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Title: Lange and Cole host sessions at EG conference

Summary:

Mark Lange, the foundation’s executive director, and Gregg Cole, information technology research manager, spoke at the 8th annual International Economic Gardening Conference held June 17 and 18 in Tacoma, Wash.

Mark Lange, the foundation’s executive director, and Gregg Cole, information technology research manager, spoke at the 8th annual International Economic Gardening Conference held June 17 and 18 in Tacoma, Wash.

Sometimes referred to as a “homegrown” or “inside-out” approach to job creation, economic gardening focuses on helping existing, growth-oriented companies become larger. “We’re living in a period of exponential economic change, which means that economic developers and community leaders must serve businesses differently,” said Lange.

At the conference, Lange co-hosted a session with Chris Gibbons, who pioneered the concept of economic gardening in Littleton, Colo. The two discussed how this economic-growth strategy can be expanded to other communities with different conditions and economic factors. For example, GrowFL, a statewide economic-gardening program targeting second-stage companies, is now in its second year.

In a separate session, Cole presented YourEconomy.org (YE), the foundation’s online research tool that tracks business activity in local communities and across the United States. Cole discussed emerging trends that YE has identified, such as the impact of opening, relocating and expanding companies on jobs. “You could consider YE’s growth section as an economic-gardening index because it shows that, in most cases, existing, expanding companies have the most impact on job creation within regions,” said Cole.

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