Asset-Based Economic Development

Here's the first in a series of articles on Economic Development that I'm having published in a regional newspaper. It's bombastic and overdrawn but meant to elicit an emotional response and prepare the readers for part II (to be released next week).



A Time to Choose Our Future, part 1
By: Shawn Van Dusen
We’re living through one of Florida’s worst economic downturns. Jobs are scarce. Taxes are climbing. And the mortgage is due. But…St. Cloud is still a great, small-town community. With parks and churches, local restaurants serving good, home-cooked food, a beautiful lakefront and a proud heritage, our neck of the woods is a wonderful place to call home. And raise a family. Just not to work.
Our side of the county grapples with the real problem of not enough good jobs. If you don’t commute out of the area to work, your neighbors do. And every parent with children knows that there’s a good chance that your grandchildren might not be raised here. St. Cloud and Eastern Osceola County is one of the last undeveloped frontiers in Florida. We are one of the largest counties in Florida with the least development. We have a proud agricultural heritage that has been surpassed in recent years by tourism and real-estate—one industry that doesn’t produce high-paying jobs and the other whose workers suffer through the painful tides of the housing markets.
Today, right now, a bleak future stares us in the face. With the development of the new, large communities along Lake Toho, St. Cloud may be forever left behind as a desired place for people to live. If the next generation of business leaders and entrepreneurs don’t return from college to St. Cloud, don’t start businesses here and don’t raise families here, we will not continue to flourish as a community. We don’t have another 20 years to hope and pray that that outside industries spill into our city. If history is any guide, in 20 years we may be passed in community activity, shopping and entertainment facilities, education resources and job opportunities by the newer communities being developed right now along our city limits. Rather than rely on the industries and economic engines of the past, we should look to our natural assets, our skills, knowledge and resources as a community to help make a better, stronger region for years to come.

There is no major problem that cannot be resolved by the tremendous potential of our people and the resources of our community. We have a great concentration of industrial, medical and services knowledge and experience. Thousands of successful and highly talented men and women are in our business communities; colleges rich in possibilities for study and research; charities and philanthropic enterprises are many, and there are innumerable people of creative talent in the professions. We can plan and build for a better future.
Asset-Based Economic Development is a strategy that builds on existing resources—natural, cultural and structural—to create valued products and services that can be sustained for local benefit.
If we focus on the positive assets of our area, we can identify industries and services whose needs we best meet. What makes an asset-based strategy different from older economic development models is its direction: traditional economic plans focus on meeting the needs of the current business community to create more jobs and better conditions for existing business sectors. By diversifying our service and industrial base in St. Cloud, we could create more stable economic conditions for our neighbors and our families. That in turn would make St. Cloud a more desired place to live—directly boosting the fortunes of everyone involved in the real estate market in St. Cloud.
We have the courage and capacity to dream. We can reach out beyond our problems and dare to plan for a better future. We’re Americans and it’s our duty and our responsibility to improve our community for our children. Asset-Based Economic Development has helped communities prosper throughout America. Let’s use the natural and learned gifts and talents that we possess to make this a better place.

The discussion doesn’t end here--all theory and no substance. Next week, we’ll go over some practical steps on ‘how to do it’ highlighting the benefits and experiences from other communities that have improved their quality of life and economic conditions with this type of economic development. I’m a parent, like many of you are. At the end of the day, I don’t want to have to talk with my daughters by email because they were forced to move to a more progressive area for a good job. For any comments or concerns, I can be reached at (321) 441-3539 or svandusen@fortismg.com.