Regional Economic Development

Most of the major new economic development initiatives enacted by states from September 2003
through September 2004 focused on enhancing state and regional “clusters of innovation” — fastgrowing
groups of businesses that share markets, labor, new ideas, and products.

"In a global marketplace, those commodities operate with ever thinner margins," says Mark Drabenstott of the Center for the Study of Rural America. "So the real challenge for most rural areas is (getting) from a commodity economy to a knowledge-driven economy."

"How do we attract businesses that do exporting, that bring other people’s money back to Spokane?"

The state’s Office of Community Trade and Economic Development is coordinating efforts by the three cities that prequalified, Sanders said.

The bill provided that if investments in the fund missed an established rate of return – and if the fund’s own reserve account proved insufficient to provide the difference – investors could take a credit against their Utah taxes.

6) Look outside our borders for answers in order to utilize the absolute best practices for technology based economic development.

The Inland Northwest is a geographic region that comprises elements of four states, two Canadian provinces and over one million people. It has significant higher education assets, including two research universities, multiple private institutions, a regional university and a number of excellent community colleges. The region is also home to a federal laboratory, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, which conducts over $500,000,000 in sponsored research each year.

Johnson has a heart for doing things right at the ground level. He sees a similar pattern developing in growing North Idaho that he witnessed for 40 years in California.

"I’m not any smarter than the next guy, but I may have more experience," he said.

Growth has its way of eroding taxpayers if it’s not managed properly, Johnson said.

"We’re building a new strategy, eliminating a culture that did not get the job done."

The evolution of the North American ski resort has shifted away from more chairlifts and ski slopes. Resort companies looking for a solution to flat skier numbers are increasingly relying on real estate sales to bolster the bottom line.