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project basics:

The following seven items show a simplistic overview of what an enterprise developer goes through to initiate and carry out a project. A detailed description, which might be introduced by a scope of project, is one part of making a plan. Another part is assessing and setting forth project requirements. Site selection, which is a component of many enterprise development projects, essentially goes through the same process.

informing contacts of project status when requesting information:

tentative status:

. . . project is in the planning stage. Information gathered helps determine feasibility.

It might be worthwhile for companies on the move to discreetly gather information. On the other hand, their might be reasons to make projects transparent.

Loose lips sink ships: In order to assure that proprietary information and confidential activities are not exposed, some companies hire consultants to discreetly gather information during the planning stage. A second reason for using a specialized consultant, such an an site selection expert, might be that a fast growing company can't afford to pull resources and people away from the top priority of running daily operations.

Transparent projects: For example, a business decision maker who discovers that a competitor is out and about searching for a location might openly begin planning a project in order to be disruptive. Another example might be the manufacturer with labor problems that lets it be known that a site selection project is in the planning stage.

It sets off an interest on the part of locations seeking economic development, any case, when tentative enterprise development projects or site selection projects are suspected, discovered, or revealed . See the definition of suspect.

preliminary status

. . . project is out of the planning stage and the enterprise is testing the water, so to speak. The project and its requirements for completion as planned are assessed with care during the preliminary stage because time and money begin being seriously committed. Resource and service providers with whom there is potential for maintaining working relationships are identified and information is gathered from them.

If the enterprise development project has a site selection component, a target area and/or various target locations are defined. Working with a set of selection criteria information is gathered and a process of comparative analysis begins.

A project in the preliminary stage is at a higher risk of being shelved or cancelled before fieldwork begins than it is when of active status. One or more specialized consultants, may be hired to do fieldwork at this stage, especially to conduct interviews as a part of the information gathering process and to protect confidentiality.

active status

. . . Time is of the essence. Teams are formed which include resource and service providers. Intense focus is on risk management. Team members and confidants need to be aware that when it comes to enterprise and economic development, loose lips sink ships.

advocates and implementers:

An advocate is in favor of something and speaks out about it. An implementor, alt. implementer, makes an exertion towards intended accomplishment as a manager of the process. In a manner of speaking, the advocate talks the talk while the implementer walks the walk. Also, an implementor is more hands-on. An advocate isn't necessarily involved.

This enterprise and economic development network serves a core user group of both advocates and implementors, e.g., among the latter are enterprise developer who, for example, initiate project for companies on the move.

The network has visitors. Some are curious about the enterprise development process that leads to economic development. Some are interested in development and understand the value a share network for learning. Visitors that avail themselves of resources become users.

Those who participate in the network in addition to being users, share and contribute to building it with resources. Some participants may be seen as detractors because they advocate, say, community sustainability sans development. Their informational resources and reasonable points of view are welcomed along with those that are pro-development.

economic geography

The website, www.highbeam.com, once offered a definition of economic geography stating that it's the ... analysis of the spatial distribution of the transportation and consumption of resources, goods, and services, and their effects on the landscape. In that context economic geography has a relationship to enterprise and economic development. The HighBeam Research quote is now available through Wikipedia.