In states across America, higher education institutions and systems are working to become key drivers of economic development and community revitalization. They are:
- Putting their research power to work by developing new ideas that will strengthen the country’s competitive edge in the new economy — and then by helping to deploy those innovations into commercial use.
- Providing a wide range of knowledge-focused services to businesses and other employers, including customized job-training programs, hands-on counseling, technical help, and management assistance.
- Embracing a role in the cultural, social, and educational revitalization of their home communities.
- And, most fundamentally, educating people to succeed in the innovation age.
Together, these trends suggest a new paradigm for economic development programs — one that puts higher education at the center of states’ efforts to succeed in the knowledge economy.
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Authors: David F. Shaffer and David J. Wright
