[Vision2020] Palouse urged to develop identity

[Art Deco]

 Palouse urged to develop identity

* By William L. Spence of the Tribune | Posted: Friday, June 8, 2012 12:00
am *

PULLMAN - Quality of life may be an important characteristic of the
Palouse, but it's too vague a term to attract much attention from companies
looking to relocate, Boise developer Mark Rivers said Thursday.

Rivers, the CEO of Brix & Co., said if community leaders want businesses to
sit up and take notice, they have to be much more specific about the
strengths and opportunities that can be found here.

"You need to find your points of differentiation," he said, speaking to
about 50 people at a Palouse Knowledge Corridor seminar in the Schweitzer
Engineering Laboratory Event Center. "How are you different? How are you
better? How do you help create prosperity?"

Economic development is much different than it was 60 years ago or even six
years ago, Rivers said. Credit is tighter, businesses are making do with
less, so the rationale for relocating or expanding needs to be that much
stronger.

To be competitive in that world, he said, the Palouse needs to focus on
specific opportunities. It should create an identifiable brand, a calling
card like "Silicon Valley" that immediately tells investors what type of
industries the region can support - and elected officials need to adopt
policies favorable to those industries.

"You actually have to be the brand, you can't just say it," Rivers said.
"And I'm not talking about a logo or an advertising line. I'm talking about
having a mission and focus. What's your product and how do you do it really
well? How do you package it, sell it and support it? You have to create an
environment that makes you the most desirable place for certain businesses
to grow."

Although he acknowledged he wasn't overly familiar with the Palouse, Rivers
offered a couple of suggestions for opportunities the area might want to
pursue.

First, improving the level of cooperation between Washington State
University and the University of Idaho would yield enormous benefits, he
said.

"I think the single greatest economic development opportunity in this
valley is having to the two universities work together to make one-plus-one
equal three," Rivers said.

No doubt some level of cooperation already takes place, he said, but
strengthening the partnership has tremendous potential.

Based on their combined enrollment, WSU and UI would be the second-largest
university in the western United States north of San Francisco, Rivers
said. It's like "having eBay on one side of the street and Google on the
other. Working independently, we have two great universities doing great
things. Working together, the sky's the limit."

Second, on-campus or near-campus communities for retiring baby boomers "is
one of the hottest residential development trends in the country," Rivers
said. "I think you need to get real aggressive about that and do it right
away. It's something of an emerging business, so the ability of (Moscow and
Pullman) to get ahead of the curve and be a leader in this is pretty
exciting."

The cultural activities and lifelong-learning opportunities available in
university towns appeal to seniors, he said. And seniors, in turn, are a
very attractive demographic for communities.

One study by the Kauffman Foundation, for example, "found that more
businesses were started by people in the 55 to 64 age group than in the 20
to 34 demographic, by about a third," Rivers said. "It's a population
that's active, that's growing and that's entrepreneurial."

The Palouse Knowledge Corridor is a nonprofit organization dedicated to
promoting economic development opportunities in the region and fostering
public-private partnerships.

---

*Spence may be contacted at bspence at lmtribune.com or (208) 791-9168.*


-- 
Art Deco (Wayne A. Fox)
art.deco.studios at gmail.com
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