𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗗𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 Organisations 𝙙𝙤𝙣’𝙩 𝙟𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙞𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙢𝙨.

𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘥𝘦𝘧𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦.

Here’s the behaviours I’ve seen from 𝘣𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘦 economic development organisations:

𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗼𝗯𝗷𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗴𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻: Best practice economic development organisations are economic development cheerleaders, nerds, animateurs, deal makers, entrepreneurs and innovators. They take their remit and push it hard. They want to win for their communities.

𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗶𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗤𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: Best practice economic development organisations prioritise excellence and continuous learning, ensuring our strategies are always evolving to meet new challenges.

𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝘆 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁-𝗟𝗲𝗱 𝗔𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵: Best practice economic development organisations focus on understanding and responding to economic and market needs, rather than simply offering pre-defined products or services.

𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗼𝘂𝗿𝗰𝗲 𝗠𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: Best practice economic development organisations recognise that staff are the central resource, investing in comprehensive development and fostering a diverse mix of expertise.

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻: Best practice economic development organisations emphasise seamless service provision and strong internal and external communication to maximize impact and client satisfaction.

𝗜𝗻𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗣𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆: Best practice economic development organisations believe in market-testing ideas and ensuring their implementability, moving beyond mere inventiveness to true innovation.

𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗕𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹𝗼𝗽𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗱𝗼𝗽𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗿𝗴𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀:

• They achieve enhanced performance and effectiveness, going beyond just program implementation
• They foster strong external relations and partnerships, leading to more holistic solutions and improved client access.

𝘠𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘰𝘰 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘻𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘵-𝘭𝘦𝘥 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘳 𝘧𝘰𝘤𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘮 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴.

How do I know all this stuff? well – I did a Ph.D. on “best practice in economic development agencies” and since then I’ve worked in the field for 27 years!

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𝗦𝘂𝗯𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲 to the economic development executive’s toolkit at: https://economicdevelopment.world/toolkit/