No not another Star Trek spin-off, but Stuart Rosenfeld traveled to the wintry climes of Minnesota to participate in the state’s 2009 Legislative Policy Conference entitled: “The ‘Next Generation’ Economy: Areas of Dynamic and Innovative Growth.”  Stuart gave a presentation entitled “Supporting & strengthening the knowledge economy”.  In the talk, Stuart talked about where Minnesota can invest to prosper in the global economy.  His recommendations included investing in: supporting sustainable clusters; higher education, particularly  community colleges;  innovation, including user-driven activities; arts & artisan-based enterprises; amenities and distinctive places; and, extending global connections  You can see Stuart’s entire presentation here.

A group of international experts on cluster-based economic development gathered in Burlington Vermont, September 21-24 in a meeting sponsored by RTS and the Ford Foundation.  The group discussed issues around clusters in rural, disadvantaged communities and how effective strategies can be devised that address not only economic development but social equity and inclusion and enivronmental impact–or what is being called the triple bottom line of development.   RTS is in the midst of a project for the Foundation in which several organizations are tasked with looking at different ways to approach the TBL. While RTS is looking at clusters, other groups are looking at entrepneurship, finance and supply chain development as ways to impact rural development in a triple bottom line manner.  In the coming weeks, we will be posting more materials from the meeting on this web site.  You can see a full participant list here.