More Past History: The Role of Technology in Your Economic Development

Technology is good.

Innovation is great.

Applied technology even better than those.

and the combination of innovation, and perhaps several applied technologies, superb.

What is Applied Technology?  It may be easier to define what it is not.  It is not basic or research technology.  I think of basic or research technology as those activities that don’t have any particular commercial application in mind.  In my definition, applied technology is focused on some commercial application, an application where it can be “applied” to some problem that has enough demand for the results to make it commercially viable.

When you mix innovation with one or more applied technologies, add capital, and you have the beginnings of an opportunity to create a product, business or even an industry.

Where do these ingredients fit in the mix of your economic development strategy?

If these ingredients are missing from your strategy, you are missing a key differentiator in your economic development strategy from everyone else’s.  If you are not that concerned with being differentiated, then keep focusing on promoting your “low cost of living” and “a great place to live”.  Good luck with that.

Innovation and technology-led economic development can provide several long-term benefits.  They include job growth, income growth, tax revenue growth, encouraging higher education, curbing intellectual “brain drain”, better standards of living, encouraging entrepreneurship, raising standards of university and advanced training programs, increase of private investment and easing the task of incoming economic relocation.

This process is not one that can be implemented and achieved overnight.  However, it can start producing results quicker than most people realize. Startech has several case studies that show the economic growth over time. It is certain that if the planning and implementation isn’t started now, the end result will be farther away and more difficult to achieve.

What do we do?  We help you understand the achievable dimensions of your innovation and technology-based economic development strategy. Then we help you achieve the goals we set out.  We are aligned with your goals.

We deliver action, not a heavy report that takes up shelf space and gathers dust. The best analogy I can provide is that we provide economic development “Rapid Prototyping”. And we do it with people that are experts. Experts in how to create and grow businesses and industries.

If you can’t clearly state the role of technology in your economic development strategy, be aware that many of your competitor cities, counties, states, republics, or countries can.