Articles

The Michigan Upper Peninsula community of Keweenaw received a $65,000 grant from USDA to launch an economic gardening pilot by the Keweenaw Economic Development Alliance. You can read more about the grant from this article.

Here's a map. 

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Chris sent along this note through our Google Group.

We had the opportunity to spend the day with Takashi Yamamoto and Mr. Iuchi from Akita University this past Monday.  Takashi told us something interesting about who is seen as change agents in Japan:
 
  Wakamono  (youth)
  Yosomono  (outsider)
  Bakamono  (fool)

It's a helpful perspective on how change happens in an economy. It happens on the edges, not in the center. You can see this perspective in the work of John Hagel and others.

The notion that creativity and innovation takes place on the edge is also a core idea of social networks. The dynamic of creativity and innovation takes place where networks overlap and combine. It's the "weak ties" that matter.

Chris has sent along the Economic Gardeing Curriculum for the sessions at the Lowe Foundation in August. If you have questions, you can e-mail Chris.

ECONOMIC GARDENING CURRICULUM

• FOUNDATION OF THE PROGRAM
• Economic Gardening Introduction Video
• History of Economic Gardening
• Beliefs and Philosophy
• Commodity Trap
• Incentive Issues
• Supporting Data and Studies
• The Year 2005:  The Entrepreneurial Tipping Point
• TOOLS
• Core strategy
• Database Searching
• Geographic Information Systems
• Search Engine Optimization/Marketing
• CONCEPTS
• Temperament /Temperament in business
• Complexity Science /Systems Thinking / Networks
• Innovation on a Fitness Landscape
• Marketing in the New Economy / New Media Marketing
• Rules of Thumb
• RUNNING A PROGRAM
• Starting an Economic Gardening Program
• Getting Things Done in the Public Arena
• Economic Gardening Resources 

Eric sends along the Gathering presentations. Below are links to presentations from the 2008 EG Conference. I've put all of the presentations on Slide Share.
 
EG2008_Noreen Moore economic gardening conf 08.ppt
EG2008_Roy Powell- Practicing EG June2008.pdf
EG2008_Yamamoto-EGC.ppt
EG2008_Don Macke_CRE Steamboat.ppt
EG2008_Eric Ervin_Buzz Tracker Presentation.ppt
EG2008_Growing Local Economies-National EG Conference.pdf
EG2008_John Grace and Jane Robinson EG presentation.ppt
EG2008_Missouri- Eco Gardening presentation.ppt
EG2008_Network Kansas-Economic Gardening Conference.ppt
EG2008_NNMC Steamboat Presentation.ppt
EG2008_Rural Innovations - Chojnowski.pdf
EG2008_Tools_for_Business.ppt
 

Chris sends along his pictures here.

AGENDA

NATIONAL ECONOMIC GARDENING GATHERING

Co-sponsored by the RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship

Steamboat Springs, Colorado

June 12-14, 2008

Thursday—June 12
5:00 p.m.
Reception at Daughenbaugh Ranch

Friday—June 13

7:00 a.m.

Continental breakfast


8:00 a.m. 

Welcome and Introductions, Noreen Moore, Steamboat Springs


8:30 a.m. 
Announcements  

New initiatives in Economic Gardening

Eric Ervin, GIS Specialist, Business/Industry Affairs Department, City of Littleton, Colorado

Buzz Tracker software.  A demonstration of easily installed software that allows a company to monitor competitors, consumer comments about their products and other market intelligence on a daily basis.

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9:00 a.m. 
Don Macke, Senior Fellow, RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, Lincoln, Nebraska

Growing Entrepreneurs in Rural America.  This presentation will focus on the RUPRI Center’s field experience with specific rural communities that are building entrepreneurial business climates.  It will particularly draw from the Home Town Competitiveness entrepreneurial development framework and experience and will be full of stories on outcomes and how these entrepreneurial development systems are being built and run.

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10:00 a.m.  Break
10:15 a.m.
Noreen Moore, Business Resource Director, Routt County Economic Development Cooperative Steamboat Springs, Colorado 

Challenges to Economic Diversity in a Rural Resort Economy.  What happens when a historically commodity based rural economy is at the center of three macro economic trends?  Routt County is being impacted, within the county, by the  ‘the life style economy’ or ‘fourth generation economy’ which includes affluent retirees, part time residents and Location Neutral Workers.  Moffat County, our neighboring county to the west, is part of the extractive industry boom and all of us are being impacted by the reduction in the number of available service industry workforce that is created by both the aging of our work force and our immigration policies.  Connect all of these dots to housing costs that are becoming unattainable for the service industry and professional workers i.e. teachers, nurses and returning youth and we have a challenge on how best to maintain and grow a diverse community and economy

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11:00 a.m. 
Takashi Yamamoto, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Economics, Akita International University, Akita City, Japan
 
Endogenous Development Models and Economic Gardening:  A Case of an Entrepreneurial Farming Village in Japan.  A discussion of a possible link between entrepreneurship and economic growth at the municipality level.  A Japanese endogenous development model is compared with a European one, which both suggests that towns can create community-based economic growth maintaining local resources.  The Japanese model pays more attention to the contribution of entrepreneurs.  I relate endogenous development models to the economic gardening approach from the perspective of encouraging the growth of local business.  I introduce a case study of rural economic development Ogata, a Japanese farming village, which involved significant achievement by entrepreneurs.  I conclude that entrepreneurship matters in local economic development, because entrepreneurs with proper support mechanisms function as effective change agents in the economy. 

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Noon     
   
Lunch

1:15 p.m.
Jane Robinson, Economic Development Manager, Shellharbour, New South Wales, Australia   John Grace, Executive Officer, Regional Development Australia – Illawarra , New South Wales, Australia

EG in Shellharbour—Fair dinkum mate, we’ve been flat out like lizards drinking!  An overview of Economic Gardening as it gets translated down under.  Shellharbour and the Illawarra region have implemented economic gardening principles with an Australian twist.  Discussion of the two year old program.

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2:00 p.m.
Sharon Gulick, Director, University of Missouri Extension ExCEED (Extension Community Economic and Entrepreneurial Development) Program, Columbia, Missouri

Fostering rural Place-Based Economic Development. In late 2005, University of Missouri Extension undertook a place-based, as opposed to sector-based, approach to economic development through a new program entitled Extension Community Economic and Entrepreneurial Development (ExCEED). The decision to align the University’s resources was founded on understanding that University should and could be the champion, intermediary, convener and shepherd for collaborative approach to improve the quality of life for Missouri’s citizens.  ExCEED’s charge is to lead the development and testing of a holistic approach to place-based, collaborative economic development which is community driven and utilizes the entire spectrum of University resources.  While each participating community/region has unique needs and outcomes, they share common issues including: leadership capacity, team building, collaboration building, access to capital *(adults and youth), downtown revitalization, school system engagement, and research evaluation and analysis.  This session will look explore ExCEED’s experiences, models of engagement, lessons learned and results.

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3:00 p.m.
 
Break

3:15 p.m.
Kay Reynolds, Consultant, California Academy for Economic Development Partner

Tools for Business Success  is a centralized webfeed of current information that flows through local websites.  Over 250 pages of resources (funding, federal and state requirements, sustainable business decisions, disaster planning & recovery, etc.) are continually updated to give a community’s entrepreneurs the best information possible, whether they are just starting up or have been operating for decades. Because this information appears on web pages identical to the local host’s homepage, it appears that they have gathered and are maintaining the material.  The bottom line: cities, counties, chambers, SBDCs, and EDCs can provide up-to-date information to their entrepreneurs without taking staff time to research and stay on top of changes.

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4:15 p.m.
Burt Chojnowski, Fairfield Entrepreneurs Association

Web 3.0 and New Technologies for Rural Entrepreneurs.   An examination of  the tip of the iceberg - successful commercialization of new technologies in small towns and rural communities. We look at some examples of technologies that changed the world - from sliced bread to Web 3.0. Burt has lived in Silicon Valley as well as Silicorn Valley. You'll hear some stories from his back yard - about disruptive companies and technologies sprouted in the heartland that have had global impact. He''ll also reveal cutting-edge economic gardening strategies and secrets to creating a culture of creativity and innovation.

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4:45 p.m. 
Closing Comments for Day One

5:00 p.m. 
End Day One

Evening  
Dinner and conversation at Steamboat restaurants and bars

Saturday Morning --June 14
7:00 a.m.
Continental breakfast

8:00 a.m. 
Welcome and Review

8:15 a.m.  
Christine Hamilton-Pennell, President, Growing Local Economies, Denver, Colorado

Gaining the Competitive Edge: Strategic Information Needs of Small and Growing Businesses.  This session addresses the role of strategic information and competitive intelligence services as a component of a successful economic gardening program. What information do entrepreneurs need to grow their companies and how can you provide it? We will discuss case studies from several different economic gardening programs, as well as key tools and resources—many of them free—that are available to provide customized research services to small and growing businesses.

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9:00 a.m.  

Northern New Mexico Connect

Northern New Mexico Connect is combining the strengths of San Diego Connect with Economic Gardening. Here's an overview.

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9:45  a.m.
Break

10:00 a.m. 
Wally Kearns, State Director, Kansas Small Business Development Center Network, 
Topeka, Kansas
NetWork Kansas – Empowering Entrepreneurs Across Kansas.  
The presentation will provide a brief history and scope of NetWork Kansas.  NetWork Kansas is providing     comprehensive state level support infrastructure for entrepreneurs in both urban and rural communities. The session will provide specific information about the three pillars: Expertise, Education and Economic Resources, of NetWork Kansas.NetWork Kansas is possibly the most robust state supported entrepreneurship initiative in America today.

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10:45 a.m. 
Roy Powell, Director Economic Gardeners P/L, CARE Armidale, New South Wales, Australia
The Port Macquarie Initiative.  Regional development agencies in Australia have not been innovative in relation to the business development component of regional development.  Hunting was preferred among the major cities while the smaller centres were offered an occasional visit by a government business adviser.  2007 was a turning point with new economic gardening type programs under way in two (smaller) centres.  A desire to try the “new way” along with “gazelle councils/staff” prepared to try something new were critical.  I will outline the initiative in Port Macquarie.  The program is focused on small (turnover < $1.5m) businesses with personal attributes for business growth.  The thrust of the program was to build the business platform for growth, and develop the growth path through a 12 month program of workshops and individual advice.  The pilot program provided pointers for an improved program for 2008 and plans to broaden the range of businesses involved.

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11:30 a.m. 
General Discussion

12:00 p.m. 
Lunch

Afternoon 
Activities in Steamboat Springs and the Rocky Mountains

Chris Gibbons passed on the following announcements from Steamboat: 

We made several announcements at the beginning of the Steamboat conference that will hopefully be of use to other communities:

• Mark Lange of the Edward Lowe Foundation introduced their new “YourEconomy.org” database (http://youreconomy.org/) of entrepreneurial activity in local economies…..especially the gazelles or second stage companies (10-99 employees) that drive much of our economic success.  This site will be expanded throughout the summer providing an in-depth look at what driving every local economy in the country.  As communities compare entrepreneurial activity against each other, this database is going to change the conversation in economic development.

• Eric Ervin, with the City of Littleton, introduced our arrangement with SECO Financial which will provide mailing lists toLittleton companies.  In the past, this has been a monotonous (although important) task generating targeted mailing lists.  SECO’s web site makes it very simple for the business person to go in and with a few check marks (industry, size, location, growth rates, etc.) create their own list.  Littleton will underwrite the costs for our own businesses but we will be out of the list making business as a staff activity.  We have cut a deal with SECO to allow other communities to participate… with the idea that the more we get, the bigger the quantity discount we will all get.  If you want to participate, contact Eric Ervin at eervin@littletongov.org.

• We have created a jump start team consisting of a database research company, a GIS company and a web optimization company.  The purpose of this team is to contract with communities that are interested in starting an EG program but don’t have resources for a full blown project.  A community may only want to stick their toe in the water to see how the tools would work and if they are useful to their local business.  Or a community may want to hire the team to provide a turnkey start the next day….producing research and marketing help while the community builds its infrastructure (hire staff, buy software, get up the learning curve, etc.)  The team can work three months, six months, a year or whatever time period the community desires.  Or a community may not be large enough to need a full time program and only want to tap into these resources now and then for selected businesses….it can hire the team at various times during the year.  Contact me at chrisgibbons@q.comif you want more information.  (Please note that I have to do this off city time and equipment—thus the new address).

• We are also going to offer professional training in Economic Gardening tools and concepts at the Edward Lowe Foundation campus in Big Rock Valley, Michigan this August 15^th – 18^th.  I will teach these classes on the weekend (plus Monday) with the support of the ELF staff.  This will be a twenty-year brain dump over an intense three day period.  See attached agenda.  We will ask you to bring one business problem and one political problem to apply the tools to during the three days.  For details, contact me at chrisgibbons@q.com if you are interested.  If there is enough interest in the training, we will turn this into a certification course.  For those of you who indicated interest at the conference, we will be contacting you shortly with details.
• Finally, the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship (Don Macke and the RUPRI folks) announced that CRE and EG will formally work together.  CRE organizes communities for entrepreneurial activity and EG has the tools to implement.  We will encourage communities to go through both programs, starting with CRE’s Energizing Entrepreneurs training.

On our Google Group, Eric Ervin posted his presentation on Buzz Tracker that he gave at the Economic Gardening Gathering in Steamboat Springs. Buzz tracker combines a set of Web 2.0 tools to scan the Internet continuously. It creates RSS feeds (pipelines of specific content) and funnels them to you in an e-mail like application. Think of it as a very smart, automated librarian. 

You can download his slides here. 

During the Gathering last week, Burt Chojnowski mentioned a web browser that has different features from the normal IE Explorer, Safari or Firefox web browsers.

Flock provides some integrated "social web" features. You can learn more about Flock here.

You can download a free version here.

Here's the group weblog. Members of Economic Gardening Economies can post anything to the blog. Becoming a mamber is simple. Just type go here. Create a user name (usually your e-mail) and a password. Then you become a member. As a member, you have authoring permissions. 

You can attach files to your blog posts, if you like.

We'll build the site out gradually. We're all busy with our day jobs, but this site should add to our Google Group  to keep us informed of what's happening in the exciting world of Economic Gardening.

If you are curious about how this web site came to be, here is the back story.