Ohio is getting back into the venture capital business.  Ohio’s Third Frontier Program, launched in the early 2000s under Governor Bob Taft pushed Ohio into the technology-based economic development world through the creation of the Third Frontier Program.  The result of that program was the funding of regional venture capital programs throughout the state.  Ohio […]

State of Ohio capital budget community projects and federal budget earmarks may appear to be similar funding sources but there are clear similarities and differences.  Ohio capital budget community projects and federal budget earmarks are both similar and different—and not just based upon which city provides the funding.  On the same side, both involve legislative

The Ohio General Assembly with the support of Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted adopted a state of Ohio operating budget that contained an unprecedented $3 B plus in economic development program spending to prepare industrial sites, redevelop Brownfield, demolition of antiquated buildings, address Broadband challenges, spur housing and mixed-use investments, venture capital,

Taxes levied by local and state governments have a major impact on a company’s corporate site location decisions. Taxes by the state and local governments are a critical component of measuring the cost of doing business in a region.  Different local and state governments tax businesses differently. What and how much local and state governments

Wisconsin remains a global manufacturing center in line with other Great Lakes States.    Industry clusters are regional concentrations of related industries.[i] Clusters consist of companies, suppliers, and service providers, as well as government agencies and other institutions that provide education, information, research, and technical support to a regional economy.[ii] Clusters are a network of

Housing is joining workforce development to become a major corporate site location issue.  Regions not growing are failing to develop substantial residential growth.  Finally, rural regions are losing population at an alarming rate and desperately need new residential products to retain existing employers and to keep their young people.  No matter where you are in

Pennsylvania is the nation’s 23rd largest state in the union with 5.8 M people, but its strategic location is connected to the Great Lakes positions Wisconsin for corporate site location projects.   Key demographic measures that impact corporate site location decisions include total population and population growth which impact the ability of a region to

Rural markets seeking high-wage job creation and capital investment should focus on four key strategies all with the underlying goal of ensuring the talent needed for their company is available in these otherwise attractive markets. The four strategies include building communities young talent wants to live, work, and play in; retaining and attracting tech and

Tax credits, tax abatements, grants and loans all make up the typical local and state economic development incentive toolbox.  Tax credits are usually a state performance-based incentive tied to job creation and capital investment.  These tax credits in most cases are competitively awarded as there is a limited amount of state government funding available to

Rural communities present substantial economic opportunities.  Manufacturers in the United States account for 11.39% of the total output in the economy, employing 8.51% of the workforce.[i] Total output from manufacturing was $2,334.60 billion in 2018.[ii] In addition, there were an average of 12.8 million manufacturing employees in the United States in 2018, with an average