Economic development not as simple as it sounds

Published: Tuesday, March 01, 2011, 9:18 PM

It is an honor to be asked to contribute articles for Gulf Coast Business. The Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance is excited to join other Gulf Coast-region economic development organizations and economic development professionals in an effort to update our shared communities on issues of importance.

Future articles will endeavor to educate, inform and maybe even entertain. Hopefully they will be good reads and add value to the readers' business lives and/or personal lives. On occasion the articles might seem off topic or irrelevant. But in the end, if you enjoy reading each one and look forward to the next, it will have been a journey worth taking.

Economic development is a whole lot like life -- when you think you have it figured out, it changes, or kicks you in the teeth, or even rewards you with something special. It's not a science, it's not an art, it's not fact, it's not theory. In reality, economic development is simply a process, a process of increasing the standard of living in a community through a series of actions aimed at improving quality of life and increasing the flow of dollars within the community.

Great communities have great schools, churches, housing and support services; reasonable taxes; low crime; numerous recreational and cultural attractions; retail diversity; and exceptional infrastructure of all kinds, including, but not limited to, road, water, sewer, telecom/digital access, and again, social/personal support systems.

Unless the community is a retirement community, a military community, a bedroom community or a weekend/retreat type community, it must have jobs for its citizens. In turn, there must be a trained workforce to sustain local employers' needs for labor, and economic activity must be sufficient to generate taxes to fund needed services.

Sound like a simple process? Do you think you understand economic development now?

Watch out, a trip to the dentist may be in your future.

Robert Ingram is president and chief executive officer of the Baldwin County Economic Development Alliance. Contact him at 251-947-5714 or ringram@baldwineda.com.