Another out-of-town consultant notices the sucker sign on the map right over Fayetteville, Arkansas, and rushes in to feed at the trough

Please click on images to ENLARGE photos from Tuesday night's economic summit in Fayetteville, Arkansas.



The Morning News
Local News for Northwest Arkansas

Fayetteville Launches Economic Development Workshop
By Skip Descant
THE MORNING NEWS
http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2008/10/14/news/101508fzeconwkshp.txt
FAYETTEVILLE -- A great site, reliable electricity, access to transportation and cheap labor used to be the recipe for economic development. Some places still try to use that mixture, experts say.
But in today's "knowledge-based" economy, the ingredients for job growth -- and indeed, the growth of a region -- are the people.
"It's not so much about creating jobs, it's about creating human capital," Eva Klein, an economic development consultant who specializes in working with university communities, told business, civic and community members Tuesday night.
Because in the delicate matrix of economic development, the variables today are people, place and promotion, Klein said in her introductory meeting with the Fayetteville community. The city spends the rest of the week meeting with focus groups to establish what sort of economic-growth strategy it wants to take.
Growing smart quality workers is important, Klein said. But an economic development strategy must consider place and how to create a place that attracts people.
"When you have knowledge and you have mobility, it means people have choice," she said. "Smart people will go to where smart people want to be."
And when thinking about growing a region, promoting the region is part of the picture.
"And I don't think you can promote small cities or counties," Klein said. "You have to promote regions."
"It matters now to be visible on a global scale," Klein told the Fayetteville City Council earlier in the day.
"People on the East Coast or Europe don't know the county lines in Northern California," she added. "But they know Northern California."
A successful strategy for Fayetteville must look beyond city and county lines and take in all of Northwest Arkansas.
"What we need is to have the competency on the one hand, and the sense of place on another (and make sure they're both) noticeable," Klein said. "And with a city of 70,000, that's tough."
During the evening session Tuesday night, residents wanted to stress some of their own concerns as well as ideas.
Larry Long, who's lived in Fayetteville since the early 1990s and operates a software development business out of his home, reminded Klein to not forget about the hundreds or even thousands of home-offices in the area. And maybe growing this sector should be part of the strategy, too.
"I have never heard of a city or area to have a strategy go after those people," said Klein -- herself a home-office worker -- and clearly marveling at the idea. "What a strategy for Fayetteville."
Another possible strategy often mentioned in relation to tomorrow's knowledge-based jobs is the so-called sustainability sector, where communities grow high-tech products and services in areas like alternative energy. But in this high-speed world, Klein said, don't dawdle.
"You have to hurry up, because I believe all my clients are on to that," Klein said.

AT A GLANCE

Economic Development Assets and Weaknesses
The Fayetteville City Council identified the following strengths and problem areas:
Assets
• Climate
• Natural beauty
• Library
• University of Arkansas
Weaknesses
• Low tax base
• Infrastructure not keeping up with growth
• Perception that Fayetteville is not business-friendly
Source: Staff Report