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Economic Developers and March Madness
Stories of March Madness and reasons for its start in mid-March date back centuries as addressed in William Shakespeare’s “Julius Caesar” in a warning by a fortune teller to “beware the Ides of March” predicting Caesar’s death. Throughout history, there are many stories of wild hares during the March start of their “courting season”, but Lewis Carol’s “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” brings them to life with the March Hare and the Madd Hatter who asks Alice if he has gone mad. Alice’s response, “I’m afraid so. You’re entirely bonkers. But I’ll tell you a secret. All the best people are.”
Well economic developers are the “best people”, and we enjoy March madness on the court and off. March Madness in basketball and economic development share some similarities. Both involve a form of competition. In March Madness, teams compete in a tournament to become the national champion, while in economic development, states, regions, and localities compete to attract businesses, investment, and talent to foster growth.
Just like teams strategize in basketball to win games, economic development requires strategic planning to attract industries, create jobs, and stimulate growth. We enter the Big Dance logging sites in VaScan for VEDP to market to companies and site developers, like the 68 teams prepare for the Tournament trademarked as March Madness. Our first rounds include site preparation and pairing economic and community development resources to enhance sites.
In basketball, players work together to achieve victory, while in economic development, various stakeholders like government agencies, businesses, and communities collaborate to foster prosperity. Our Sweet 16 occurs when one of the prospects takes a deeper dive to study a targeted site inclusive of utilities, transportation, and workforce pipeline. And if we’re lucky, we are narrowed to the Elite Eight or final sites selected for site visits. Success in both realms requires collaboration and teamwork.
That leads to the final four wherein the company and site selector narrow their selection to a small and limited number of teams for final negotiations, making certain these candidates can withstand the long-term rigor required to win the big game impacting the company and region.
And then the championship where one final site is selected, and the company cuts the net at the Governor’s announcement with the flag of Virginia displayed in honor of the win.
In March Madness, teams face the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat, but we all know that the runner up could have been the champion on any given day, and that the strong teams will return to battle again. While the contexts differ, the principles of competition, strategy, teamwork, and impact connect March Madness in basketball to economic development. The continuous improvement of sites or teams and their community assets are the behind-the-scenes efforts that prepare both for battle and luckily in economic development we are not limited to March competition; whether we win or lose, the game begins again!
Linda Green
VEDA President
Southern Virginia Regional Alliance
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