"For many, many years, we've been dependent upon the success of government," said Terri Potter, president of Meriter Health Services and co- chair of the Collaboration Council, a group of business, political, education and nonprofit leaders seeking to forge an economy for the future. "We need to diversify our base of well-paid jobs in our community."

To do that, experts say, it will take an array of bold - sometimes costly - initiatives.

They range from a new relationship between the city's political left and business to a more regional approach to more support for education, job training and research - despite tough financial times and polarizing political controversies at the state level.

"Look at what's going to drive the future," said Kay Plantes, corporate strategy consultant and owner of Plantes Co. in Madison. "Any amount of current success doesn't mean much unless you're investing in the future."

But at the moment, a region that lives the good life on the twin engines of state government and UW-Madison is only starting to recognize change and challenges.

Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz offered a "Healthy City Initiative" in spring 2004 that touches many themes and lays out a vision - but it isn't inspiring much action from the City Council.

The business-sponsored Collaboration Council is preaching the religion of regionalism but is only starting its work.

And the Workforce Development Board of South Central Wisconsin and UW-Madison's Center on Wisconsin Strategy (COWS) today was to release "Seeds of Workforce Change," a report that calls for building on the regions strengths, like agriculture and technology.

"There's no shortage of education, initiative and creativity," said Jennifer Alexander, president of the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce. "What's been lacking is the focus."

Why? The area has never had a crisis - like the shutdown of a big auto plant - to get people's attention and motivate them to plan, said economist Laura Dresser of COWS.

"We have, in some ways, been a child of privilege," Alexander agreed.

There's far more to building the new economy than maintaining a low unemployment rate, which shows that people are working but not if they can support a family.

Challenges are here.

The modest-wage service industry was projected to have far more job openings than any other occupation in the six- county region from 2004 through 2006, state Department of Workforce Development data show.

Seven of the top 10 occupations with the most projected new openings through 2012 pay less than $25,000 a year, the data show.

And government is the lone industry expected to decline, the data show.

The need for new strategies is clear, Alexander said, but pushing regionalism or tax-base sharing too fast might lead to frustrations, discord and mistakes, and set efforts back a decade.

"There is no silver bullet," she said. "It's changing the culture."