"Harnessing The Digital Economy"

A Concept For Economic Development in the Twenty First Century

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

It is proposed that the Southeastern Region of the Economic Development Administration work in collaboration with the Center For Communities of the Future and one local economic development / chamber of commerce organization in several Southern states to create a national demonstration project to design , develop and implement the idea of using the Internet and entrepreneurial networking as a context for innovative methods of local economic development for the 21st Century.

The Internet and future concepts of electronic infrastructure will be the focus of economic development in the 21st Century. Interactive multimedia and the so-called information highway are enabling the formation of a new economy based on the networking of human intelligence. In this digital economy, individuals and enterprises will create wealth by applying knowledge creatively to manufacturing, agriculture, and services. The rules, dynamics, and requirements for vitality and even survival in the digital frontier of this economy are all changing.

The scope and size of economic issues in the 21st century will demand the internetworking of human intelligence. Today we are witnessing the early, turbulent days of a revolution as signification as any other in human history. Only those communities which understand the new context of an increasingly fast-paced, interconnected and complex society will be able to manage economic challenges effectively.

In the past, local economic developers focused on the need to build physical infrastructure in order to "recruit" jobs from other regions. This technique of economic development peaked in the 1980's as a methodology of economic development and will lessen in the future as the economy becomes information based and electronic infrastructure allows people to live anywhere they want and provide the value of work assignments.

The very nature of economic development will be transformed to respond to structural changes in the organization of the society. As the average age increases, retirement communities will become a value added economic asset. As global competition increases the ability to collaborate and work together will become essential for economic success. As the fast pace of this competition increases, smaller businesses and business units will be needed to "anticipate" the marketplace. As information workers offer their capabilities from throughout the world, the ability to think creatively and use knowledge to develop innovative ideas for economic opportunities will demand the use of internetworked human intelligence.

As a result of these and many other presently undefined factors, local communities will need to establish a new approach to economic development, The need to "anticipate" economic opportunities based on trends (often short lived) will require a new mental model for how local business and industry prepare for 21st Century. This same need will require new skills for local economic developers.

Not only will economic developers need to understand the changes in the economy, they will need to understand the overall restructuring of the society in order to help facilitate local firms as "partners in collaboration." The ability to think creatively will become as important as the ability to market industrial parks. The ability to anticipate trends in the society and guide local entrepreneurs in dialogue creating new product and service ideas will be as important as offering financial incentives. The skill of knowing how to network sometime competitors in processes of collaboration will become as important as knowing how to present economic information.

The Internet will allow "partners" to collaborate in the creation of new ideas for economic opportunity , quickly developing and implementing strategies which respond to increasingly short product and service life cycles. Fundamentally new principles, concepts, methods and techniques will be needed by local economic developers to insure the long term health of any local economy.

The fact that there is no framework of precedents or an accepted model by which to operate in a 'digital economy' demands pilot programs to test out new approaches to 21st Century economic development using the Internet and innovative techniques for the use of knowledge to create appropriate economic opportunities within a "anticipatory future" context.

A national demonstration project which networks, in collaboration, diverse local economic development organizations in several Southeastern states into a 21st century economic development laboratory" would allow experiments in how to create new fundamental processes. Each community involved would emphasize common principles and, at the same time, work on specific projects tailored to the interest and need of each local area.

PROPONENTS CAPABILITY

The Center for Communities of the Future is a leading national force in addressing the organizational and systemic changes that communities will face as they enter the new century. The Center has been instrumental in advancing the idea of process leadership and consensus democracy throughout the nation. The President of the Center for Communities of the Future, Rick Smyre will provide the overall project strategic facilitation. Mr. Smyre has a background in the textile industry and has experienced first hand, transformations of the traditional southern economy. These experiences have equipped him to assist in providing insight to regions seeking to prepare for the economic opportunities that lie ahead. Mr. Smyre is a nationally recognized futurist, having presented at many state and national conferences, most recently the National League of Municipalities Conference and the National Association of Community Leadership Programs Conference. He has led the center's innovations in the design of Interstate "network groups" to introduce new 21st century ideas into the thinking and operation of local community's.

Strategic Concepts Inc. will serve as agent for the center for communities of the future.

York Technical College will serve as the financial administrator of the overall project. York Technical College has extensive experience in managing and administering grants from state, national and private foundations.

PROBLEM

Four communities from across the Southeast have been recruited to participate in a "network group", a concept of internetworked collaboration created by the Center for Communities of the Future. The following communities will be participating in a three year project to develop new approaches for local economic development in a 21st Century digital economy. Each community has identified a key idea which utilizes different applications of the principles of electronic infrastructure and entrepreneurial networking. Three communities would use funding for two purposes: a) providing computer servers for a community electronic network b) one staff member for facilitating and coordinating each project.

One area in rural Georgia, Worth County, expects to use the money for a planning grant to design a New Century Community which integrates the idea of a new type of retirement community based on neo-traditional multitype housing with telecomputing to include telemedicine and other electronic services. This idea focuses on the economic development potential of such a concept for rural areas.

The following are specific "digital economy" project ideas for each of the other communities:

• Central Carolina Choices (York Technical College) - the focus of the York, Lancaster, and Chester regional effort will be to bring together diverse community organizations utilizing combined databases to develop the necessary training for developing a 21st century workforce by employing 21st century technology.
• Somerset, KY (Pulaski County Economic Development Foundation)- the focus in Somerset is to build an "entrepreneurial network" of five small and diverse business that will work in collaboration with an economic development staff facilitator to :

A) Search the Internet for new societal trends and ideas related to the economic sectors served by one or more of the participating companies;

B) Conceive new products and services which will use "value added as needed" from each participating organization;

C) Identify "value added" not available in the community to support the new product or service idea;

D) Use the Internet to find other firms in the world which can provide "value added" needed;

E) Work with collaborative software to develop a comprehensive business strategy which will provide the product/service.

• Georgetown SC (Georgetown County Economic Development Council)- the focus of the Georgetown County project would be to develop a "community network" which emphasizes information flow among all citizens and public and private organizations in the county. The intent of this network would be to develop a combination of web pages, educational opportunities and chat rooms to optimize the industrial growth and international eco-tourism opportunity of the region. In addition, the framework of such an electronic network would be designed to insure that local citizens are involved in understanding the trends of the future in the society. Is so doing, Georgetown County would be able to adapt the mental model of its citizens and insure an increased capacity to anticipate the impacts of change. This capacity for constant adaptation will give Georgetown County a competitive economic advantage compared to those communities that resist change.

PROJECT IMPACT

The expected economic impact for each of the communities will be:

• An ability to provide instant economic information for all local business education institutions and organizations who utilize the local community electronic infrastructure.
• The development and refining of "entrepreneurial networking" innovations, emphasizing the ability to develop new product and service ideas as a result of collaboration within a framework of future trends
• An ability to leverage the knowledge gained in each project by sharing the information with all participating communities.
• An ability to increase the capacity of each local community to improve its work force capacity for 21st skills and to improve the adaptability of those citizens and businesses involved in each project.

The budgetary components reflect the need to :

• provide strategic facilitation for the overall "network group" by the staff of the Center for Communities of the Future.
• training for local project facilitators
• Funds for planning and implementing local "process projects"
• Funds for basic computer servers
• Funds for "capacity specific"consulting (ie, building community networks, design concept)

It is expected that the local communities will require $50,000/year ($30,000 local project coordinator; $5000 project expenses; 3 communities will require $15,000 computer equipment, the 4th $5,000 computer equipment and $10,000 Consultant for planning and design); plus $35,000 for strategic facilitating by the Center for Communities of the Future.

Total Projected Budget utilizing block grant funding methodology:

Four Communities @ $50,000/yr $200,000

Center Communities of the Future $ 35,000

Total Expense $235,000

EDA Portion $155,000

State/Local Match $ 80,000

TOTAL $235,000

PROJECT BENEFICIARIES

Currently our society is becoming increasing divided into the have's and the have not's in terms of technology. With the diversity of the scopes of the outlined projects there should be a benefit to all ages, genders, races and socioeconomic segments of the communities served by the proposed National Demonstration Grant. The ultimate beneficiaries will be the citizens of the communities where the implementation of future process planning will help to reinvent the way economic development is practiced. It is incumbent on economic development practitioners to study the trends of the coming new century and facilitate the process of the communities they serve in developing a strategy that anticipates those changing trends. It would be expected that with this, rural communities that lead the approach to economic development that "Harnesses the Digital Economy" can experience a revitalization previously unrealized.

Technology has the potential to reduce the disparities that currently exist in terms of economic power between rural and urban areas. These projects will work to leverage the knowledge gained through the process to help rural communities and their citizens across the nation.