Strap On Your Goggles: It’s a Whole New Game

Certificate in

Open Source Economic Development

“Economies are not just metaphorically

open systems, they literally and physically

are

a member of the universal class of open systems.”- Eric D. Beinhocker,

The Origin of Wealth: Evolution, Complexity and the Radical Remaking of Economics

“The future ain't what it used to be.”- Yogi Berra

For three decades now, we’ve been witnessing a steady trickle of plant closings andlost jobs, and it now seems the dam has finally given way as we struggle throughthe current recession. Company towns and lifetime job security are notions of thepast.At the same time, a different economy is emerging across the country. Unlike theolder industrial economy, this new

open source, networked

economy isembedded in smaller companies with unfamiliar names. These new companiesshare some common characteristics. They are flexible, adaptive, and connected. They innovate.Our challenge, as economic development professionals, is to not only understandthis innovation economy and embrace it but also to do begin doing our own workdifferently. For the foreseeable future we will continue to struggle with plantdownsizing and closings and in most cases, these changes will be unavoidable.At the same time, globally competitive regions will continue to have the potential toattract talent and support innovative companies and people. That’s whereprosperity will emerge and we need a whole new set of open-source tools so we caneffectively help our local and regional economies participate in the innovationeconomy. Toward that end, the University of Oklahoma Economic DevelopmentInstitute (OU/EDI) and the Purdue Center for Regional Development (PCRD) ispartnering to offer a new certificate course in

Open Source Economic Development

(OSED).Many communities are already successfully using elements of OSED and Purdue hasbeen incorporating OSED into projects with partners like the U.S. EconomicDevelopment Administration, the U.S. Department of Labor, the Edward LoweFoundation and other agencies and organizations. Some of the basics of OSED havebeen introduced in OU/EDI’s

Advanced Strategic Planning

course.

What You Will Learn

This comprehensive OSED certificate program will provide principles and take-hometools related to:

–Understanding the role of temperament in open networks

–

Linking and leveraging economic assets

–