Академический Документы
Профессиональный Документы
Культура Документы
Traded Clusters Traded Clusters Local Clusters Local Clusters Local Clusters
with Location with growth with Location with growth with wages
Quotient higher rates more than Quotient higher rates more than higher than
than 1.25 5% than 1.25 5% national wages
IInnovation
n Networks
s
TThe interactiion of the bu
usiness with each of the regional
r insttitutions affeects the busiiness’s capaccity to
innovate. Geenerally, the respondents had a positive view ab bout the rolee of various iinstitutes, enntities
aand support organizations in helpin ng the regionn to innovatee.
Most positive factors in the regional environment Most negative factors in the regional environment
Business Owners - Region’s overall quality of life and Business Owners – Level of taxation affecting
overall quality of higher education institutes. businesses and region’s cost of living for employees.
Economic Development Community – Region’s Economic Development Community – Availability of
overall quality of life and quality of technical required number of workers and availability of
assistance offered by regional colleges and workers in the region with the skills required.
universities to businesses. Banks – Level of taxation affecting business, State and
Banks – Overall quality of higher institutes and local governmental regulations and permitted
quality of technical assistance offered by regional procedures affecting businesses.
colleges and universities to businesses.
F
Figure 1 Partiial Agent Soccial Network
- Shortsig
ghtedness This la
ast part of th
he report briiefly describ
bes the majorr
learninng’s from thhe quantitatiive part of th
he project. A total of
- Recruittment, Retentiion or
nineteeen interviewws were con nducted for tthis project. T
The
Outsourccing
sectionns highlightt the main finndings fromm the discusssions
- Infrastrructure Barrieer-Housing
with the
t interview wees.
Thought Leaders Barrriers Faced
Accorrding to the O Organization for Econom mic Co-operration
by a Regiion
and Development
D t (OECD), am mong the OE ECD membeer
-Co-operration Awaren
ness but No
countiies, rural reg
gions face a number of ccommon chaallenges
Initiativee
that co
ontribute to weaker econ nomic perfoormance. Theese
- Differen
nce in the way
y economic includ
de: 1) out-miigration and d aging, 2) lo
ower educatiional
developmment agents, businesses
b
attainment, 3) lowwer average labor produ uctivity, and 4)
and bank ks approach economic
e
overalll low levelss of public seervice (OECD D, 2006). Ru
ural
developmment in region
n.
Kansa as shares theese concerns with nearly y any other rrural
rregion. Theree are no direect incentivees to create partnerships
p with busineesses in neigghboring cou unties.
SShortsighteddness from agents and lo ocal leaders when
w makin ng policies fo
or the region
n is another major
issue, as it grreatly affectss the ability of the busin
ness to predicctably expan nd, grow or even start inna
rregion. Businness recruitmment strategies fail to geenerate the expected success, as a company that is
aattracted witth economic incentives will w tend to move
m out th
he moment th hey find a beetter, cheapeer place
aand second, attracting a large emplo oyer in a smaall communiity increasess its dependeence on one single
eemployer.
AAppropriate housing is a big issue faaced by the communitie
c es. Some of th
he communnities have seeen
rrecruitment opportunitiees fail becau
use they coulld not find h
housing for b
business emp
ployees.
TThe various economic deevelopment organizations in the reg gion do undeerstand the iimportance of co-
ooperating wiith each otheer but also exxpress a reluuctance to leead the collab
borative activities. A strrong
ssense of regionalism is not
n evident anda few ties exist betweeen a county and its comm munities. Ann
eeconomic deevelopment agents’
a task is to create a positive
ccommunity forf businesses that could d help them grow and
C
Connectednesss Barriers
tthrive. But more
m often th
han not, the decisions
d an
nd policies off the
aagents are lim
mited by theeir view of thhe communiity, which P
People Barrierrs
eessentially has a cut off point
p at the county
c line. -L
Lack of succeession plannin
ng
CConnectedneess is highly y fragmented d in rural reg
gions due to A
Assets of the R
Region
ffactors of geo
ography, eco onomics, political bound daries, cultu
ure -B
Banks are im
mportant players
aand history. People and agents may know each other but th hey
-LLearning new
w ways to pro
omote
rrarely collaborate with each
e other orr work together in the
reegion
rregion. Lack of trust, lack
k of understtanding of thhe benefit an
nd
vvalue of netwworks, cultural norms, and
a ways of doing thing gs -R
Realizing neeed of network
king
aare some of the
t reasons forf this disco onnect. -R
Realizing com
mplexity of
p
problem
O
One common n problem fa aced by all thhe counties in the North h
C
Central regio
on is the incrrease in out--migration, resulting
r in a -Y
Youth interessted in moving
ng
b
back to the reggion
d
dearth of you
ung people in i the regionn. This makees succession n
planning g for retiring
g
businessses in the reg gion
Other Learning’s difficult..
-A region
n as defined iss not a Banks arre very impo ommunities. They
ortant playerrs in rural co
region are the first
f starting point for a n
new businesss who wantts to
-Regions can no longeer compete locate in
n the region.
being cheeap
Some coommunities aare learning g new ways tto bring people into
-Clusterss need to be reedefined the regio
on and to atttract new peeople to the rregion.
-Social networking
n ca
an reveal
Any region should v value the im
mportance of networking g and
deeper co
onnections in region
collaborating with o
one another aand understtanding the
-Rural deevelopment qualifies as connectiions and reso
ources that ccan be accesssed through
h
a wicked
d problem
networking. In using these resources, regions can bring in new opportunities.
The challenge in defining the problem is nearly as big as the problem itself. Regions realize the
complexity of the problem and realizing this is important in defining the issue and working on finding
a solution for the issue.
Many former residents who left the region to go to school or work are now willing to return to their
community because they either want to raise their families in a familiar environment or they have older
parents in need of care. This can be a big opportunity for the region if it is capitalized on in a timely
manner and addressed in the right way.
Most of the time a region is defined by geographical or political boundary lines that mark it. The
combination of a city, county, and state creates an administrative region but not an economic region.
Economic regions are defined by the way transactions and money flow takes place within a region. A
region is not a standalone entity that can survive on its own.
The regions can no longer compete based on cost of living and attracting new companies into the
region by offering them tax incentives, tax breaks, existing property and other facilities.
There may be other ways to cluster rural businesses instead of categorizing by the output going out the
door (traditional NAICS code approach) or through the skill sets of those employed (Occupational
Clusters). Other characteristics such as the business life stage, local vs. traded commerce, behaviors,
etc., are more meaningful in rural regions where the shared experiences and issues are the critical mass
rather than the specific economic activity in the region.
The social maps of a region can identify the relationships within the region including those between
organizations. Social maps can also pinpoint the holes that exist. Smaller communities are typically
marked by closely tied social networks because issues of trust and information usage arise when small
communities are asked for direct names of social contacts.
The issues raised in the following study attest that rural development issues can be complex,
incomplete, contradictory, and have changing requirements. Solutions to these issues are often difficult
to recognize because of complex social and technical interdependencies. Policy development, with
respect to distressed communities and/or rural communities, clearly qualifies as a “wicked problem”.
Many of the underpinnings that most rural communities were founded on have fundamentally
changed. These foundations will not be retrievable no matter how hard a community works to bring
back a simpler, more prosaic time
Project Introduction
Many Kansas businesses have not fully realized the flatness of the global economy and are ill prepared
to contend with global competitors. Professor Hargadon [1] states that successful innovators are not
necessarily any smarter, more courageous, tenacious or rebellious than the rest of us…they are simply
better connected. Unfortunately, many Kansas manufacturers, particularly those in rural communities,
are isolated from networks of collaborators and consultants and often unable to attract innovation talent
to their community that could help them compete for business in a global marketplace.
A 2004 study entitled, “Strategies for Sustainable Entrepreneurship [2],” cited investment in innovation
as one of its key policy recommendations. This study suggests most organizations and individuals are
deeply embedded in their own small worlds where the people, ideas, and objects with which they
interact are tightly connected. While these small worlds provide structure and stability, they also have
great gravitational pull in terms of tradition, market pressure and “not invented here” perspectives that
prevent inhabitants from gaining sufficient altitude to see new horizons. This limited world-view is an
innovation barrier.
The Progressive Policy Institute’s Report, 2002 State New Economy Index, found that Kansas’
innovation capacity was ranked in the bottom quartile of all states [3]. Some of this dismal national
innovation ranking is due to lack of in-house technical expertise. Though Kansas ranks third in the
nation in BS degrees granted/1,000 individuals, it only ranks 31st in the number of high-technology
establishments in the state [Kansas Inc.]. Consequently, many young Kansas engineers and scientists must
leave the state to seek employment.