Defining a New Development Agenda - Article
| Monday, 07 July 2008 | |
This is the first in a series of articles concerning technology, the knowledge economy and Ohio's future prosperity. The key ideas are based on a presentation that I gave in February 2005 to IT Works, Ohio which is working to develop a broad-based educational response to Ohio's need for a skilled information technology workforce. At the time, my focus was on a new learning agenda but many of the ideas seem to have broader applicability to the challenges of economic development. They also seem more relevant and significant in view of the unique confluence of transformational challenges that we are facing that are further magnified the current economic downturn affecting America and Ohio. In this article, I will provide an overview of what I consider to be some of the key transformational challenges in defining a new development agenda and subsequent articles will describe each in more detail. In his new book Supercapitalism, Robert Reich points out that over the 50% of the companies in the Fortune 500 were established in the 50 years from 1880 to 1930. The economic landscape of Dayton echoes a similar reality when one considers the “pillar” companies created during that period by Charles Kettering, James Patterson, the Wright brothers and many others. Their creative genius and entrepreneurial drive created the foundation for over a century of economic prosperity within the region that many now see coming to an end. During this period, the community drew much of its prosperity and growth as an “annuity” from the original investments by these innovative leaders. The broad challenge we now face is to transform to an “innovation” economy, to go “back to the future” and develop the new foundation of intellectual and capital assets that will spur growth and prosperity for the 21st century. In this transformation, we must find new ways of thinking, communicating, and organizing our efforts rather than simply continuing to improve the ones that we currently have and have had for almost the past century. For example, how can we develop a post-petroleum economy based on innovative, “green” solutions for energy generation that provides for continued growth? There are many transformational challenges in moving to a new development agenda for the innovation economy, but I have identified six that I believe are of particular importance. Subsequent articles will address each in more detail, not just describing them but outlining ideas and strategies on how we might start to successfully address them. The first is the demographic challenge. The current American population reflects a "boom, bust and echo" distribution, like many economically developed nations. The transition as the "boom" generation leaves the workforce and we enter the "bust" will drive the need for truly innovative solutions to enhance productivity, if we're to both service an aging population and maintain our current level of prosperity. The second is the need for innovations to accelerate and deepen the learning process. The workforce development challenge is to replenish the intellectual capital that is either leaving the economy through retirement, has not yet matured, or is emigrating to other countries such as China and India. The "guild" system that used to train new workers coming into many companies and corporation is unaffordable, like health care, and is breaking down or disappearing completely. Our educational institutions must now deliver workers "ready to go" and also find ways to quickly retool skills as circumstances change. The third challenge is how to continue to use our creativity to avoid being commoditized. The United States has been a leader in the development and introduction of new technologies, resulting in significant economic and social benefits that are now being challenged or eroded. There must be renewed focused on developing and harnessing the creative talent, starting at a much earlier age. The fourth area is developing a new infrastructure, one that is in synch with the accelerated rate of change of technologies, processes and institutions that are needed and that will affect our lives. This does not mean abandoning our current infrastructure but rather revitalizing, realigning and synergizing it with new capabilities integrating more sophisticated information and innovative insight. The fifth transformation is the redefinition of employment. As one example, there has been a dramatic growth of workers who are not employed by the company's for whom they are working. This has given rise to inherent uncertainties that could create the need for more protective legislation or government intervention. The last is the redefinition of the industrial structure. In one dimension, this is characterized by the shift in job creation from the large "pillar" companies which characterized Ohio's second frontier to small and medium-sized businesses. Albert Einstein said "You can never solve a problem on the level at which it was created." and in no case is this more true than dealing with the transformation we now face. We need to go beyond thinking to doing "outside the box". With this in mind, the next article will explore the demographic challenge related to a new development agenda. Your comments and input are welcome at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . Terry Rapoch is the President and CEO of daytaOhio. About daytaOhiodaytaOhio (www.daytaOhio.org), Ohio’s Wright Center for Data, is one of eight Wright Centers of Innovation in the state of Ohio funded by the Third Frontier Project and the only one focusing on information technology. daytaOhio’s vision is to use innovative visualization technology to improve human performance. Download PDF |