C2ER Projects

Economic Development Finance Needs and Options for “Moving Arizona Forward”, 2005-2006 - Arizona Department of Commerce, Phoenix, AZ
C2ER/CREC is working with the State of Arizona to develop a ‘Financing Road Map’ to support the state’s “Moving Arizona Forward” economic development strategy. Focus groups and interviews were conducted with key stakeholders to identify the financing challenges facing their programs and communities. Working in partnership with the Council for Development Finance Agencies (CDFA), C2ER/CREC also collected information about community and business financing programs from other states and countries, as well as federal programs in order to identify best practices. From this research we identified Arizona’s key financing needs and gaps, and offer recommendations for improving the state’s financing capacity.

Durham Workforce Development Strategy Implementation Retreat, 2006 - Durham Workforce Development Board, Durham, NC
C2ER/CREC will be facilitating a day-long retreat for the Durham Workforce Development Board. C2ER/CREC helped the board draft their initial strategy that identified several target industries and occupations, as well as offered several recommendations for making better use of their Workforce Investment Act funds. This retreat will assess the progress the board has made to date in implementing their strategy, as well as establishing their priorities for the coming year. 

Regional Economic Growth Strategy for the Texoma Region, 2006 - Texoma Regional Commission, Sherman, TX
C2ER/CREC is working in collaboration with the Corporation for a Skilled Workforce (CSW) to develop a regional growth strategy for a 13 County area in Texas and Oklahoma. This effort is a collaborative one between the Texoma Workforce Development Board, the Southern Oklahoma Workforce Investment Board and the economic development organizations across a 13-county region along the Texas and Oklahoma borders. Combined, these organizations, called the Texoma Regional Consortium (TRC), seek to engage participating counties in the development of a regional strategy that will define a new economic future for area residents, workers, and businesses. This project aims to create consensus on the most critical strategies to address regional issues and developing a regional economic growth strategy that will stimulate the creation of new jobs and the attraction of new investment. 

LocationOne Information Systems Data Audit, 2005 - Aquila Inc., Kansas City, MO
The LocationOne Information System (LOIS) is a web-based application—created by Aquila Inc., that provides state, county, metropolitan area, regional area, community and site and building information. C2ER/CREC was asked to provide a data audit of the LOIS fields in order to ensure their validity. In addition, C2ER/CREC provided suggestions for alternate fields and alternate sources of data that might the LOIS to better maximize its potential. 

North Carolina’s Eastern Region Visioning Plan, 2005-2006 - North Carolina’s Eastern Region, Kinston, NC
C2ER/CREC is helping to guide leaders in North Carolina’s Eastern Region in targeting their business recruitment, retention, and entrepreneurial development efforts by developing a vision plan for 13 counties. C2ER/CREC is working with its partner Eva Klein and Associates, Ltd. to gather insights from key stakeholders, analyze existing research, conduct supplemental research, and guide a group for regional leaders through the process. The goals of this project aim at creating consensus on the most critical strategies to address regional issues and developing a regional economic development vision plan designed to create jobs and attract new investment. An important element of this work includes a regional cluster study conducted in collaboration with senior consultant Ed Feser.

Isothermal Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy, 2005 - Isothermal Planning and Development Commission, Rutherfordton, NC
C2ER/CREC helped leaders in four predominantly rural counties west of Charlotte identify strategic economic, community, and workforce development priorities. These counties were strongly impacted by declines in textiles, apparel, and furniture product and they have fewer workers today than a decade ago, even though new people continue to move to the region. The focus of the plan is to find future employment opportunities and help the region transition to a new economic future. Strategies presented relate to improving education and training, infrastructure assets, and creating linkages to key urban centers.

Arizona Solar Industries Economic and Labor Demand, 2005 - Arizona Department of Commerce, Phoenix, AZ
C2ER/CREC is helping the Energy Office of Arizona Commerce Department identify economic growth opportunities and workforce development needs for the state’s solar energy business cluster. The project included a survey of 170 solar energy industries firms and telephone interviews of industry experts and company executives. The focus of the study is to assess the current economic opportunities and workforce training capacity for the future growth of solar energy industries in Arizona. Policy recommendations include increasing solar technology development and deployment, supporting growth in solar cluster industries, expanding solar energy demand, and ensuring a prepared, skilled workforce.

Future Forward Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy Implementation, 2004-06 - Future Forward Economic Alliance, Hickory, NC
C2ER/CREC was engaged by the Future Forward Economic Alliance Board on an 18-month assignment to help in implementing key elements of their strategic plan. The scope of work under this project includes: helping to complete an industry growth analysis; a brownfields site survey; identifying key developable sites in the region; monitoring and evaluating plan activities; and facilitating board and committee activities. C2ER/CREC is also charged with helping to facilitate the development of key leadership networks throughout the region. As part of this effort, C2ER/CREC and related efforts have helped to leverage approximately $3 million in federal, state, and private funding for projects in the region.

Arizona Construction Trades Labor Study, 2004-2005 - Arizona Department of Commerce
C2ER/CREC coordinated a survey of more than 1,600 construction trades firms and 55 construction trades apprenticeship and training providers. The staff analyzed occupational projections, skill demands, and training program gaps to help provide recommendations for Arizona’s workforce policy. The Arizona Department of Commerce plans to use the study results to reshape its investment in training and apprenticeship programs statewide.

Durham Workforce Development Strategy, 2004-2005 - Durham Workforce Development Board, Durham, NC
C2ER/CREC helped leaders in Durham, NC to bridge the gap between long-term unemployment and underemployment in Durham County, NC and job opportunities available in the fast-growing Raleigh-Durham Metro area. The staff identified target growth industries and occupations and determined the skill and related occupational needs of those firms. Durham WDB plans to use the results to shift investments in their federal Workforce Investment Act training programs. The strategy document included research on forecasted occupations, their wage and training needs, and training opportunities.

Benchmarking the Arizona Commerce and Economic Development Commission, 2004, released July 2005 (Matrix 1 and 2) - Arizona Department of Commerce, Phoenix, AZ
C2ER/CREC staff conducted a survey of the budget, governance structure, and incentive policies in 18 competitor states. The staff compared how Arizona’s economic, workforce, tourism, and community development efforts are structured as compared with other states. C2ER/CREC proposed a significant expansion in the State’s investment in economic development based on a comparison with peer states. The additional investment would help to ensure that Arizona remains competitive. C2ER/CREC also offered several alternatives for governing the agency. Arizona DOC leadership plans to use the study findings in their upcoming budget proposals as the state legislature debates the agency’s future.

Integrating Workforce and Economic Development in a Regional Strategy, 2004 (Matrix 1 and 2) - Upper Coastal Plain Workforce Development Board, Rocky Mount, NC
C2ER/CREC worked as a subcontractor to the National Association of Workforce Boards (NAWB) to develop a strategic framework for the Region L (Upper Coastal Plain) WDB. The Center provided a one-day training program and co-facilitated two retreats with the board on how they could move forward in creating an integrated workforce and economic development strategy for the region along I-95 in the “upper coastal plain” region. The Board used NAWB and C2ER/CREC expertise to design an in-house approach for strategic planning.

Building A Stronger State-Federal Partnership, 2002-2006 (Matrix 1 and 2) - US National Institute of Standards and Technology, Manufacturing Extension Partnership, Gaithersburg, MD
C2ER/CREC is working in collaboration with several partners including the State Science & Technology Institute to develop a strong support structure for this federal-state partnership program created to help manufacturers become globally competitive. Built on the agricultural extension model already widely known, the US Congress created the National Institute of Standards & Technology Manufacturing Extension Partnership (NIST MEP) in the late 1980s to address the challenges of global competition and to provide access to state-of-the-art knowledge about technical and management techniques that could be applied in small and medium-sized manufacturing facilities.

C2ER/CREC worked with policy makers in Washington and in several state capitals to identify political challenges to the program in the respective state legislatures or executive branches. In addition, C2ER/CREC worked with the staff within not-for-profit manufacturing extension centers across the US to help in developing strategies for communicating the goals and results of manufacturing extension efforts. C2ER/CREC provided strategic advice to NIST MEP, met with key state and national leaders to discuss the program, and provided technical assistance and facilitation support to stakeholders and manufacturing centers in a variety of states, such as Wisconsin, Iowa, Arizona, Alaska, Alabama, Connecticut, Washington, and Texas.

Assessing the Impact of Manufacturing and the Manufacturing Extension Partnership on the US Economy, 2003-2004 (Matrix 1, 2, and 3) - US National Institute of Standards and Technology, Manufacturing Extension Partnership, Gaithersburg, MD
C2ER/CREC coordinated a federal-state collaborative research project aimed at analyzing the impacts of manufacturing on the US and selected state economies using commercially available software. While several commercial and proprietary software packages could be used for this effort, NIST MEP has historically used software produced by Regional Economic Modeling, Inc. (REMI) as a tool to conduct such analyses. C2ER/CREC provided guidance in the research design and in leveraging the in-kind resources from several of its member states across the US who also own a license of REMI Policy Insight® model. The project was designed to answer questions regarding manufacturing’s importance to the national/state economy, which industrial sectors are most critical to the economy, and what the impact of the MEP program has had in assisting critical industrial sectors at the national and state levels.

C2ER State Incentives Database, 2004-present (Matrix 1 and 2) - C2ER (State Economic Development Researchers Chapter), Arlington, VA
C2ER has developed a national database of state business incentives with profiles on more than 1400 programs. The database was designed to give economic developers a one-stop resource for comparing incentive programs. Data provided in the database includes a fully searchable text description of the program as well as other program information. For instance, an economic developer might search for tax credit programs or loans in a neighboring or competitive state for benchmarking purposes. In addition, the database has a number of analytic descriptors designed to classify incentive programs. Users can easily search for economic development incentives by looking at program category (i.e., tax, direct financing, indirect financing), program type (i.e., bonds, grants, insurance, loans, tax credits, tax exemption, etc.), geographic focus (i.e., enterprise, technology or trade zone, etc.), or business needs (i.e., capital access, facility/site location, infrastructure). C2ER’s state economic development research offices are working with C2ER staff to maintain the database to ensure that it is continuously updated.

Linking Workforce and Economic Development in Virginia, 2004 (Matrix 1 and 2) - National Center on Education and the Economy and Virginia Workforce Council, Richmond, VA
Under a subcontract to and in close collaboration with the National Center on Education and the Economy, C2ER/CREC conducted a series of videoconferences and in-person presentations to local elected officials throughout Virginia on the role that workforce development resources can play in economic development. The purpose of the project was to engage elected officials in influencing workforce development investments related to training and strategic planning.

Roanoke Regional Cluster Analysis, 2003-04 (Matrix 1, 2 and 3) - 5th Planning District Regional Alliance and the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission, Roanoke, VA
C2ER/CREC conducted a targeted cluster analysis aimed at identifying existing technology-based clusters in the “NewVA” region, which includes nine cities and counties, including the Roanoke and Blacksburg metropolitan statistical areas (MSA) as well as their surrounding rural counties. Using IMPLAN software, C2ER/CREC’s staff identified trade relationships among key service sectors and created a set of service-oriented benchmark clusters for study. The analysis was being supplemented with a survey of local businesses in a targeted set of technology-oriented clusters. The goal of the exercise was twofold: to help the region better understand its economic base and to identify progress in developing technology-oriented clusters of development. C2ER/CREC worked closely with the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission (RVARC) staff to provide training on how to conduct such analyses in the future.

The study revealed the inter-dependency of the Roanoke and Blacksburg Metropolitan areas with Roanoke serving as the financial and health center of the region while Blacksburg provided emerging new technologies generated from research at Virginia Tech. These historically distinct regions (separated by mountains) had never before examined their economic interactions. The goal of the study is to initiate a dialogue among regional leaders on common challenges and opportunities. This effort was one of the specific tactics to be accomplished as part of a 2002 strategic planning engagement conducted in collaboration with Eva Klein & Associates.

Lancaster County Economic Development Strategy, 2003-2004 (Matrix 1 and 2) - Economic Development Company of Lancaster County, PA
C2ER/CREC helped county leaders in Lancaster to identify several strategic priorities for action. Lancaster Prospers – the name given to the project – is being managed through a 36-member planning group representing stakeholders from across the county including government, business, and academia.

The community concluded that it wanted Lancaster to be a national leader in economic innovation and a highly attractive community to the next generation of citizens. In achieving that vision, the county’s leadership and citizen identified a number of key values building on the county’s unique heritage and its current economic strength. During the process, county leaders embraced economic change and demographic diversity in an environment in which citizens are encouraged to take risks and communities are urged to participate in larger regional initiatives. A critical priority in the county’s future is to ensure that its urban areas are revitalized as part of an overall plan to preserve the county’s land assets and create appealing places for today’s younger workers.

Economic Development Training for Workforce and Local Elected Leaders, 2002-2005 - US Department of Labor, Workforce Excellence Network, Washington DC and National Association of Workforce Boards Future Forward Regional Economic Strategy, 2002-2004 (Matrix 1, 2 and 3) - Western Piedmont Council of Governments, Hickory, NC
C2ER/CREC served as the lead consultant for a national team involved in developing a comprehensive strategy for a 12-county region in western North Carolina. The project, championed by US Congressman Cass Ballenger of “District 10”, examined the economic and cultural challenges facing a region of 800,000 people that is highly dependent on employment in vulnerable manufacturing sectors, including textiles, apparel, furniture, and fiber optic cable. The nine-month project included researchers from Eva Klein & Associates, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and the Hudson Institute. The team conducted extensive data analysis, more than 150 interviews, a series of 10 workshops involving more than 400 local leaders, and a series of decisions support meetings with a strategic planning committee. Each of the 12 county commissions adopted a resolution of support for the strategy, and to date 11 of the fiscally hard-hit counties have contributed funding to an alliance of local leaders.

Promoting Entrepreneurial Development as an Economic Development Strategy, 2002-2003 (Matrix 1 and 2) - National Commission on Entrepreneurship, Washington, DC
C2ER/CREC conducted a survey of more than 100 economic development organizations across three states – Maine, Pennsylvania, and Nevada. The purpose of the survey was to identify entrepreneurial development initiatives, attitudes among economic developers about entrepreneurial development as a strategic direction, obstacles to implementing entrepreneurial development, and efforts to evaluate these programs. The survey examined rural and urban initiatives, distinguishing between efforts to promote lifestyle and growth-oriented entrepreneurs.

Roanoke Regional Strategies, 2002 (Matrix 1 and 2) - Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission, Roanoke, VA
Working under a subcontract with Eva Klein & Associates, C2ER/CREC assisted in developing a Regional Economic Strategy for this 12-county region. The project involved collaborating with public, private, and academic sector stakeholders in interviews and via a 36-member Planning Leadership Group. EKA and C2ER/CREC developed strategies and related tactics and worked to support achievement of “buy-in” of all key players to a unified, focused strategy. Major attention was devoted to the technology economy, the role of Virginia Tech and other academic institutions, transportation and connectivity issues, and entrepreneurship.

The consultants helped local leaders to articulate six strategic themes that serve as a common “song sheet” for all stakeholders. These themes include Visibility, Connectivity, Knowledge Work Force, Entrepreneurship, Industry Clusters, and Quality of Life Amenities. For each of the six themes, the EKA and C2ER/CREC team helped local leaders identify a set of specific goals and tactics. Some of the projects are complex and long-range undertakings. Others are more immediate. Assignments of roles and responsibilities and directions for financing were included in the Strategy. 

The leadership group received more than 150 endorsements from local governments and various other entities, and the Regional Economic Strategy is being implemented systematically. Under the Visibility theme, a branding recommendation led to renaming of the area as “NewVA.” In August 2004, the NewVa leadership group published a report of accomplishments to date. Ongoing accomplishments are still described and organized according to the themes, strategies and tactics as expressed in the EKA and CREC strategy report.

ACCRA Cost of Living Index, 1968-present (Matrix 1 and 3) - C2ER Board of Directors, Arlington, VA
Originally titled the Inter-City Cost of Living Indicators Project, the ACCRA Cost of Living Index has been published quarterly since 1968. Working collaboratively with a network of more than 300 state, local, and university researchers across the US, C2ER produces the Cost of Living Index to provide a useful and reasonably accurate measure of living cost differences among urban areas. Items on which the Index is based have been carefully chosen to reflect the different categories of consumer expenditures. Weights assigned to relative costs are based on government survey data on expenditure patterns for mid-management households. All items are priced in each place at a specified time and according to standardized specifications. The Cost of Living Index is recognized as an authoritative source of cost of living data by the US Census Bureau, CNN Money, and the President’s Council of Economic Advisors, and the index is included in the federal government’s annually published Statistical Abstract of the United States.

University of Southern Mississippi Executive Format Masters Degree in Economic Development, 2004-present (Matrix 1 and 3)- University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS
In 2004, C2ER initiated a partnership with the University of Southern Mississippi’s Department of Economic Development to offer an Executive Master’s degree in economic development. Using a non-traditional academic calendar and periodic on-site instruction at locations across the US combined with on-line course support, C2ER and USM are paving the way for a new model for advanced learning in the fields of economic and workforce development. The first class of 10 students is graduating in 2005 and the second class began in September of the same year. USM is integrating its class work with C2ER training wherever possible and C2ER has played an active role in recruiting instructors and designing the material for the entire curriculum.