Regional Economic Development

Oklahoma’s Board of Regents has outlined a clear agenda that reinforces the state’s economic development strategy.

Maybe a small town won’t be a good fit for your next facility, but you’ll be missing a bet if you don’t at least check it out. Who knows? It might open your eyes to a part of the country that’s been right under your nose all the time.

"I’m here to tell you that many of those who travel and tour are not going to be those from California, Oregon and Washington," Huntsman said. "They are going to be from Korea, Japan, China and Singapore, where disposable incomes are on the rise. . . . So we either capture this new generation of those who will travel or tour, or we cede that business to our neighbors, in which case they win it and they have more revenue to build better schools."

"I’ve been involved in Utah and Utah economics for the last 15 years, and I will tell you I don’t think there has been a more important announcement in 15 years as far as economic development is concerned," said Lane Beattie, the chamber’s president and chief executive officer. "Probably one of the key factors to make any business successful is we must invest in the future," said Mark Howell, chairman of the chamber’s board of governors and executive vice president at Wells Fargo Bank. "We can’t just worry about today, but we have to look forward."

Among other info: Nine Idaho universities and two research centers have formed a coalition to focus attention on Idaho’s need for a biotech infrastructure that can attract new businesses to the state and keep the brightest of our science graduates in Idaho.

Government economic development programs rarely have lasting benefits — for the simple reason that they run counter to good business practices.

The new interest in growing your own tech jobs is based on two facts: People who work in technology, even rank-and-file technicians, are paid much better than their non-tech counterparts; and the old style of economic development, luring out-of-state companies with low taxes and low-interest loans, no longer works.

Americans, increasingly weary of coast-to-coast, big-chain sameness, want places that express their communities’ personalities

This course is recommended for business owners, managers and anyone thinking of starting a business or expanding an existing business.

Excellent update on economic development in Washington State