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them. Demonstrable successes become critical.

In summary, the economic development professional plays a crucial
leadership role in developing local consensus or agreement regarding the

goals and outcomes of the economic development program. In the
implementation stage, the economic developer serves as a catalyst to the
program, and must demonstrate strong management skills to ensure that
the program is carried out as cost-effectively as possible.

The Practitioner as Educator

Frequently, the economic developer must also play the role of a group
educator, and this appears to be a leadership role in which the professional
should excel. Usually the local leaders in a community have an awareness

of the economic development process and its various dimensions, but do
not feel competent to implement and direct this process. If these leaders
are to make their fullest contribution, however, they need to understand
economic development and the role that they play in making it happen. It
usually falls upon the shoulders of the local economic development

professional to fill this knowledge void, but, unfortunately, in many
communities this void continues.

Planning a leadership education program should begin far in advance. The
growing complexity of local economic development is making it all the
more necessary to provide local stakeholders with current and relevant

information as well as an understanding of how to best use that
information. The economic developer must also keep in mind that his/her
constituency is both the economic development organization and the
general community. Opportunities should be created for people to attend
forums, participate in workshops, watch relevant and enlightening

programs on local cable, etc. As training and education occur, the base of
willing and educated participants who can lead the process grows. This, in
turn, increases the support for and the participation level in the
development process.

Educating local leaders is only one aspect of the need for the economic

David Kolzow 306