ECD

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There's also an option over there for newsfeeders is you want to go in that direction.

Why a Blog

Welcome to the Economic and Community Development (ECD) blog. We decided to start a blog as a way to communicate within our program area and to the rest of the world about our program area. So, if you are not an insider, here is a little primer. ECD is one of four program areas within Purdue Extension. If you have no idea what "Extension" is, start here. In ECD, we primarily do work in the following focus areas:

• Entrepreneurship
• Workforce Development and Community Learning Centers
• Community Planning and Visioning
• Community Leadership Development
• Public Issues Education

Hopefully this blog will be a useful tool to help us be more effective as we work with Indiana communities.

One-Stop Data Shop

Econdata.net is a nice little place on the web with pointers to lots of great economic data on the web. You can find data sources by lots of different categories - Demographics, Employment, Income, etc. Christine Nolan stumbled across this gem. Thanks Christine.

Telling Our Story

Here's a great idea from Pennsylvania. ECED Program Leader Tim Kelsey shares their best practice - At last week's CRED meeting in Philadelphia, we discussed the need to increase communication among ourselves so we better know what others are doing. In the spirit of that idea, I want to share one of the marketing ideas we've implemented here in Pennsylvania. Earlier this year, we started a monthly postcard mailing to all of our state legislators and county commissioners to increase the visibility of our programs. These focus on a specific program, and help the officials understand that Cooperative Extension has a variety of community issue-related programs. We have been receiving calls and queries about these programs, though we haven't determined the best method of evaluating their overall effectiveness. The postcards are part of a broader visibility strategy, which includes a statewide monthly economic and community development (ECD) e-newsletter, a statewide website, an active statewide calendar of ECD events, and some other printed materials.

The three postcards are for leadership (available here), workforce development (available here), and strategic planning (available here).

Elevator Pitch Resource for Entrepreneurs

The Burton Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship at Purdue has a great Wiki for entrepreneurs. There is some terrific content about developing great elevator pitches including a video from Guy Kawasaki.

Wisconsin's "Buy Local" Program

Wisconsin outlines a well thought out "Buy Local" program in this document. Local and regional food systems initiatives a popping up all over the place.

Demystifying Hoosier Entrepreneurs

Purdue Ag Econ Assistant Professor Maria Marshall wrote a great paper, Demystifying Hoosier Entrepreneurs (available here). Marshall surveyed a group of entrepreneurs to try and get a handle on some of their characteristics and factors of success. One of the most interesting findings was that in communities with a large retail store like a Target or Wal-Mart, entrepreneurs are 18% more likely to be successful in launching their enterprise. Marshall concludes that perhaps communities that can support a retail giant can also support small business.