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� <br /> o Businesses of Current and Incoming Residents <br /> o Established Industry Clusters <br /> - Eliminate Silos and Barriers <br /> o Open up to regional best practices <br /> o Actives responsiveness to investor needs <br /> Our recommendations follow some tried and true maxims which are good for households, <br /> businesses, and government, alike: Failing to plan is planning to fail; you can't help others <br /> unless your own well-being is taken care of first; it takes resources to grow resources; educate <br /> yourself by interacting with experts — reinventing the wheel is never effective, and base decisions <br /> on current data, best practices. The proposed investment in the places, tools, and knowledge <br /> proposed tonight and found in our recommendations and white paper is how the EDC has <br /> expressed these basic principles in relation to economic development interests. <br /> Economic Development <br /> Critical Path Elements <br /> Places —Tools — Knowledge <br /> Like the mobius triangle, the three elements-Places, Tools, and Knowledge, inextreicably <br /> comprise the critical path necessary for economic development to take root and prosper. The <br /> more prolonged and shallower the implementation, the longer it will be before Orange County <br /> can increase revenues from the commercial tax base and the longer before the county can set <br /> itself on a healthy fiscal course. <br /> Before ANY economic development can occur, there must be a place for it to occur and the <br /> space must meet the needs of investor funding the business' growth or expansion. With there <br /> being a greater supply of sites and facilities than businesses demand, shovel-ready sites are <br /> seen as a given, with certified sites becoming the norm, more and more. Therefore, the sooner <br /> Orange County converts the unimproved land in the EDDs to certified sites, the sooner it will be <br /> transformed into a revenue-producing asset. <br /> The needs of individual businesses starting up, expanding, and coming into the area vary widely. <br /> To engage investors funding these start-ups, expansions, and relocations, local governments <br /> must have the tools and flexibility to retain and recruit. Again, there are more locations than sites <br /> and from a business point of view, economic development is a buyer's market, especially in our <br /> region. <br /> Third, our region is home to some of the most innovative, progressive businesses and leaders in <br /> the world. The State of North Carolina, the Research Triangle Regional Partnership, and local <br /> universities offer a wealth of data, analysis, best practice, lessons learned, expert, and creative <br /> knowledge — and the resources to take them from idea to implementation. Accordingly, we <br /> recommend that the county systematically and regularly engage with this readily available <br /> knowledge and expertise. <br /> The next few slides address specific actions Orange County should take to accelerate this <br /> critical path towards prosperity and economic health. <br /> Places: <br /> Shovel- and Business-Ready <br />