NNDA gives ‘open source’ economic development system a try
Attraction of new companies into Carson City and neighboring counties no longer can be a spectator sport, says Rob Hooper, the executive director of Northern Nevada Development Authority.
Hooper and other executives of the Carson City-based group are turning economic development on its head.
Rather than operating NNDA as a secretive place, where only the staff knows details about companies that are scouting the area for new locations, Hooper is inviting dozens of people in the area into the inner sanctum.
And instead of funneling information about the region exclusively through the economic development staff out to prospective new employers, NNDA executives encourage contact directly between local experts and executives of target companies.
“Instead of keeping our best players on the bench, we’re bringing them onto the field with us,” says Hooper, who came to NNDA early this year after working as chief operating officer of Vitamin Research Products in Carson City.
Mike Skaggs, who heads the Nevada Commission on Economic Development staff, has dubbed NNDA’s approach as “open-source economic development.” Read full story:
