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July 19-21, 2013
Hilton Chicago Hotel
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.

Preconference Courses: July 18-19, 2013
Professional Members’ Forum: July 22, 2013

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Transforming Local Economic Development for the New Global Economy

Mark D. Waterhouse (moderator) is president of Garnet Consulting Services, Inc., an economic development consulting firm. He is a certified economic developer, has served as chair of International Economic Development Council (IEDC); former dean of Oklahoma University Economic Development Institute (OU/EDI), president of Connecticut Economic Development Association (CEDAS), Pleasant Valley, Connecticut, USA

Rick Smyre is president, Center for Communities of the Future, Gastonia, North Carolina, USA

Barbara Johnson, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA

Scott Gibbs, is president of the Economic Development Foudation of Rhode Island, Cumberland, Rhode Island, USA

This session will provide an update on how the economic development business is adapting to new global trends and forces in order to fulfill its mission of assisting people to have a good standard of living; governments to have adequate sources of revenue; and businesses to have good places to operate. Panel members will discuss the growing need for transformation of the economic development process and practice, and the current directions that transformation is heading.

Highlights

Participants will leave this session understanding of:

  • The broad collaborative effort involving members of the International Economic Development Council, Center for Communities of the Future, the University of Houston's Future Studies Program, and others, to identify the most important issues and begin to formulate solutions for effective economic development in the future.
  • How the global economy is expected to change and what this means to your community?
  • How do we help the most people have a decent standard of living in an era of exploding automation?
  • How we can get community and economic development organization leaders and stakeholders to recognize that fundamental transformation is needed.
  • Will the reduction of economic disparities also reduce the motivation for terrorism?

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