Summit will focus on economic development

A daylong gathering next week in Coeur d’Alene will present an action plan to push regional economic development.

The event, the Inland Northwest Regional Competitiveness Summit, will run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday at the Coeur d’Alene Resort.

It will include regional and national speakers, plus a summary of a study of what’s been done and what needs to be done next to create a stronger economy. The study was prepared by the nonprofit Council on Competitiveness, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that looks for ways to boost national economic growth through training and education.

The study and action plan are being coordinated by staff from the Council on Competitiveness.

The cost of the Spokane-North Idaho summit and the action plan are being underwritten by a grant from the U.S. Economic Development Administration. David Sampson, assistant secretary of the EDA, will give the keynote speech.

The summit will include a look at the area’s economic strengths, plus an action plan “to galvanize and educate the community on why we need to make the transition to an innovation economy,” Kempner said.

Participants are to include elected officials and economic development representatives from groups in Eastern Washington and North Idaho. Kemp-ner said the study is one of six the council is undertaking nationwide. Three of the other areas involved in those studies are central New Mexico, northeast Ohio and Wilmington, Del. Two other regions will be chosen later this year.

In an interview, Kempner acknowledged the Spokane area’s economic development groups have produced many studies on what the region needs to do.

“The real focus is not on trying to impress people with the newness of our study,” Kempner said. “It’s to create support and deeper understanding of what can be done by working collaboratively.”

Kempner said the action plan should identify two or three “concrete issues that we believe, if addressed, will build a stronger regional economy.”

The role of the council and the federal EDA is not to control or push an agenda, he added. “We’re here to help. This is not meant to impose any ideas on the community.”

Promoting and sponsoring the summit are the Inland Northwest Technology Education Center (INTEC), the City of Spokane and the Spokane Area Economic Development Council.