The Kansas Economic Development Conference

Economic Gardening: Growing Local Opportunity

May 20 – 21, 2009

Junction City, Kansas

The theme of this year's conference, "Economic Gardening: Growing Local Opportunity," is a concept developed in Littleton Colorado in the 1980s by Chris Gibbons. (http://www.littletongov.org/bia/economicgardening/default.asp)

What is Economic Gardening?
"Economic gardening" is an innovative, entrepreneur-based development strategy that helps communities grow their own jobs. Often contrasted with "economic hunting" strategies that aim to recruit development opportunities from outside the community, economic gardening is designed to "grow your own" jobs through entrepreneurial activity within the community.