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Here is a video of the High-Tech Entrepreneurship Academy that was a partnership of North Central Indiana high schools, Purdue University, the Purdue Research Foundation, the Purdue Research Park, and Indiana WIRED. Here is a link to a previous post about the program.
The Handbook on Citizen Engagement: Beyond Consultation provides some very practical guidance for developing strategies to engage citizens in setting priorities and in making decisions. Written by Amanda Sheedy at the University of Toronto, the handbook gives both guidelines and examples for designing a civic process. You can download a copy here.
"How to Make Collaboration Work" is another helpful guide to designing a civic process. This book is a bit more abstract, but its models are very helpful.
The knowledge economy is the new mantra for communities in the global economy. Research laboratories, universities, think tanks, venture capitalists, industries, institutions, and individuals are more interconnected across the geographic and political boundaries than it used to be. Being part of the knowledge web or not determines the survival and success in the new economy. In this regard, it is important for communities to assess their knowledge economy capacity.
Many efforts have been undertaken in USA for indexing and doing a peer-to-peer comparison for the knowledge economy and a few noted ones are by the Progressive Policy Institute’s new economy index for states and metropolitan areas (see here).
The study of knowledge economy requires some unique data, which is often not available at the sub-state or metro level. Researchers have often created proxies using existing and derived data to measure an aspect of the knowledge economy.
The county-level assessment of knowledge economy in Michigan by the Michigan State University Community and Economic Development Program is one such effort. Leveraging the existing data from public sources and the state departments, the report studies the following at the county level.
The counties are ranked by 16 indicators and the unweighted average of all the ranks determines the overall knowledge economy index. The mapping and spatial patterns reveal that counties performing high in the overall knowledge economy index are clustered so are the counties performing low on the knowledge economy index. The specialized and lagging counties are forming regions. The contrary is also true. There are isolated counties which have scored pretty high on the knowledge economy index and hence are “leaders” as defined by the researchers. These are islands of knowledge specialization.
Such kinds of county level mapping provide important insights. The regions of knowledge specialization might not match the metropolitan area boundaries that are primarily based on the job-to-work commuting patterns. Such research could be useful for providing insights to the regional leadership. Access the report here.
According to well-known columnist Neal Peirce ("Citistates")the discourse on the nation's crumbling infrastructure is beginning to heat up, with pressure coming from Governors of some of the most populous states (California, Pennsylvania and New York), planning groups such as the supporters of the America 2050 initiative, as well as politicians and investment bankers.
In fact, just about anyone can see that what is needed is a pro-active policy towards infrastructure development and maintenance, rather than a reactive, "fix it when it breaks" approach. Technology today offers advantages such as road surfaces that deaden the sound of traffic, sidewalk and parking area surfaces that allow rainwater to pass through into the aquifers, "smart" roads, new options for mass transit and on and on. Yet as Peirce describes it, the Federal role in assisting states and localities to vamp up their infrastructure and take advantage of these advances has grown steadily smaller. It's something that we all need to think about. Go here to find out what Neal Peirce thinks.
A new report report from the Brookings Institution argues that Canada and the U.S. should work together with the aim of creating a common market by 2030 for the states and provinces in the Great Lakes basin. The Buffalo News carried an article on the report here.
You can download the report from this page: The Vital Connection: Reclaiming Great Lakes Economic Leadership in the Bi-National U.S.-Canadian Region.
John Austin, author of the Brookings report, will be speaking at the PCRD annual conference in Indianapolis on April 16 and 17. You can read more about the conference and register on line here.
A new federal report outlines the top priorities for federal research in manufacturing: hydrogen energy technologies, nanomanufacturing, and intelligent and integrated manufacturing. Each of these areas has a potential for job growth and serving broader national interests. In addition, the report points out that these three areas of research are interdependent.
The report, released by the National Science and Technology Council, is designed to highlight areas of manufacturing research that are likely to generate high returns for the national economy. The report, starting on page 73, outlines some of the workforce issues facing the future of manufacturing. The authors start by outlining the main conclusions of the 2005 Manufacturing Skills Gap report of the National Association of Manufacturers:
In its 2005 skills gap survey of more than 800 manufacturing businesses, the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) found that 81% were experiencing “severe” (13%) or “moderate” (68%) shortages of skilled workers overall, and 90% reported shortages of skilled production employees.
The report goes on to outline the skills needed by tomorrow's manufacturing workers:
To operate a modern production facility, manufacturers require workers with adequate preparation in fundamentals such as mathematics, science, reading comprehension, and writing; strong workplace competencies, including computer literacy, teamwork, and critical thinking; and technical competencies in areas such as quality and process control, supply chain management, and integrated production systems. Manufacturing workers may also need to develop specialized skills tailored to specific jobs, industrial needs, and technology requirements...
Manufacturing skills certification is one of several steps toward ensuring an adequate supply of “knowledge technologists,” a term coined by management and quality pioneer Peter Drucker. In future manufacturing operations, as well as in other sectors of the economy, Drucker predicted, workers will continue to engage in manual tasks, but their jobs will require a “substantial amount of theoretical knowledge which can only be acquired through a formal education, not through an apprenticeship.”
You can read more about the report here or you can download a copy of the report here.
