New reports on economic development

I would like to draw your attention to two new reports on economic development in the knowledge economy. The first is a study of what universities have been doing successfully to promote economic development. The report A New Paradigm for Economic Development was written for the new chancellor of the State University of New York (SUNY) system by SUNY's Rockefeller Institute, but it's lessons are universal. I specifically like that it looks at the roles of universities beyond what is normally categorized as "tech transfer":

First, institutions and systems are advancing innovation-- new technologies, new processes, new products, new ideas-- in their local and regional economies. This focus on innovation sees university faculty and leaders thinking creatively about how to leverage their strengths in knowledge creation to yield tangible economic benefits.
Second, higher education institutions and systems are pursuing strategies to help employers prosper and grow. They do this by deploying their strengths in knowledge transfer-- through worker training, management counseling, help for startups, and other initiatives.
Third, higher education institutions are playing a more vigorous role in community revitalization. Many are a significant factor in the life of their home communities, and take that responsibility seriously.
Finally, higher education's most fundamental contribution to economic development lies in its traditional role: creating an educated population. The new economy is making the traditional academic mission ever more important.

I admit that the title of the report "A new paradigm" is rather old news and that the survey covers a lot of old ground. But nonetheless, it is a good compendium of information for those interested in the topic.

The second is a report from the Economic Development Administration A Practitioner's Guide To Economic Development Tools for Regional Competitiveness in a Knowledge-Based Economy. A shorter volume -- only 19 pages -- it covers four tools that are important in understanding and planning for a local knowledge economy:

•  Industry Cluster Analysis: With a useful set of 17 clusters, this tool helps the practitioner see networks of businesses that are creating wealth in their local or regional economy. This tool enables economic development professionals to define their own regions. As such, it represents a major advance in both the ease and flexibility of industry cluster analysis.
•  Regional Innovation Index: Businesses generate new wealth through innovation. Until now, economic development practitioners had no practical way to measure the innovation capacity of their local or regional economy. This innovation index represents a breakthrough in regional economic analysis. For the first time, professionals can examine the capacity of their economy to support innovative companies. Like the industry cluster tool, practitioners can design their own region by deciding which counties to include in their analysis.
•  Occupational Cluster Analysis: One of the major transformations underway involves the closer integration of education, workforce development and economic development. For many economic development practitioners, this shift opens unfamiliar territory to their practice. The occupation cluster tool provides fast insights into the talent base that drives a local or regional economy. With this tool, economic development professionals can begin to structure effective collaborations with businesses managers, educators, and workforce development professionals. Like the industry cluster analysis and the regional innovation index, the occupation cluster analysis is flexible. It starts at the county level, but practitioners can assemble their own regions by grouping individual counties.
•  Guidelines for Regional Organization and Investment Decisions: In the new world of economic development, collaboration matters, but it is often tricky. The guidelines for regional organization and investment decisions help leaders move forward as a region. These guiding principles provide frameworks for establishing investment priorities and making investment decisions. Unlike general guides on collaboration, these guidelines are designed specifically to meet the needs of economic development professionals who must structure investments among cooperating partners.

By the way, the data for these tools can be found at the Innovation in America's Regions website.