By Dean Whittaker The Bloomberg Philanthropies, to stimulate innovation in government, conducted an Idea Accelerator Workshop for our community, Holland, Michigan, on how to take an idea and turn it into a reality. The workshop was preparation to apply for the Mayor’s...
By Dean Whittaker A shift is underway in the mission of economic development organizations. Growth has always been the mantra, but now it is becoming about sustainability. Loss of population is now becoming a major economic issue for many cities, regions, and states....
By Dean Whittaker This month I had the opportunity to participate in the Mid-America Economic Development Council/Indiana Economic Development Association joint Best Practices Conference in Ft. Wayne, IN. It was a great conference, well organized, held at an...
By Dean Whittaker There is a season for most things. Currently, it is the season of cultivating and planting. Gardening is a great metaphor for what we do in economic development and throughout life. Much of gardening requires preparing the soil, making sure it has...
By Dean Whittaker This month’s theme is, What’s Next? Earlier in the month, I attended the IAMC (Industrial Asset Management Council) Spring Forum in Tampa. It was an informative meeting and well attended. The keynote speaker was Peter Zeihan, a geopolitical...
