Hop on the Bus in North Carolina
September 7th, 2010With the kids heading back to school, my mind has turned to things educational. Readers with an interest in entrepreneurship education might want to check out North Carolina’s “Hop on the Bus” Competition. This project is statewide entrepreneurship competition for North Carolina’s high school students. Students develop a business plan, and particpate in a series of fun compeitions with a final state winner to be announced in December. This is a great opportunity for kids to learn about teamwork, discipline, financial and building a business.
A New Vision for the EDA
September 1st, 2010Yesterday, Commerce Assistant Secretary John Fernandex laid out a new vision for the US Economic Development Administration (EDA) at the annual conference of the National Association of Development Organizations. You can access his remarks here. I like much of the plan and it contains a lot of good ideas and approaches. The basic thrust is to get EDA more focused on supporting the development of “innovation ecosystems.” While there are lots of competing defintions, Fernandez sees three big components that are relevant to EDA’s work:
- A regional talent pool
- An innovation infrastructure that includes components like research parks and capital resources.
- Effective systems to support new business development and growth.
EDA’s new Jobs and Innovation Partnership will support regions as they build these ecosystems by promoting cluster development, research commercialization, and the sharing of best practices on technology-based economic development.
This is an extremely positive direction for EDA, but it also carries some risks. EDA’s core strength is that it does not promote a “cookie cutter” approach. Regions have varied histories, competitive advantages, and economic development challenges. The solutions that work in one region don’t always easily translate into other circumstances or communities. And, EDA has provided support for unique home-grown solutions. In particular, EDA has long been a lifeline for rural communities who may not be home to, for example, a local university that generates major technology commercialization opportunities or a vibrant venture capital network. As this new effort moves ahead, EDA’s leaders must be cautious to avoid “one size fits all” solutions.
The Latest “Debate” over “Industrial Policy”
August 27th, 2010“Goverment can’t pick winners or losers!” If I had a dime for every time I heard this statement, I’d be a rich man. This criticism seems to be dusted off anytime there is opposition to government economic intevention. The latest version can be found in the August 5th edition of The Economist which warns that industrial policy measures are on the rise again. This piece has already generated some critical responses from progressives, but I would argue, that in the US context, this debate is much ado about nothing. Many government policies tend to provide advantages to distinct industry sectors. In economic development, the most used subsidies—tax incentives—provide outsized benefits to capital-intensive sectors like manufacturing. The challenge for policy makers is not to “level the playing field,” but to ensure that today’s investments generate wealth and prosperity in the future.
Will Obama’s innovation policies achieve these outcomes? The jury is still out. Despite the protestations of The Economist and others, the Obama innovation program is not especially ambitious or radical. Major new investments have occurred via the economic stimulus, but many of these are one-time efforts. Other innovation policies are focusing on improving government transparency and openness and funding a wide range of innovation “pilots.” The challenge ahead will be to move beyond pilots to a sustained policy that supports innovation and competitiveness over the long haul. The history of US technology or innovation policy is one of two steps forward, one step back. An innovative new initiative is introduced, but is structured as a pilot project that is eliminated or cut back after a small initial investment. We don’t need more interesting short-term pilot projects. A more sustained effort that persists over time is needed. That’s not industrial policy, that’s investing for the future.
Expanding the Reach of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership
August 9th, 2010Before heading out for its summer recess, Congress was finally paying attention to the state of US manufacturing with efforts to pass the “Make It in America” initiative. While it’s nice to see manufacturing finally get some much needed attention, it’s still not clear how some parts of this initiative will really make a difference. It’s hard to oppose something like creation of a new Manufacturing Strategy Board, but previous Presidents have had similar bodies that did little but produce reports. As policy makers are tackling these issues, they should also take a look at how they can strengthen the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) program. MEP has existed for many years and is in the field providing support for small and medium-sized manufacturers. But, it could do a lot more. It needs to reach more firms and target that assistance to smaller companies. A new report on the future of MEP, “Renewing the Commitment to a Strong US Manufacturing Base: Expanding the Reach of the Manufacturing Extension Partnership,” offers a host of ideas on this front. EntreWorks Consulting helped produce this report in cooperation with our partners, the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness and Stone & Associates. The report also recommends that MEP provide more expanded support for innovation services. MEP has traditionally focused on helping firms with process improvements. This work needs to continue, but US manufacturers cannot succeed in global markets simply by being more efficient. They must be world-class innovators as well.
Policy Innovation on YouTube
August 2nd, 2010I recently had the pleasure of sitting down with Michael Shea of Arlington Independent Media for their Policy Matters film series. The series, which also appears on YouTube’s Policy Innovation Channel, is built around interviews with leading policy experts and policy makers who are engaged in new approaches to solving pressing societal challenges. Our interviews focused on a host of topics related to new innovations in the field of economic development. Current posted videos include the following:
- Local Economic Resiliency
- Innovation and Local Economic Growth
- The Need for Better Data on Local Economies
Happy Viewing!!!