Regional Economic Development

Although state efforts reach back to the 1950s, the technology-based economic
development field still relies heavily on oral tradition to convey what has been
learned, and as one former official put it, “I am not aware of any formal
training/academic programs for the directors and associates … except for on the job
learning.” This resource guide serves as a starting point in transferring the collective
knowledge of the field to a written form that will be useful not only to those new to
the field, but also to those with more experience.

Proposals in the areas of education, health care, social insurance, science and technology, tax policy, energy, and saving policy are particularly welcome.

"To maximize our strengths in this increasingly global environment, governors must partner with the business and academic communities to ensure state policies complement and reinforce private sector innovation," said Gov. Napolitano. "The Innovation America task force provides an outstanding forum for these groups to work together to enhance our economic competitiveness."

http://www.nga.org/Files/pdf/06STATESECREG.PDF

Put a group of bright thinkers in a room to advance economic development in their city and they just might dream up something called an Innovation Institute

Entrepreneurship little affected by policies, SBA study shows

The MTA is implementing a process to build the culture of innovation in Mississippi by creating statewide public-private partnerships and a statewide angel network, training entrepreneurs in attracting investor capital, helping high-tech manufacturers improve their bottom line and accelerating university research commercialization.

This paper is a “call to action” for the nation’s governors and business and
education leaders to combine that understanding with an appropriate sense of urgency —
and to turn the nation’s high schools into a path toward economic success for all students.

“If we come up with a viable plan for providing intercity public transportation, it would give residents of the Bitterroot and the other areas involved in this study potential additional options for going back and forth to Missoula and cities in between. And obviously that has some benefits for air quality and congestion on U.S. 93, and it also gives people a way to save money.”

NATIONALLY, FOR EVERY DOLLAR a working family saves on
housing, it spends 77 cents more on transportation. For some, commuting to suburbs costs more than monthly mortgage