MVREDC Public Outreach Survey ? Pars Nova | Amsterdam, NY Blog

If you?ve got a few minutes and care about the ?big picture? of economic development in the Mohawk Valley region, please participate in the?MVREDC Public Outreach Survey. Here are my answers ?

1. Please rank the Mohawk Valley Regional Economic Development Council?s Strategies, according to their relative importance to the Mohawk Valley in 2012:

1. Innovation and?Entrepreneurialism
2. Business Investment
3. Workforce Training and Education
4. Region-wide Infrastructure Improvements
5. Strengthen Government and Civic Effectiveness (Including consolidation and collaboration)

2. ??? ?for the next five years:

Same as above

3. Please rank the following economic goals for the Mohawk Valley Region:

1. Create a culture of?Entrepreneurialism
2. Create jobs
3. Upgrade aging infrastructure
4. Education of Skilled Workers
5. Build regional identity and regional consensus

4. Please rank the following strengths of the Mohawk Valley Region:

1. Strategic?location
2. Post Secondary Education
3. Key Industry Sectors
4. K-12 Education
5. Diversity

5. Please rank the steps that need to be taken to transform the Mohawk Valley economy:

1. Increase opportunities for small business
2. Venture capital investment
3. Revitalize our urban core
4. Align education programs with our current workforce
5. Remove government barriers

My thinking is that focusing on small business entrepreneurs is the key to?jump start?the economy. These new business will attract more new businesses, create jobs and generate the increased tax revenues the government needs to rebuild the infrastructure. Education is important, but I think one needs to observe what new businesses are emerging first before we ask our schools to offer new programs. Entrepreneurs are visionary by nature, they are more inclined to see things as how they could be, rather than dwell on how things are now, which is exactly the type of people we need for this area.

Finally, I think it is worth noting that there is one loaded response here (in #1 and #2) ?where it is assumed that government consolidation is will increase government and effectiveness, even though we?ve yet to see any solid evidence that this is the case. Although it may depend on what we mean when we say ?effective?.

Discuss or share your own rankings in the comments section!

Source: http://parsnova.wordpress.com/2012/07/30/mvredc-public-outreach-survey/

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