Center for Regional Economic Issues’ third meeting focuses on keys to northeast Ohio’s economic growth
Region needs to improve collaboration, participants told
December 7, 2004 | For more information: Jeff Bendix (216)-368-6070
 Encouraging the creative arts and industries, supporting the development of sustainable businesses and business practices and fostering prosperity in inner cities will be keys to northeast Ohio’s future economic growth. But to accomplish these goals the region needs to do a better job of building collaborative networks among institutions, individuals and organizations.
That is the message Ed Morrison, executive director of Case Western Reserve University’s Center for Regional Economic Issues (REI) and a panel of speakers delivered recently at REI’s third “Making Change” conference. REI is part of Case’s Weatherhead School of Management.
“We need to move from a world of hierarchical organizations to a collaborative world if we are to prosper,” Morrison said. “Until now our major organizations and institutions have operated mostly in isolation from one another. We have to build connections.”
The area’s college and universities can play a critical role in fostering those connections. “Universities have the expertise, the leadership, the public spaces and the Internet infrastructure in place to create links within our region,” Morrison said.
To help that process along, REI has begun a collaborative network among institutions of higher learning that includes the University of Akron, Case, Cleveland State University, Kent State University, Lorain County Community College and the Northeast Ohio Council on Higher Education. REI is part of Case’s Weatherhead School of Management.
Other speakers at the conference included June Holley, president and founder of the Appalachian Center for Economic Networks (ACEnet); Laszlo Kozman, a managing consultant with the consulting firm Novomont Partners; Valdis Krebs, a Cleveland-based management consultant and developer of InFlow, a software-based organization network analysis methodology that maps and measures knowledge exchange, information flow, communities of practice and networks between organizations; and Jack Ricchiuto, author of Appreciative Leadership: Building Sustainable Organization. The SBC Foundation cosponsored the event.
Krebs illustrated the importance of networks with the example of the iPod. It was the result of a network of engineers, designers, manufacturers and distributors with Apple at its center. Only eight months elapsed between when the idea was first conceived and the finished product was on the market.
The conference also included breakout groups, in which participants addressed the questions of the creative arts and industries, encouraging sustainable business development and creating prosperity in the region’s inner cities. Suggestions from the breakout groups are posted on REI’s Web site at http://www.smartmeetingdesign.com/rei/index.php/Main/MakingChangeNovember15
REI will convene its next “Making Change” meeting in May 2005.
About Case Western Reserve University
Case is among the nation's leading research institutions. Founded in 1826
and shaped by the unique merger of the Case Institute of Technology and Western
Reserve University, Case is distinguished by its strengths in education, research,
service, and experiential learning. Located in Cleveland, Case offers nationally
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Law, Management, Medicine, Nursing, and Social Work. http://www.case.edu.
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