Last week we were introduced to the concept of Economic Gardening by a practitioner turned researcher from Colorado. Robin Phelps founded and directs Innovation Economy Partners in Denver and spoke at the annual Charles County Economic Summit in Waldorf. This year’s summit theme, “Harvesting our Own: Cultivating Growth and Job Creation from Within” was targeted at independent business owners, entrepreneurs, and business- and community-minded leaders ready to re-energize and explore new ideas and ways to collaborate and innovate together, and to pursue positive transformational changes.
The fundamental premise of Economic Gardening is to grow your own economic strength organically using the language and practice of gardening. The concept fit nicely with the summit. The case study used was the city of Littleton, CO where 8,000 jobs representing about half the city’s workforce disappeared 20yrs ago when Lockheed Martin closed a manufacturing plant. Using the economic gardening theory, Littleton was able to rebound economically, double employment and triple tax revenues while only increasing population by 25% over the ensuing 20yrs. They accomplished this without further incentives or tax breaks.
A strong hire, produce, sell, and buy local ethic is central to the strategy. Another essential ingredient is a focus on export-related work, relative to the city of Littleton. High value added occurs in the city proper through smart use of labor and materials while primary markets are found outside the city throughout the region, state, and beyond. Over time this raises the brand equity of Littleton, thus the appeal and future marketability. Many thanks to our sister county for recognizing the merits of this emerging economic strategy and exposing it to Southern Maryland.
While listening to this brief I was reminded of my own research into innovation. It’s now a few years old and examines the international enterprise of the semiconductor manufacturing industry, but the basic concepts apply. Like in gardening, innovation is messy and unpredictable. You must get your hands dirty and other factors like climate matter a whole lot. Often you don’t harvest what you expect. Sometimes you get nothing. But sometimes you get something unexpected. That’s innovation. My research argues that it’s possible to organize innovation. Th
