Go Lean…Caribbean

Go Lean Commentary

This purpose of the book Go Lean … Caribbean is the elevation of the economic engines in the region. The book serves as a 5 year roadmap to foster new developments and empowerments in the region. If successful – this is the likelihood as past performance is the best indicator of future success – there will definitely be socio-economic changes.

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Mastering socio-economic changes require strenuous effort – it is heavy-lifting. This submission completes the series – 3 of 3 – on this subject; previously, this commentary considered …

1. the manifestation of changes in everyday life – values, habits and nuances, looking across a timeline from the 1960’s versus today;

2. the high suicide rate among the elderly frustrated with acute changes.

This commentary considers that under the Go Lean roadmap, there will be many community investment endeavors; therefore many times there will be the need for “impact analyses”. The roadmap calls for the installation of Self-Governing Entities (SGE) as job-creating engines in many communities; these sites are ideal for technology laboratories, medical campuses, corporate parks, industrial sites, educational facilities and other forms of establishments situated inside bordered facilitates. These types of installations will thrive under the strategies and tactics of the Go Lean roadmap. They allow for an efficient process to launch and manage projects and physical installations in the region, but the SGE concept does require governmental concurrence and maybe even public approvals, as in referendums, at the initiation.

SGE’s are part-and parcel of the prime directives of the Go Lean roadmap, defined by these 3 statements:

• Optimization of the economic engines in order to grow the regional economy to $800 Billion in GDP and create 2.2 million new jobs.
• Establishment of a security apparatus to protect the resultant economic engines.
• Improvement of Caribbean governance to support these engines.

How are the impact analyses to be conducted in the region? What is the art and science of this socio-economic field of study? Consider the headlines and abstract of this academic study from the University of Wisconsin:

Title: Socio-Economic Impact Analysis
University of Wisconsin – Community Guide to Development Impact Analysis. Posted 05/2/2011; retrieved 07-17-2015
By: Mary Edwards

As Wisconsin communities continue to grow, local officials and community members are constantly challenged by the need to balance fiscal, social, economic, and environmental goals. One aspect of this challenge is deciding how much and what types of new development the community can accommodate without compromising the day-to-day quality of life for residents. Socio-economic impact assessment is designed to assist communities in making decisions that promote long-term sustain-ability, including economic prosperity, a healthy community, and social well-being.

Assessing socio-economic impacts requires both quantitative and qualitative measurements of the impact of a proposed development. For example, a proposed development may increase employment in the community and create demand for more affordable housing. Both effects are easily quantifiable. Also of importance, however, are the perceptions of community members about whether the proposed development is consistent with a commitment to preserving the rural character of the community. Assessing community perceptions about development requires the use of methods capable of revealing often complex and unpredictable community values.

This chapter provides an overview of socio-economic impact assessment, including what it is, why it is important and guidance on how to conduct a socio-economic impact assessment.

WHAT IS SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT?

A socio-economic impact assessment examines how a proposed development will change the lives of current and future residents of a community. The indicators used to measure the potential socio-economic impacts of a development include the following:

• Changes in community demographics;
• Results of retail/service and housing  market analyses;
• Demand for  public services;
• Changes in  employment and  income levels; and
• Changes in the aesthetic quality of the community.

Quantitative measurement of such factors is an important component of the socio-economic impact assessment. At the same time, the perceptions of community members about how a proposed development will affect their lives is a critical part of the assessment and should contribute to any decision to move ahead with a project. In fact, gaining an understanding of community values and concerns is an important first step in conducting a socio-economic impact assessment.

The socio-economic impacts of a proposed development on a community may actually begin the day the project is proposed. Changes in social structure and inter-actions among community members may occur once the new development is pro-posed to the community. In addition, real, measurable and often significant effects on the human environment can begin to take place as soon as there are changes in social or economic conditions. From the time of the earliest announcement of a pending policy change or development project, attitudes toward the project are formed, interest groups and other coalitions prepare strategies, speculators may lock up potentially important properties, and politicians can maneuver for position.

WHO SHOULD BE INVOLVED IN THE PROCESS?

Because socio-economic impact assessment is designed to estimate the effects of a proposed development on a community’s social and economic welfare, the process should rely heavily on involving community members who may be affected by the development. Others who should be involved in the process include community leaders and others who represent diverse interests in the community such as community service organizations, development and real estate interests, minority and low income groups, and local environmental groups. In addition, local agencies or officials should provide input into the process of assessing changes in the social environment that may occur as a result of the proposed development (e.g., providing estimates and information demographics, employment and service needs).

WHY CONDUCT A SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT?

Conducting a social impact assessment is important for several reasons. In general, it is used to alert the community, including residents and local officials, of the impact and magnitude of the proposed development on the community’s social and economic well-being. The assessment can help communities avoid creating inequities among community groups as well as encourage the positive impacts associated with the development.

HOW TO CONDUCT A SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT

The following section provides a two-step process for conducting a socio-economic impact analysis. The process is designed to establish a framework for evaluating cur-rent and future proposed developments in a community.

TWO PHASES OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPACT ASSESSMENT

1. Defining the scope of the Socio-Economic Impact Assessment

2. Identifying and Evaluating Development Impacts

  A. Quantitative Changes

     A.1 DEMOGRAPHIC IMPACTS

     A.2 DATA SOURCES

     A.3 HOUSING MARKET IMPACTS

     A.4 RETAIL MARKET IMPACTS

     A.5 EMPLOYMENT AND INCOME

     A.6 PUBLIC SERVICES

     A.7 AESTHETIC IMPACTS

  B. Community Perceptions

     B.1 QUALITY OF LIFE

…

This is just the headlines; find the full White Paper at: http://www.lic.wisc.edu/shapingdane/facilitation/all_resources/impacts/analysis_socio.htm

i.e.  Sample Economic Impact Study

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The Go Lean roadmap does not ignore the controversies associated with impact analyses. Many times these studies are abused to justify spending public money to benefit private interests. This is another example of Crony-Capitalism; consider the VIDEO here of how public financing of sports stadiums have been abused in the US:

Appendix VIDEO – Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Stadiums (HBO) – https://youtu.be/xcwJt4bcnXs

Published on July 12, 2015 – Cities spend massive amounts of public money on privately-owned stadiums. Cities issue tax-exempt municipal bonds that — wait, don’t fall asleep!
Content warning: Some profanity!

According to this VIDEO, there is an obvious potential for socio-economic studies to be abused. The goal of a socio-economic study is generally to bring about socio-economic development, usually by improvements in metrics such as GDP, life expectancy, literacy, levels of employment, etc.

The Go Lean roadmap embraces the practice of socio-economic studies – done right – it provides turn-by-turn directions on how to elevate the Caribbean economy while mitigating any pattern of abuse. As a planning tool, the roadmap commences with a Declaration of Interdependence, pronouncing the need for regional integration (Page 11 & 13) to foster the foundation to forge a better future. The declarative statements are as follows:

xi.  Whereas all men are entitled to the benefits of good governance in a free society, “new guards” must be enacted to dissuade the emergence of incompetence, corruption, nepotism and cronyism at the peril of the people’s best interest. The Federation must guarantee the executions of a social contract between government and the governed.

xxi. Whereas the preparation of our labor force can foster opportunities and dictate economic progress for current and future generations, the Federation must ensure that educational and job training opportunities are fully optimized for all residents of all member-states, with no partiality towards any gender or ethnic group. The Federation must recognize and facilitate excellence in many different fields of endeavor, including sciences, languages, arts, music and sports. This responsibility should be executed without incurring the risks of further human flight, as has been the past history.

xxvi. Whereas the Caribbean region must have new jobs to empower the engines of the economy and create the income sources for prosperity, and encourage the next generation to forge their dreams right at home, the Federation must therefore foster the development of new industries… In addition, the Federation must invigorate the enterprises related to existing industries … – impacting the region with more jobs.

Change has now come to the Caribbean. The driver of this change is technology and globalization. The Caribbean region cannot only consume the innovations being developed around the world; we must develop and innovate ourselves. The structure of SGE’s are perfectly designed for this endeavor; innovators and developers can create their “own world” so as to foster the best practices for Research & Development (R&D) with no intrusion from municipal authorities. This is a win-win! The bottom-line for the developers may be their “bottom-line”, but for the community, it would be the Greater Good.

The subject of SGE’s has been directly addressed and further elaborated upon in these previous blog/commentaries:

Sports is also pivotal to the Go Lean roadmap. This was demonstrated in our prior consideration of the economic impact analysis of basketball great LeBron James returning to Cleveland after a 4-year stint in Miami. That consideration summarized that his absence was worth $50 million a season for that metropolitan area.

So thusly this subject of the “business of sports” is a familiar topic for Go Lean blogs as these previous blogs have detailed:

This Go Lean roadmap seeks to implement the technocratic Caribbean Union Trade Federation (CU). While the CU/Go Lean effort is to harness the individual abilities of athletes to elevate their performance, the real focus is harnessing the economic impact for the relevant communities. Modern sports engagements cannot be analyzed without considering the impact on “dollars and cents” for the community. The Go Lean book calls for solid business plans to develop sports stadia and arenas at CU-owned Fairgrounds This intent was also pronounced early in the opening Declaration of Interdependence (Page 14):

xxxi. Whereas sports have been a source of great pride for the Caribbean region, the economic returns from these ventures have not been evenly distributed as in other societies. The Federation must therefore facilitate the eco-systems and vertical industries of sports as a business, recreation, national pastime and even sports tourism …

The Go Lean book envisions the CU – a confederation of the 30 member-states of the Caribbean chartered to do the heavy-lifting of empowering and elevating the Caribbean economy – as the landlord of many sports facilities within the SGE design. The book details the economic principles and community ethos to adopt, plus the executions of strategies, tactics, implementations and advocacies to forge Self-Governing Entities and sports enterprises in the Caribbean:

The Go Lean book and accompanying blogs declare that the Caribbean needs to learn lessons from other communities, especially when socio-economic studies have been used (or abused) to justify community investments in infrastructure.

The design of Self-Governing Entities allow for greater protections from Crony-Capitalistic abuses. While this roadmap is committed to availing the economic opportunities of sports and accompanying infrastructure, as demonstrated in the foregoing VIDEO, sport teams and owners can be plutocratic “animals” in their greed. We must learn to mitigate any plutocratic abuses; see the Appendix – Additional Reporting below.

Now is the time for all of the Caribbean, the people and governing institutions, to lean-in for the empowerments described in the book Go Lean … Caribbean. This roadmap will result in positive socio-economic changes throughout the region. Just consider the Fairgrounds SGE model; the end result for these ventures into the business of sports is projected as 21,000 direct jobs at Fairgrounds and sports enterprises.

Overall, with these executions, the Caribbean region can be a better place to live, work and play. As demonstrated by this discussion on sports stadia, there is a lot of economic activity in the “play” element; the same applies even greater with “live and work” elements. The practice of socio-economic studies must therefore be earnestly engaged in the Caribbean region, especially for projects involving community investments. This is not easy; this is part of the process to elevate the Caribbean region. This heavy-lifting – ensuring that investments get the proper return for the applicable stakeholders – is worth the effort; this ensures the Greater Good.  🙂

Download the book Go Lean…Caribbean now!

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Appendix – Additional Reporting: http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/six-lies-about-the-marlins-stadium-6380692

Title: Six lies about the Marlins stadium

By: Miami New Times Community Newspaper; posted May 5, 2011; Retrieved July 20, 2015