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Praxis Strategy Group President to speak at the Annual School of Public Affairs Leadership Conference

By Dave Roby, March 8, 2010

Dr. Delore Zimmerman

The Center for the Study of Government and the Individual will be co-sponsoring the Annual School of Public Affairs Leadership Conference at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs on Thursday, April 8, 2010. The Center will be bringing in David Osborne and Delore Zimmerman.

David Osborne is the author of the best seller “Reinventing Government” and co-author of “The Price of Government: Getting the Results We Need in an Age of Permanent Fiscal Crisis.” He also served as senior advisor to Vice President Gore.

Delore Zimmerman, Ph.D., President of Praxis Strategy Group, is a strategy consultant with twenty-five years of domestic and international experience working with local and regional economic development groups, businesses and universities. He is the publisher of http://www.newgeography.com/, a website devoted to analyzing and discussing the places where we live and work. As a researcher he has been awarded eight Small Business Innovation Research awards to develop leading-edge practices and tools for use by development professionals and community leaders to work more effectively with entrepreneurs and to build competitive, innovation based economies in the global, networked economy.

The conference will be held on Thursday, April 8, 2010, 8:00am to 5:00pm.

To reserve a spot in the conference, please contact Jane Muller, jmuller@uccs.edu or 719.255.4093.

Praxis Strategy Group is a partner with the Flint Group

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Tags: Annual School of Public Affairs Leadership Conference, David Osborne, delore zimmerman, Economic Development, Flint Communications, Flint Group, newgeography.com, Praxis Strategy Group, Reinventing Government, The Price of Government, University of Colorado

North Dakota Making National Strides

By Dave Roby, January 25, 2010

It’s been an interesting 6-years for me in Bismarck-Mandan. One of the most exciting things to happen is the evolution of the perception of what North Dakota is on the national stage. When I was leaving Nebraska, my going away gifts included ice fishing poles, copies of the movie Fargo and other jibes about how cold it was going to be “On the Tundra”.

What a difference a few years makes for a state. In my mind, the beginning of the perception change started in August of 2006 when Joel Kotkin wrote a Wall Street Journal editorial about Bismarck-Mandan and North Dakota. That same year, the Bismarck Tribune was a headline story in the WSJ. From there, the media on North Dakota really took off. From TIME to Business Week to Outdoor life, to Forbes to broadcast media, Bismarck-Mandan and North Dakota are receiving positive attention from the national media.

Last week, CNN was in town to do a story on how North Dakota is utilizing its stimulus funds. And, here’s a twist to the national news. They are looking to find out more about why the Burleigh County Commission SENT BACK $9 million in stimulus funds. (Because we did not need it, maybe?) They are very intrigued with the idea that elected officials would actually turn down money. (And, still have a chance of getting re-elected.) They interviewed Commissioner Jim Peluso, made a trip to the Antelope Valley Power Plant and interviewed Governor Hoeven. We are awaiting word on the air date.

What’s the result of all this media? One, there is definitely an increased positive perception of our community and our state. For a long time, we didn’t have any image regionally or nationally. I don’t have any formal studies to back up my theory about the improved image. What I can tell you is that Chamber Execs and all my Public Relations friends from around the nation now ask about what is happening in North Dakota and why are we being successful.

Second, we are seeing more people than ever express interest in moving to North Dakota. When I first arrived in 2003, we maybe sent 5 or 6 relocation packets a month. For the last year, we have sent 30 to 35 packets a month. Not to mention that the hits on Bismarck-Mandan.com have skyrocketed to over 35,000 unique visits per month.

Third, look around your neighborhood. I’m betting you are seeing new faces from places outside North Dakota. We are one of the last places in America where home values remain stable, we have jobs available and it is possible to live at least some part of the American dream.

As we grow, one of the challenges is to what I call, “maintain the integrity of the community”. That is, we like to live here because it is safe, we know our neighbors, have good schools and short commute times. As you neighborhood changes, get out, welcome those new neighbors into the fold and help maintain our great quality of life.

The above is a guest blog by Kelvin Hullet, Bismarck-Mandan Chamber President on his perspective about North Dakota’s shifting national image.

Joel Kotkin is executive editor of NewGeography.com and is a presidential fellow in urban futures at Chapman University. He is author of The City: A Global History and is currently on tour for his book THE NEXT HUNDRED MILLION: America in 2050.

Joel serves as a Senior Consultant with Praxis Strategy Group a partner with the Flint Group

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Tags: Bismarck Mandan Chamber of Commerce, Bismarck Tribune, Burleigh County Commission, Cnn, Delore Simmerman, ecomomic development, Economy, Flint Communictions, Forbes.com, Governor Hoeven, joel kotkin, Kelvin Hullett, North Dakota, Praxis Strategy Group, quality of life, Time Magazine, Wall Street Journal

Red River Valley Research Corridor ~ Life Sciences Action Summit ~ February 19, 2010 Fargo, ND

By Dave Roby, January 20, 2010

Co-hosted by U.S. Senator Byron L. Dorgan and the Red River Valley Research Corridor. Fargo, ND, February 19, 2009

This year’s summit will focus on developing and strengthening the Red River Valley’s burgeoning life sciences industry. Presenters including entrepreneurs, financiers, researchers, and scientists from the region and around the nation will discuss and explore actions the region can and is taking to foster strong, sustainable growth in the life sciences sector.

More about the Life Sciences Action Summit

River Valley Research Corridor Action Summits

The Red River Valley Research Corridor and U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan work in cooperation with leading economic, science and technology-based organizations in North Dakota and the Great Plains region to organize action summits.

Action summits are high-impact conferences that have a razor-like focus on specific research and technology development opportunities in the region. The summits are intended to:

Facilitate learning, networking and collaboration in the region.
Connect with key partners in business and government from outside the region in a highly focused and purposeful manner.
Showcase science and technology-based capabilities and initiatives in the Corridor.
Engage key players inside and outside the region to put a focus on what do we do now and in the future to make the Red River Valley Corridor an epicenter of research, development and/or production in this particular science and technology field.

Previous Research Corridor action summits have focused on hydrogen energy, venture capital, radio frequency identification (RFID) technologies, polymers and coatings, life sciences, animal identification systems and unmanned aircraft systems.

The Red River Valley Research Corridor is an independent non-profit corporation committed to catalyzing and promoting science, technology and engineering initiatives that create new opportunities in the region

Red River Valley Research Corridor Coordinating Center

Dr. Delore Zimmerman, President & CEO of Praxis Strategy Group in Grand Forks, Fargo & Los Angeles, California was named to serve as the Coordinator. Delore has over twenty years experience working with companies in technology and information industries, universities and local development groups. Since its founding Praxis has been awarded 8 Small Business Innovation Research Awards.

Praxis Strategy Group is a partner with the Flint Group.

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Tags: Action Summit, Byron Dorgan, delore zimmerman, Dr Michael Kurilla, Flint Communications, Flint Group, Flint Interactive, G. Steven Burrill, Gregory A. Poland M.D., HatlingFlint, joel kotkin, Media Productions, Praxis Strategy Group, prime contact, Red River Valley Research Corridor, Research Corridor, SimmonsFlint, WestmorelandFlint

Coming SOON – Joel Kotkin’s book THE NEXT HUNDRED MILLION: America in 2050

By Dave Roby, January 18, 2010

THE NEXT HUNDRED MILLION: America in 2050
By Joel Kotkin

Release date: February 4, 2010. Published by The Penguin Press

Read more about The Next Hundred Million

In stark contrast to the rest of the world’s advanced nations, the United States is growing at a record rate and, according to census projections, will be home to four hundred million Americans by 2050. This projected rise in population is the strongest indicator of our long-term economic strength, Joel Kotkin believes, and will make us more diverse and more competitive than any nation on earth.

Drawing on prodigious research, firsthand reportage, and historical analysis, The Next Hundred Million reveals how this unprecedented growth will take physical shape and change the face of America. The majority of additional hundred million Americans will find their homes in suburbia, though the suburbs of tomorrow will not resemble the Levittowns of the 1950s or the sprawling exurbs of the late twentieth century. The suburbs of the twenty-first century will be less reliant on major cities for jobs and other amenities and, as a result, more energy efficient. Suburbs will also be the melting pots of the future as more and more immigrants opt for dispersed living over crowded inner cities and the majority in the United States becomes nonwhite by 2050.

The Next Hundred Million provides a vivid snapshot of America in 2050 by focusing not on power brokers, policy disputes, or abstract trends, but rather on the evolution of the more intimate units of American society—families, towns, neighborhoods, industries. It is upon the success or failure of these communities, Kotkin argues, that the American future rests.

Visit Amazon…
Visit Barnes & Noble.com…

Joel Kotkin is executive editor of NewGeography.com and is a presidential fellow in urban futures at Chapman University. He is author of The City: A Global History and is finishing a book on the American future.

Joel serves as a Senior Consultant with Praxis Strategy Group a partner with the Flint Group

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Tags: Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Chapman University, delore zimmerman, Flint Communications, Flint Group, Forbes.com, Joe Kotkin, newgeography.com, Penguin Press, Praxis Strategy Group, Red River Valley Research Corridor, The Next Hundred Million

Praxis Strategy Group’s Delore Zimmerman to speak at FM Chamber Regional Outlook Forum

By Andy Reierson, December 16, 2009

DeloreZimmermanShot Praxis Strategy Group’s CEO Delore Zimmerman is set to take the stage at the Fargo-Moorhead Chamber 2010 Regional Outlook Forum. The Forum takes place Thursday, January 14th at the Ramada Plaza & Suites from 7:30-9:30am. Zimmerman will be discussing the regions technology industry and its potential for future growth. Other speakers include Sheldon Petersen, CEO of National Rural Utility Cooperative Finance Corporation, Rick Clayburgh, president and CEO of the North Dakota Bankers Association, and Ross Manson, health care consultant with Eide Bailly LLP.

For more information and to register for the event visit www.fmchamber.com. For more information on Delore Zimmerman and the Praxis Strategy group visit www.praxissg.com.

Praxis Strategy Group is a partner with the Flint Group.

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Tags: delore zimmerman, Economic Development, Flint Group, FM Chamber, Praxis Strategy Group

Life Sciences Action Summit # 3

By Dave Roby, November 26, 2009

Life Sciences Action Summit 3 – February 19, 2010

The Red River Valley Research Corridor and U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan are pleased to announce that a third action summit focused on the life sciences will be held on February 19, 2010. The summit will be held at the new Hilton Garden Inn in Fargo.

Action summits facilitate learning, networking and collaboration in the region and serve as a mechanism for marketing to and connecting with key partners in business and government from outside the region in a highly focused and purposeful manner.

More news about speakers and registration will be available in the next few weeks. If you are interested in sponsoring the Life Sciences Summit, contact Delore at delore@theresearchcorridor.com or 701-775-3354.

STEM Occupations are Growing in the Region

Regional growth in the Corridor science and technology-based economy is translating to more science, technology, engineering, and mathematics job opportunities in the Red River Valley.

Led by physical and life science occupations, the STEM category of occupations (see chart) has added more than 2,200 jobs for 35% growth since 2002. This is well ahead of the 8% growth in the nation for the same occupation group.

U.S. Senator Dorgan Co-Sponsors Building a Stronger America Act

Building a Stronger America Act amends the Stevenson-Wydler Technology Innovation Act of 1980 to direct the Secretary of Commerce to award grants for the development of feasibility studies and plans for the construction of new or expansion of existing science parks. Allows the Secretary to guarantee up to 80% of the loan amount for loans exceeding $10 million for projects for the construction of such infrastructure.

Grindberg Joins AURP Board

Tony Grindberg, Executive Director of the NDSU Research and Technology Park has been elected to the Board of Directors of the Association of University Research Parks.

The Association of University Research Parks is a professional association of university related research and science parks. AURP’s mission is to foster innovation, commercialization and economic growth through university, industry and government partnerships. For more information, visit AURP’s Web site at www.aurp.net.

Red River Velley Research Corridor History

In early 2002, Senator Byron Dorgan convened a meeting with the Presidents of North Dakota’s state universities and colleges to propose a bold new program to draw millions of Federal research dollars to North Dakota.

“Experience has shown that where there is significant federal research work going on, new jobs and new businesses begin to cluster in order to provide commercial applications for the result of that work,” Dorgan said. “I think this can be a very big and important part of North Dakota’s economic future.”

Dorgan envisioned the University of North Dakota (UND) in Grand Forks and North Dakota State University (NDSU) in Fargo anchoring the research corridor, and then reaching out and working cooperatively with state colleges and universities throughout the state.

That first step has stimulated a cycle of Federal research and economic development in North Dakota and is helping to develop the State’s major universities into world-class research institutions. Since 2002 more than $300 million of funding has been directed to North Dakota to build world class research centers, support our growing high tech sector, build critical infrastructure and specialized facilities, and train skilled workers for emerging industries.

Red River Valley Research Corridor Coordinating Center

Senator Dorgan announced on March 17, 2004 the establishment of a Red River Research Corridor Coordinating Center to coordinate the region’s science and technology-based development strategy. The Center will track and work to acquire federal research funding, provide basic infrastructure support that will attract such work, and identify gaps in technology infrastructure and work to fill them. The Center will also provide links between state colleges and universities, commercialization teams, and business investment capital, and will market the state’s research and technology assets outside the region.

Dr. Delore Zimmerman, President of Praxis Strategy Group, with offices in Grand Forks and Fargo was named to serve as the Coordinator. Delore has over twenty years experience working with companies in technology and information industries, universities and local development groups. Since co-founding Praxis in 1994 the company has been awarded 8 Small Business Innovation Research Awards.

Praxis Strategy Group is a partner with the Flint Group of companies.

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Tags: Association of University Research Parks, community wind, delore zimmerman, Economic Development, Flint Communications, Flint Group, LinkedIn, NDSU Research and Technology Park, North Dakota State University, Praxis Strategy Group, Red River Valley Research Corridor, Senator Byron Dorgan, Tony Grindberg, Twitter, University of North Dakota, wind energy

Wind energy IS creating green jobs.

By Dave Roby, November 21, 2009

The wind energy sector provided 85,000 direct jobs in 2008, and the industry is expected to support up to 1/2 million direct and related jobs by 2030.

Praxis Strategy Group formed a wind energy division (Praxis Energy Group) to assist rural landowners and community leaders reap greater economic benefits from their wind resources, offer guidance on the types of jobs available, the skills and training needed, and how to find them.

Sometimes called Community Wind, the Praxis Energy Group model allows the landowners complete control over the entire process of wind development on their land….some of which has been in their families for multiple generations.

In a recent newscast near Dutton Montana the landowners tell their story. <clink link below>

Agri Energy LLC & Praxis Energy Group wind resource development project

Praxis Strategy Group is a partner with the Flint Group of companies.

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Tags: Agri Energy, community wind, infrastructure, local wind, Montana Farmers Union, Praxis Energy Group, Praxis Strategy Group, renewable energy, transmission, wind development, wind energy, windustry

Praxis Strategy Group to meet with Congressional Leaders regarding stimulating the rural economy

By Dave Roby, October 18, 2009

Dr. Delore Zimmerman and Dave Roby will be traveling next week to Washington DC to meet with select congressional leaders on the launching of the Heartland Development Bank.

The Heartland Development Bank is being developed to invest in infrastructure and infrasystems within the heartland for rural economic development and expansion.

Infrastructure is one of the basic building blocks of economic opportunity. The standard infrastructure package of the economy includes highways, airports, harbors, utility distribution systems, railways, water and sewer systems, and communications networks.

In today’s network-centric, innovation driven economy infrastructure also includes university and lab facilities, technology and training centers, export processing facilities, and research parks. These infrasystems – integrations of facilities, technology and advanced socio-technical capabilities – have emerged as key drivers of innovation and the locus of future higher-value industries and higher-paying jobs.

For more information:

http://ncane.com/irvp

Praxis Strategy Group is a partner with the Flint-Group of companies

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Tags: delore zimmerman, Heartland Development Bank, infrastructure investing, joel kotkin, Praxis Strategy Group, Stimulus

Realizing Our Broadband Future – A Webinar

By Dave Roby, October 12, 2009

NewGeography.com publisher & Praxis Strategy Group President & CEO Dr. Delore Zimmerman hosted a webinar recently discussing the future of rural america. The webinar is part of the Rural Broadband Initiative organized by Northern Minnesota’s Blandin Foundation.

From Blandin:
If you are interested in rural community and economic development trends, this webinar is for you.

Delore Zimmerman will provide guidance for rural community leaders about development trends and the steps communities must take to increase their investment attractiveness.

The role that technology plays in increasing economic vitality will be presented both in theory and practice, and Delore will include information about successful regional economic development strategies.

Delore is a strategy consultant with twenty-five years of domestic and international experience working with local and regional economic development groups, companies and universities. He co-developed the High-Performance Community Initiative while a Senior Fellow at the Denver-based Center for the New West and has spearheaded its development and deployment for 10 years.

Praxis Strategy Group is a partner of the Flint Group. http://www.praxissg.com

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Tags: Blandin Foundation, broadband, delore zimmerman, Economic Development, future of rural america, newgeography.com, Praxis Strategy Group