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The Food Corridor
I’ll confess to a little fatigue with various shorthand business pitches for companies such “Uber for XXX” or “Amazon for YY.”  (My personal favorite, “Fitbit for Cows,” is an actual
Flexible Retirement and the Gig Economy
In today's America, if you want to be a freelancer or gig economy worker, you need to make a basic trade-off.  You get freedom, independence, and (hopefully) more money in
Supporting Coal Regions in the West
When we think about America’s coal economy, we typically first think about Appalachia.  But, the reality is that most coal in the US comes from the West—from regions in Colorado,
Philanthropy and Rural America
As budget cuts hit essential government programs for community development, we all need to be searching for other sources of investment capital to support local economic development and workforce initiatives.  
Social Impact Bonds: An Update
A recent Brookings piece on the use of social impact bonds in Colombia prompted me on a little research project to examine what’s been happening in this space since I
Economic Transition and “Deaths of Despair”
As regular readers of this blog know, I can get going on a good rant over the near absence of any kind of economic transition support for displaced workers in
Appalachia on the Chopping Block
One of the unintended consequences of the Trump Administration’s horrific “skinny budget” plan is that it has prompted some deep media and think tank dives into understanding the many benefits
New Downsides to the Gig Economy?
An interesting new article in Strategy+Business examines another potential downside of the gig economy.  It seems that many business sectors operate with business models that are not well suited to
Join us at NAWB!
If you plan on attending next week’s National Association of Workforce Boards conference, I hope to see you here in Washington DC.   I’ll be participating in the entire event and
Entrepreneurship in Small and Rural Communities: Webinar Today!
This is late notice, but I encourage you to sign up for a webinar later today on the topic of building entrepreneurial ecosystems in small and rural communities.  I'll be