| Little research has been conducted into future trends and issues that may affect the practice of economic development at the county level. This study examines trends and issues at the county level and finds that several trends in five general areas are likely. These include a continued move to a new economy with a focus on increased technology utilization by industries, increased globalization, and increased need for information infrastructure in communities; an increased focus on quality of life factors and sustainable development issues like land use; continued importance of local economic development strategies like retention and expansion, and marketing; continued importance of workforce development issues like training existing workers, the unemployed, and high-school students; and, an increased likelihood of the use of performance measures for financial incentives.;A Modified Delphi technique was utilized for this study. An expert panel of local economic development experts was identified and participated in three rounds of the Modified Delphi. The study focused exclusively on trends and issues that might affect the practice of economic development at the county level in Ohio for the time period 2001--2005. |
