ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY
“ I intend to observe how economic development practitioners and their partner networks work together to create environments conducive to attracting policy , budget , and business community support for their research-supported trials , testing and prototyping and their speed to market . Of interest is the navigation around or through roadblocks that turn economic development strategies and action plans into onground opportunities and quality outcomes .
As detailed below , I intend to observe how research , development and demonstration projects can accelerate innovation in the fields of clean energy , the built environment , and positively contribute to net regional exports . Of particular interest are industry collaboration , how research opportunities are evaluated and formed and the need for a committed industry partner or pipeline of funding .”
A very special thanks to Tracy Verrier , Executive Director of the Cayuga County Chamber of Commerce for organising and coordinating all of the study tour meetings and background information and introductions to her network . http :// www . cayugacountychamber . com /
PRACTITIONER VALUE
The opportunity to hear from other global economic developers cannot be underestimated . Engaging in active dialogue and discussion regarding topics such as Indigenous employment and their startup venture self-determination and the impact of Industry 4.0 are crucial and relevant for ED professional development .
A deep dive into digital technology applications and their positive transformation of government services gave insight into ‘ real world ’ smart cities applications . Case studies of small and medium sized manufacturers investing in software , supply chain tools and new equipment gave evidence of the positive benefits of automation and process improvement requirements in business .
The masterful use of data ( in Australia this is provided by a number of paid services such as REMPLAN , Forecast ID , Geografia et . al ) to better identify trends and to allow the practitioner to take the lead on youth programs , workforce retention , investment attraction and micro-business assistance provided relevant global applications .
Within the North American context , a strong current focus of policy and program ( formation and delivery ) is the empowerment of youth entrepreneurs and local youth retention efforts and novel investment platforms that allow government to partner with the local start-ups ( such as student investment funds ).
One stand out example at the IEDC Conference was a visit to the Ryerson University DMZ Incubator and Zone that boasts strong deliverables including over 300 businesses incubated and accelerated with nearly $ 400M in funding raised for the start-ups and close to 300 jobs created since 2010 . https :// dmz . ryerson . ca /
AMAZON HQ2 – INNOVATIVE ED STRATEGIES & THINKING REQUIRED
It is worth adding commentary on the mad scramble from the majority of North American economic development practitioners their boards of management , associated agencies such as chambers of commerce and commercial ED enterprises to organise their bid to attract the next Amazon headquarters to their regions .
An August 2017 email from Jeff Bezos , the Amazon CEO announcing that Amazon would require a site of 1,000,000 square feet that would eventually house up to 50,000 mostly white collar workers earning $ 100,000 ( USD ) per year sent the ED profession into a frenzy .
Formal bids were due in late October 2017 , and the IEDC Chairperson , Michael Langley informed me ( at the EDA National Conference in Ballarat ) that , most IEDC members would be submitting regional bids where their local government area jurisdictions needed to join forces for the purposes of scaling to suit the Amazon request .
According to IEDC , the successful region would have to demonstrate access to an international airport , a population catchment of approximately one million people , be an area of high amenity ( lifestyle , education , activity centres ), and have a highly educated workforce living in close proximity to the mega-campus .
It is believed that of the approximately 55 regions submitting bids , that only 16 will pass the first test of complying with Amazon ’ s minimum requirements . According to the IEDC , the Amazon opportunity is tough for economic developers to not invest time and resources in , even when the likelihood of success is almost zero for the majority of bids .
With the disruption of Amazon Web Services being launched on the global stage in 2018 , many regions
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