2010 Grass Roots Stimulus -Cont'd

The aims of advocacy blogging are to increase awareness and thinking, and to stimulate engagement and action. If you want to mobilize people, according to Professor Rao of Stanford University, you need the One-Two punch of a "Hot Cause" and a "Cool Solution." (See Dr. Sutton's blog post on his colleague's new book). The third requirement is of course, the targeting of alert and concerned segments of the populace.
The idea being advanced for 519 area economic stimulus would appear to meet Rao's prescription. The red-hot cause is stimulus in the midst of recession and the cool remedy is grass-roots activism across all communities in the area. The test in the South West is whether individuals and businesses see the potential -and grasp the opportunity to help move the project forward. Bruce County catches the spirit with a website facilitating personal invitations to local points of interest.
If leaders from each of the five areas step up, Design Thinking can lead to a structure where the regional economy tends to be driven by fresh ideas, by participation -and by collaboration in lobbying for improved access roads. We cannot sit back and wait for things to get better.