Hunting vs. gathering has been around practically since the Stone Age but the age-old debate is getting a new spin in terms of economic development. The gathering is referred to as “economic gardening.” It is grounded in the belief that entrepreneurs drive economies more effectively than the traditional economic development practice of recruiting businesses and industries -- the hunting. Littleton, Colo., is proving that economic gardening works and healthy communities have a healthy base of entrepreneurs.

Chris Gibbons, Director of Business/Industry Affairs in Littleton, started an economic gardening project in 1989 with the idea that it was a better approach for Littleton than "economic hunting." Littleton has a population of 41,500 and is a suburb of Denver.

Gibbons will review what he’s learned and the results of community-based economic gardening in a free one-hour Web seminar (webinar) Thursday, Oct.8. He’ll discuss some of Littleton’s conclusions:

• A few fast-growing businesses drive job creation.
• The temperament of the CEO is one of the major factors in the growth rate of a company.
• Innovation and survival are most likely to take place at the “edge of chaos.”
• The culture of the community affects entrepreneurial activity.
• Increasing connections and the flow of information provide the greatest opportunity during periods of chaos.
  

"As many Iowa communities look at options for recovering from the recession, economic gardening and Chris Gibbons' comments may provide an effective approach to job, business and wealth creation," said Mary Emery, Iowa State University sociologist.

To learn more about the approach and evolution of economic gardening in Littleton, see http://www.littletongov.org/bia/economicgardening/.

The free educational webinar is from the Entrepreneurs and Their Communities section of eXtension (pronounced E-extension). For more information about eXtension resources for small businesses, see http://www.extension.org/entrepreneurship. The site has free learning lessons, answers to frequently-asked questions, news and a way to ask individual questions on “Ask an Expert.”

The Oct. 8 session begins at 1 p.m. Central Daylight Time. The webinar meeting room opens 15 minutes before the start time. Go to http://connect.extension.iastate.edu/ecop/ to view.

Entrepreneurs and Their Communities is an information resource developed by more than 300 experts from land-grant universities, agencies and other organizations. Iowa State University Extension faculty and staff are among the contributors.

eXtension, www.extension.org, is an educational partnership helping Americans improve their lives with access to timely, objective, research-based information and educational opportunities. Land-grant universities were founded on the ideals that higher education should be accessible to all, that colleges should teach liberal and practical subjects and share knowledge with people throughout their states.

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