Regional Economic Development

The most obvious answer to the question of what works can be summed up in one essential concept: innovation.

"The Agreements for Commercializing Technology will cut red tape for businesses and startups interested in working with our nation’s crown jewels of innovation, the national laboratories," said Energy Secretary Steven Chu. "This initiative will also strengthen new domestic industries by helping to bring innovative, job-creating technologies to the market faster."

We thought these three rural residents described three important sides of this story — how people decide to work on their communities; what rural development programs can do; and what is to become of federal rural development efforts.

Why do some regions thrive with innovation, while others do not? What levers can leaders pull to generate more technology-based economic growth?

Thomas Fisher, dean of the College of Design at the University of Minnesota, believes that we are undergoing an enormous change in "how people will live and work, in how businesses will operate, and in what services and support we will need from government."

"This report shows that every state and territory is working to advance clean energy and that states recognize the energy sector offers an opportunity to stimulate growth."

Knight Support Kicks Off Effort to Raise Funds for $15 Million Program Expansion

Women aren’t micro–so why do they only get micro-loans? At TEDxWomen reporter Gayle Tzemach Lemmon argues that women running all types of firms– from home businesses to major factories– are the overlooked key to economic development.

"The single most important question in the study is: What kind of manufacturing do we need in order to get full value out of our innovation strengths?"

At Harvard Business School, we are committed to pursuing ideas that have power in practice. The challenge to U.S. competitiveness has compelled the School to bring to bear this intellectual tradition rooted in applying sound management practices to solve large, complex problems.