Networking key to economic development

Ed Morrison, keynote speaker at the Governor’s Workforce Summit Nov. 19-21 at Boise Centre on the Grove, opened his presentation by taking a break. He encouraged attendees to meet one new person, set up a longer meeting, and subsequently “close the triangle” by e-mailing an introduction and short bio.

“The tools and skills of collaboration are very subtle and also very powerful,” Morrison said in resuming his presentation. Economic development “has to start with brain power.” He is a member of the Center for Regional Development at Purdue University and economic policy advisor for the Workforce Innovations in Regional Economic Development initiative in north central Indiana. He advocates a collaboration-driven “open-source economic development” approach.

The best networks start with the individual, branch out to people with whom that person collaborates regularly, include younger people considered future leaders, and are positioned to produce action plans, he said. Indiana officials have mapped these networks by region; the strongest regions have the largest networks and the strongest core groups, he said.

Morrison urged Workforce Summit attendees to think of economic development not merely as developing workers and pursuing strong companies that offer good jobs, but as managing the different types of money. “Good money” comes from the approximately one-third of businesses that bring in money from outside the area, he said. Local businesses trade “neutral money” that circulates around the community and strengthens it, but “bad money” leaves the community – such as when young people drop out of school or relocate to find work, he said.

“Your grandfather’s economy” produced many goods that people needed but was undercut by “collapsing costs” as markets became more competitive internationally, he said. A hierarchal approach and diminishing returns also dragged this model, he said.

A global, Internet-connected economy also has challenges but is in better position to sustain growth because of the power of networking and idea sharing, Morrison said. The amount of value created increases as the number of quality contacts made in a network increases, he said.

For example, Japanese automakers have flatter and more networked organizations than now-struggling U.S. automakers, and networking is one reason that young people have developed great ideas into ventures that they sold to big companies, he said.