During 2009, Providence & Beyond focused exclusively on the local and regional economy. We will continue with this same focus for 2010 and, absent a stunning turn-around, 2011 as well. In effect, Providence & Beyond is becoming an “institute” on strengthening the local and regional economy.
 
The March 18, 2010 cafe, technically our first in the 2010 series, will focus on the “Practice of Change” in the context of moving people to:

• Think differently
• Develop new links and networks
• Take action aligned with strengthening local economy

Submit / Suggest Content for the Cafe

The content for the “Practice of Change” cafe will come from real-world “change cases” in which P&B members participated, and we need your suggestion or, better yet, submissions.

The project or effort should have something to do with the local or regional economy. It could have succeeded or failed or done a little of both.

More on submitting a change case (plus, Robert's take) after the jump --->  

If you have a suggestion or submission, leave a comment that:

• Describes a change process or practice that moved people to embrace the next local or regional economy. What did you do to achieve the results?
• Describes a change process that didn’t work. What were the aims? What did you do? What do you think contributed to disappointing results?
• Describes a current issue, problem or situation that inhibits change toward embracing a local or regional economy. What are the dynamics driving the resistance?

To kick start the conversation, here is Leaver’s take on the next local and regional economy:

A synopsis of some of the ideas I put forward in P&B in 2009 

You can build from or challenge my local or regional vision or you can put forward your own. 

The economy will be integrated with these four historical economic characteristics blending and morphing in new ways:

• What things do we make?
• Where do we grow and distribute local food?
• How do we serve people?
• What experiences do we create for people?

Caveat: there is not now, nor will there ever be, a separate creative economy, knowledge economy or sustainable economy. The only economy there has ever been or ever will be has something to do with one or more of: making things, serving people, growing food, or creating experience. That said going forward these four economic building blocks need to be infused with a mix of creativity, knowledge and sustainability.

Further, the next economy will be…

• Less about jobs provided by a company and more about creating work and wealth via self employment and creative groupings of self employed people in temporary, project-based “companies”
• Driven by entrepreneurs working at various scales and in diverse disciplines
• Local and regional in nature with trading across municipal and state lines