You will be in the public eye and many times you will be the face of the community.
Still willing to become an economic developer? Well, then, hold on – it’s going to be a bumpy ride.
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