Sunday marked a revolutionary step forward in the realm of online economic development. Economic Gateway, an industry-first Web system for Greater America, was unveiled at the 2010 MAEDC Competitiveness Conference and Site Selector Forum by Minnesota-based Web development firm Golden Shovel Agency and geographic information systems (GIS) company Applied Data Consultants, Inc. (ADC).
Key Economic Gateway features unveiled at MAEDC’s Competitiveness Conference and Site Selector Forum:
* Integrated EAGL-i GIS-Based Site Selector Tool
* Expandable and On-Demand Content Management System (CMS)
* Software as a Service (SaaS) Subscription Model
In a presentation entitled "Economic Gateway: Successful Regional Collaboration Online," Golden Shovel VP of Business Development, Aaron Brossoit, displayed how the growing need for smart, technology-based yet affordable economic development (ED) tools among regional ED groups has culminated in a Web solution that allows Greater America to compete in the global marketplace.
"Regional collaboration is critical to successful economic development," said Brossoit. "Economic Gateway allows Greater America to compete against metropolitan areas with more abundant financial resources and saves precious, limited resources by enabling member ED groups to easily take control of their online presence and quickly update content."
According to Brossoit, a branded regional Web site centralizes communication and facilitates shared resources while respecting the identities of the organizations involved. In addition, each member community will overcome the challenge that is faced when costly web presences need to be rebuilt within one to two years of creation due to obsolete content or technology. Economic Gateway solves the issues Greater American communities are facing with a low-cost, easily customizable and highly unique solution.
Co-presenter Lindsay Olson discussed the advantages and benefits that data reporting and GIS play in site selection. Olson is Technical Accounts Manager at ADC.
Brossoit’s presentation also featured a new Web portal with wind farm GIS map for the Northwest Kansas Regional Energy Collaborative (NWKREC). The NWKREC is a regional economic development group with a focus on promoting wind and other renewable energy as a means of increasing economic development in its region.
While NW Kansas was the first group to choose Economic Gateway, organizations in both Minnesota and Wisconsin have recently signed up and others are in process.
About Economic Gateway
Economic Gateway is a revolutionary new economic development Web system that brands Greater America online quickly at an affordable price. The system employs a Software as a Service (SaaS) subscription model and upgrades will continually occur as they are developed. As such, there will be no need to update the Web site or site selector tool in the future – it will always be state-of-the-art, saving organizations both time and money.
Information: http://www.EconomicGateway.com
About Golden Shovel Agency
Golden Shovel Agency is a Minnesota-based company specializing in Web solutions for economic development. Golden Shovel brings over 10 years of experience combining Web technology and design expertise to present communities in their best light and is located in Little Falls, Minn.
Information: http://www.GoldenShovelAgency.com
About Aaron Brossoit
Aaron Brossoit is a partner and Vice President of Business Development at Golden Shovel Agency with 10 years experience in community development markets, specifically travel & tourism, economic development and government. Brossoit’s client portfolio includes dozens of communities across the Upper Midwest, the Mall of America, the Minnesota Zoo and a key role in NorthlandConnection.com. The 6000+ page economic development Web portal was a winner of the Economic Development Association of Minnesota’s top state technology initiative in Economic Development and the National Association of Development Organization’s Innovation Award.
Information: http://www.GoldenShovelAgency.com/about-us/team
About EAGL-i Site Selector Tool
The EAGL-i (Economic Advantage Geo Locator Interface) tool is a product of ADC and provides an easy-to-use interactive mapping interface that allows viewers to quickly access information without having to leave the Web page.
Information: http://www.adc4gis.com/EAGL-i
To read the full, original article click on this link: National Site Selector Forum Sees Birth of Greater America Online
