Blueprint for Change: Business guru, David Gibson offers glimpse of state work on economic development

The state is working to revamp the certified communities program and the work force training act.

By Leslie McCartney of The Montana Standard

That’s according to David Gibson, the state’s chief business officer who heads the Office of Economic Opportunity. He offered glimpses into statewide development efforts at an Economic Future Task Force planning session Wednesday in Butte.

The task force, along with other groups, is involved in the Blueprint for Change effort. Blueprint people have worked for nearly a year to help improve Butte’s economic prospects with community participation, organization and planning.

Gibson said the certified communities program is being reworked to make it more effective. The program involved communities producing profiles and other information; they shared a $400,000 pot to help with expenses associated with the economic development. That means that some towns could have gotten $3,000 to $4,000 and more as part of the program.

However, efforts were scattered, and Gibson is seeking a more cohesive plan that organizes the program into regions, rather than towns.

Work also continues on the work force training act.

"We were the only state that didn’t have a state program for worker training," Gibson said.

With such a program, money is available to businesses that create new, quality jobs and wish to equip workers. Rules are being written on the $10 million per biennium program.

Gibson also discussed his office’s work in trying to build "clusters" in the state. The realities of the worldwide marketplace demand a change in Montana’s approach to economic development. This trend moves away from individual firms and toward inter-dependent collections of companies, or "clusters." Clusters gravitate to each other for mutual benefit.

An example can be the wood products industry. From sawing logs to building homes, nearly 400 businesses in Montana are in the wood products industry. And together they are more powerful than if they stood alone, flung into far corners of the state.

Helping those businesses to communicate with each other is one goal.

"We’ve got to do a better job of getting businesses to collaborate to effect change," Gibson said.

In Butte, an emerging cluster could be the aerospace industry.

Although Montana is a fledgling entry into the multi-billion dollar industry, adding more aerospace interests would benefit the entire state.

"To compete in the world market we have to have businesses work together," Gibson said.

At Wednesday’s meeting, the dozen people also discussed recent developments including plans to bring a business expansion and retention program to Butte.

The program, which is active in other Montana cities, helps in several ways but takes a comprehensive look at the strengths and weaknesses of businesses, examines common roadblocks to growth, identifies trends and patterns, among other outcomes.

At the most basic, the volunteer program involves interviews, databases and analyzation of data. The group hopes to being training soon.

http://www.mtstandard.com/articles/2003/09/18/newsbutte/hjjgjaibjbgfgb.txt