Check out the work of prof. Saras Sarasvathy on "Effectuation." It's the first academic description I've seen of what really happens in coworking; replaces colloquialisms like 'accelerated serendipity' with a full blown theory for incremental risk taking and exposure to like-minded stakeholders.
See my blog post on this – includes links to the original references: http://davetroy.com/?p=866 I am working with the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development on fleshing out these ideas and ways to make "effectuation" viral. Would be happy to discuss coworking + economic development with anyone off-list (or on). Dave -- Dave Troy meet with me: http://bit.ly/davemtg blog: www.davetroy.com (@davetroy) community: www.beehivebaltimore.org (@bhivebmore) investing: www.baltimoreangels.org (@baltimoreangels) events: @TEDxMidAtlantic, @barcampbmore, @socialdevcamp projects: www.twittervision.com, www.flickrvision.com Partner, Roundhouse Technologies On Fri, Feb 26, 2010 at 12:26 PM, Jeremy Neuner <[email protected]>wrote: > Thanks Alex, I agree that some case studies would be important in > validating the potential. Mike Schinckel from Ignition Alley/Startup > Atlanta contacted me off-list and mentioned that he's had some conversations > with some ED folks who "get it". He posed a really interesting question: > "have you identified yourself as a new breed of economic development > director by an identifiable name or perspective (I'm thinking of "branding" > here?)" I haven't (I no longer work for the city) nor do I know anyone who > has. But it's a really good idea. We've had enough informal conversations > to know that a range of people (elected officials, ED professionals, > commercial realtors, incubator managers, service providers,and even a few > stodgy VC's) are beginning to see a teensy bit of the light. > > Like Alex, I'd like to hear more from those of you who have tried (both > successfully and not) to engage, broadly speaking, in the economic > development conversation. I've found that people are generally receptive to > the idea. But when the rubber meets the road, the programs and policy > infrastructure simply do not accommodate our needs as a coworking space, nor > the needs of the members that we serve. Alex's example of Comcast is a > really good case in point. > > Okay, hope to hear more from the list on this topic. And I'm looking > forward to meeting many of you at SXSW. > > Cheers, > Jeremy > http://nextspace.us/ > > On Fri, Feb 26, 2010 at 8:32 AM, Alex Hillman < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> Jeremy, >> >> Sounds like we've been having a lot of the same conversations! We've >> always talked about IndyHall as a vehicle towards a bigger purpose, a slice >> of the pie, the pie being "Making Philadelphia a better place to make a >> living doing what you love". >> >> We've communicated with the city, as well as interacted with a number of >> ED entities. Many of them had agendas similar to yours: giant business/job >> attraction, minimal focus on retention, zero focus on small >> business/individuals. >> >> We have laws in PA that actually "prohibit" the city from creating >> gradated tax laws; everyone needs to be taxed the same. That is, of course, >> unless a giant company like Comcast comes in bringing a few thousand jobs, >> and then they get massive tax breaks from the city and the state. >> >> I've asked the Dept of Commerce "what kind of scale do we need to get an >> exception like that?" and they don't have concrete answers. I agree >> completely with Jeremy in the fact that there'd be a more stable tax base >> for them if they focused on the same number in smaller, individuals that >> have growth potential than a single company that could split town when their >> tax abatement is over. >> >> It's hard to state the potential until we have some cases studied, so if >> anyone else is doing work with their regions along these lines, I know I'd >> love to hear more!! >> >> Thanks for bringing this up, and great article Jeremy! >> >> -Alex >> >> /ah >> indyhall.org >> coworking in philadelphia >> >> >> On Wed, Feb 24, 2010 at 12:47 AM, Jeremy Neuner >> <[email protected]>wrote: >> >>> Hi All, >>> >>> Greetings from rainy Santa Cruz, California. There's been a lot of good >>> discussion lately about coworking as an economic development tool, including >>> at the "state of coworking" meeting a couple of weeks ago in San Francisco. >>> This is a subject that's been at the heart of NextSpace. Before starting >>> NextSpace, I was the city's economic development manager and my co-founder, >>> Ryan Coonerty, was the mayor of Santa Cruz (he's still a sitting city >>> council member and will begin his second term as mayor in November). So >>> we've always thought of coworking as "economic development by other means." >>> I'm eager to hear more stories (both successes and failures) about how >>> others in the coworking community have engaged their local/regional >>> governments, particularly economic development officials. I think it would >>> be really interesting to hear from those of you outside the U.S. as well. >>> >>> Also, Ryan and I just had an article published in American City & County >>> Magazine about how local/regional governments aren't doing enough to attract >>> and retain small businesses. And by "small business" we mean the 1- and >>> 2-person companies that many coworking spaces cater to (aside: I was shocked >>> to learn that a company can have upwards of 500 employees and still be >>> considered a "small business" by the U.S. Small Business Administration). >>> We argue that municipalities should, for example, try to attract/retain 200 >>> one-person businesses rather than one 200-person company. Of course, we >>> mention coworking as a potential strategy! If you're interested, you can >>> take a look at the article here: http://bit.ly/awOJO4 >>> >>> Meanwhile, thanks for all that you collectively do to ensure the success >>> of "real" small businesses.....! >>> >>> Cheers, >>> Jeremy >>> http://nextspace.us/ >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>> "Coworking" group. >>> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>> [email protected]<coworking%[email protected]> >>> . >>> For more options, visit this group at >>> http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. >>> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "Coworking" group. >> To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> [email protected]<coworking%[email protected]> >> . >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. >> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Coworking" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]<coworking%[email protected]> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/coworking?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Coworking" group. 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