Moving on with a new agenda for the County

Submitted by Ed Morrison on Tue, 02/21/2006 - 23:32.
The County's Blue Ribbon Task Force officially ended today, and we began the process of implementing the County's new economic development strategy. The County is taking an important step to support a new approach to economic development in our region: economic development that is privately-led and publicly supported.
 
We set out the strategy in the recently produced Blue Ribbon Strategic Action Plan. You can download the report from  the County's web site. 

   
The County is moving ahead with all five initiatives outlined in the Action Plan. 
 

Our consulting team will be focusing on implementing three initiatives: Cuyahoga Next Advisors, North Coast Clusters, and Cuyahoga Innovation Zones. You can download the presentation we prepared for today's meeting. Download.
   

 
The County has allocated $1.5 million to promote the implementation of these three initiatives.
   
The County's Invest in Children -- one of the most comprehensive initiatives for early child care in the country -- will be moving on a separate, but connected track. So will the regeneration initiative, New Start Partners and Cuyahoga Next Partners. (This initiative is tied to on-going discussions about a county wide redevelopment fund.)
  


Our next steps will focus on implementing the three very exciting initiatives ahead of us. Today, we requested participants to indicate their level of interest in the three initiatives.  Using this guidance, we will assemble smaller teams to assist us in designing each of these three initiatives.
  

With Cuyahoga Next Advisors, we will establish a working advisory team that builds a new dynamic of collaboration in the county. With North Coast Clusters, we will be developing procedures for a fast "design/build" cycle for new clusters in the region. With innovation zones, we will be developing new approaches to attracting investment to innovative companies forming around our colleges, universities and research institutions.
( categories: )

Cuyahoga Blue Ribbon Task Force- can public participate?

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Wed, 02/22/2006 - 11:07.

Ed - I've heard about this task force from you and seen a few mentions in the papers - now we have the report and I'll read through that - the Exec. Sum. looks good. Where do citizens fit in the the BRTF initiative - I don't ever remember seeing public information about meetings and such - are we part of the process or is this all top down?

Norm- This proces can best

Submitted by Ed Morrison on Wed, 02/22/2006 - 11:21. 
Norm- This proces can best be described as emergent. Good networks, Valdis teaches us, have strong cores and porous boundaries. That's the focus of our efforts. Finding a group a citizen advisors who can form a strong core to implement new initiatives in economic development. The boundaries are porous. 


As we move forward, the networks will expand. 


We should recognize the County as the innovator here. They are trying something new.

But how do we weave with BRTF?

Submitted by Norm Roulet on Wed, 02/22/2006 - 12:10.

I agree about the state of networks, but also see value in a concept raised at a recent I-Open of weaving networks. If the BRTF has a plan, isn't it time to include the public in both making the plan better and implementing? Are there town meetings planned - feedback and input mechanisms - can we volunteer and recommend people for the task forces?

 

You know we are a community of people who want to participate in the economic development process and whenever made into a game with players and spectators the community turns on the home team  unless they win the whole series.

This is Good News

Submitted by William on Thu, 02/23/2006 - 07:51.

Hello Ed,

 

I am glad to see this project move forward.