Economic development professionals can use this strategic framework in a variety of different ways. As a first step, it is useful in mapping current regional economic development activities. In most regions, these activities are spread across a variety of different organizations. Leaders of these organizations often do not communicate effectively with each other. By listing each organization’s major focus and activities on the grid, important patterns and gaps emerge. So, for example, workforce development activities—STEM education at the local high school, adult literacy initiatives, retraining initiatives for displaced workers, on the job training in lean manufacturing—naturally fit within the Brainpower.
