What is Economic Development?

 Key functions include:

  • Strategic Planning
  • Business retention and expansion
  • Business marketing and attraction
  • Entrepreneurial and Small Business Development
  • Workforce Development
  • Real Estate Development and Reuse
  • Neighborhood Redevelopment
  • Economic Resiliency

Context for Local Economic Development:

  • Your City’s economic strengths and weaknesses
  • Your City’s role in the regional economy
  • The difference between a weak and strong real estate market
  • The local regulatory environment

Context for Local Economic Development:

  • Your City’s economic strengths and weaknesses
  • Your City’s role in the regional economy
  • The difference between a weak and strong real estate market
  • The local regulatory environment

 

Stakeholders and Partners and their role in Economic Development

  • Public economic development agencies and city staff
  • Public-Private and non-profit economic development organizations
    • Chamber of Commerce
    • Community Development Organizations (CDC)
    • Community Development Finance Institutions
  • Local and Regional business community
  • Real Estate Development community
  • Residents and Community Groups
  • Workforce Development Partners

Funding Sources:

  • City Funding
  • State Funding
  • Federal Funding
    • EDA Planning and Local Technical Assistance
    • Community development Block grant (CDBG)
    • New Markets Tax Credits
    • Historic Preservation Tax Incentives

Public Private Partnerships:  

A new approach to funding local economic development projects is the concept of public-private partnerships.  These are contractual arrangements between a municipality and a private or corporate entity agreeing to share the responsibility of funding and managing an economic development project.

Measuring Impact with Performance Management

Economic Development Metrics include:

  • Economic conditions
  • Population characteristics
  • Population characteristics
  • Labor force characteristics
  • Physical conditions
  • Business climate
  • Knowledge-based resources
  • Quality of Life