There is no doubt that a shift in economic development strategy from “smokestack chasing” to “nurturing an entrepreneurial garden” is occurring around the country. While we don’t necessarily like the term “smokestack chasing” because it’s misleading as to what the hard-working folks in economic development offices do (who isn’t excited about Hino Motors and other recent announcements?), we do think it is a healthy trend to invest more energy into creating an entrepreneurial environment where new 21st-century businesses can start here and thrive vs. putting all the eggs in the basket of recruiting large companies to relocate.

There is also no doubt that many regions around the world have bought into the “creative class” paradigm espoused by Richard Florida and others. While still not without criticism, to most people it seems logical that if highly educated, creative individuals in key 21st-century industry sectors can choose to live anywhere they want, it would behoove a region to improve its education level, diversity and tolerance, technology infrastructure and overall “quality of place.”

So what are other regions doing? Here is a brief list of some other creative initiatives that have launched around the United States:

• Michigan’s “Cool Cities” – A statewide initiative focused on building vibrant, energetic cities that attract jobs, people and opportunity to Michigan. (Hey, if they can steal all of our coaches, we can certainly borrow some of their economic development ideas.)
• Creative Fresno – Primary focus is on building a sense of community among Fresno creative sector workers so there is a larger chance they will “stick” in the city.
• The Idea Festival – A fantastic image-building and creative instigator effort in Louisville, KY.
• Creative Baltimore Report –  An analysis of Baltimore’s creative assets and how to build on them for 21st century growth.
• Grow Wisconsin Creatively – Lead by the Arts Wisconsin organization, it seems most similar to our current Create WV initiative. They have identified the following recommendations for their state:
  • Add Creative Industries to the current set of the Department of Commerce “Industry Clusters”.
  • Evolve current “Technology Zones” to “Innovation Zones” offer incentives to other members of the creative industry (advertising firms, arts incubators, etc.)
  • Inventory and support the creative economy assets and strategies that are already working in state agencies.
  • Engage local governments, regional economic development professionals, and industry cluster leaders in identifying specifically how the state effectively participate in the creative economy.
  • Support local efforts to make communities more attractive to the creative class.
  • Encourage communities to work regionally and to tie into the state’s regional development efforts such as the “I-94 Corridor.”
  • Assert the importance of and support educational programs that help students develop critical thinking and creativity.
  • Promote these efforts in targeted publications and to current creatives in Wisconsin’s universities, colleges, technical schools, and communities at large.
  • Promote to creative industry leaders throughout the country that Wisconsin already has significant, world-class creative economy elements – talented people, authentic communities, and world class educational institutions.

If you have other good examples of creative industry/new economy initiatives, please share them.