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If you're looking to understand what's happening with the American economy at the state and local level, let me suggest that you check out the 2018 Prosperity Now Scorecard, which
When working with communities to build entrepreneurial ecosystems, I’m often asked for the “secret sauce” to identifying successful entrepreneurs in advance.  I wish I had this power, but it’s sadly
Last November, I was fortunate to visit Estonia as part of the Startup Nations Summit, a global meeting of folks who work on public policies to promote entrepreneurship.  It was
I like the term Character Towns.  This is a concept coined by Bill Kercher, a planning consultant based in Florida.  He refers to Character Towns as small communities that direct
We spend much of our consulting work focused on helping communities diversify after they've faced some economic shock, such as loss of a major industry (coal or manufacturing), a natural
There’s been plenty of interesting research and news stories on the gig economy and related topics n recent weeks.  Instead of sharing the latest debates over Uber of AirBnB, let
America's rural regions often have a tough time developing home grown talent.  Because these places are smaller with a smaller absolute number of employers, they often lack the diverse array
Yesterday, I participated in a fascinating workshop from the folks at the Innovation Growth Lab.  If you don't know this group, you should get acquainted.  They are UK-based and affiliated
Thanks  to a family home in the area, I get to spend a good amount of time in Bucksport. Maine.  Bucksport is small Midcoast Maine town of nearly 5,000 people.
As regular readers of this blog know, I've been involved for several years on a major project to provide technical assistance to America's coal-reliant communities as they seek to retrain