Globalization and technological change come together in the concept of the 'knowledge driven' economy. For countries in the vanguard of the world economy, the balance between knowledge and resources has shifted so far towards the former that knowledge has become perhaps the most important factor determining the standard of living.... Today's most technologically advanced economies are truly knowledge-based.

The knowledge-based economy has profound implications for the way firms compete. Firms in North Central Florida, as elsewhere, will succeed by developing distinctive capacities and innovative products. New approaches will be required, including organizational change, enhancement of skills, and linkages with other companies in related areas; closer ties with educational and research institutions and deeper relationships with customers and suppliers.

Employers and investors are also affected by the shift towards knowledge-based economies. Individuals will have to acquire and maintain appropriate skills while a culture of partnership will be needed in the workplace if the knowledge, creativity and commitment of the workforce are to be fully exploited. Investors may face greater risks as an increasing number of companies have a significant share of the value of their company tied up in intangible assets such the skills of employees. As product lives continuously shorten, so also do the time periods to recover investments, and this too increases risk.

Knowledge-based economic activity is less location-dependent and thus provides positive opportunities for the development of regions such as north central Florida which have tended to be viewed as" peripheral". Our region has some significant strengths for the knowledge age: it already produces large numbers of well-qualified graduates, has good telecommunication linkages and is developing clusters in areas such as software. We will need to build further on these assets.