There is not one size that fits all economic development plans that addresses a community, developer or companies’ challenges and opportunities. Different economic development plans are crafted to address a community, developer or company’s specific challenges and opportunities. As outlined in the graphic below, a range of different economic development studies help address specific challenges and opportunities.
Business Incubator Study. Communities or companies seeking to spur high-tech, early-stage company growth can develop a business incubator study to better understand how a facility targeting this industry can help create long-term wealth and company creation. These studies are required to receive federal government Economic Development Administration funding for a business incubator and focus on the industry strengths of a region, capital access and small business growth models and tools needed for early-stage company success.
Comprehensive Economic Development Plan. Communities, regions and states can create a comprehensive economic development plan that research who a community is through a detailed data dive, listens to community leaders as to what they want their community to become and then develops action steps that can make that community vision a reality based upon the existing strengths, opportunities, weaknesses and threats they are facing.
Downtown Redevelopment District Plan. Ohio and Michigan offer a Downtown Redevelopment District program that can support the redevelopment of historic structure or districts through the capture of future property taxes in an area, and this program requires the creation of a Downtown District Redevelopment Plan to determine how much future property taxes can be gained and how those resources can be used to spur economic investment in and around historic structures and districts.
DE&I Study. Communities and companies focus on how everyone can benefit from economic development success through a study that connect Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the economic development strategies that can not only create high-wage jobs and company creation but do so with a focus on supporting that investment in underserved communities and populations through targeted small business creation and workforce development programs geared towards the unemployed and under-employed.
Distressed Property/Office Reuse Strategy. Driven by work-from-home trends following COVID 19, office buildings across the United States are enjoying punishing vacancy rates that will drive down property values, tax collections and ultimately impacting local government services, and communities and developers are undertaking office reuse strategies to define the real estate and economic challenges, review potential new uses fit for the buildings and market, and craft new economic development incentives needed to spur investment in distressed office properties and build neighborhoods in urban Downtowns and suburban office parks.
Economic Development Incentive Study. Not all corporate site location projects need to max out on economic development incentives, but communities, developers and companies need to conduct an economic development incentive study to define what is the standard economic development incentive and related compensation agreements for like projects, how a community compares to like communities through a benchmarking exercise, and how economic development incentives can be updated to better address growing, targeted industries.
Economic Impact Study. Measuring the direct and indirect economic output based on key economic inputs such as capital investment and payroll retained and created by economic development or corporate site location projects is accomplished through the creation of an economic impact study often using the IMPLAN software, and this study is important to justify public economic development investments to illustrates a strong Return on Investments for the use of public resources.
EDO Structure Study. How a community does economic development can be the focus of an economic development organization structure study that measures and compares this organizations program offering, staffing levels, revenues, public v. private sector model, economic development incentive and other program offerings, business retention and expansion services and makes recommendations for how the community can retain and attract more capital investment and high-wage jobs based upon improved performance of their economic development organization.
Housing Study. A housing study estimates the need for future residential units in defined geographic market. The purpose of the study is to establish a unified vision for future housing developments in that market and to establish a roadmap to complete this vision. The study focuses on the residential, economic, and demographic status of the market, and uses these findings to provide the highest and best use for the available land within the area.
Industry Cluster Analysis. Industry clusters are regional concentrations of related industries. Clusters are a network of economic relationships that create a competitive advantage for the related firms in a particular region, and this advantage then becomes an enticement for similar industries and suppliers to those industries to develop or relocate to a region. It is a well-established economic development concept that like industries are likely to locate near one another. It is useful to view economies through the lens of clusters rather than specific types of companies, industries, or sectors because clusters capture the important linkages and potential spillovers of technology, skills, and information that cut across firms and industries. Viewing a group of companies and institutions as a cluster highlights opportunities for coordination and mutual improvement. A location quotient is an indicator of the economic concentration of a certain industry in a state, region, county, or city compared to a base economy, such as a state or nation that measures industry clusters in a region. A location quotient greater than 1 indicates the concentration of that industry in the area. A location quotient greater than 1 typically indicates an export-oriented industry. An industry with a location quotient of 1 with a high number of jobs present is likely a big exporter and is bringing economic value to the community feeding the retail trade and food services sectors.
Placemaking Study. Placemaking studies analyze a community’s success at placemaking and, through a strategic planning process, to provide insights on what that community can do to enhance its quality of place through seven critical community characteristics and benchmarks them to like communities to provide a community insight on how they are doing compared to peers. Demographic and economic measures are reviewed to determine how a community is doing at placemaking. These demographic and economic measures consider the growth or decline in crime, the availability of workforce housing compares commute times to national averages as well as vital health statistics such as the average life expectancy of the residents in a region compared to a national average. Education levels of the residents and performance of the public schools are reviewed with higher levels of educational attainment awarded higher point totals. Finally, economic measures such as personal income, small business startups, and overall economic gains are measured.
Regional EDO Strategy. Measuring the performance of economic development organizations is accomplished through a benchmarking exercise that starts with identifying communities that have common economic, demographic and geographic characteristics with the targeted community but are performing at a higher level from an economic standpoint, and then how these communities conduct economic development, what budgets do their economic development organizations operate with, are these organizations public or private sector led, and what tactics do they use to promote high-wage job creation and capital investment.
Site Development Study. A site development study defines when a site job ready—when it is ready for construction need to have a defined contiguous acreage under control by a party ready to sell or develop for a competitive price, needs zoning tied to its highest and best use and due diligence reports on the land completed. Site development studies answer six questions:
- What industry will be attracted to a region based upon a common location of like companies?
- What workers a competitive wage rate within a 45-minute drive time exist to serve that industry?
- What sites are available at a competitive cost that fit that industry’s site needs?
- What zoning changes are needed for those sites?
- What infrastructure, including power, road, water and sewer, is needed for those sites?
- What economic development incentives will make the site cost competitive?
Transportation and Economic Forecasting Study. Transportation and economic development should go hand in hand, but many states and regions suffer from a disconnect between these two critical governmental services. A state and region can undertake a transportation and economic forecasting study that defines the traffic challenges in a region or state, identifies current and future job centers and growing housing markets, reviews existing tools to integrate transportation planning and project funding tied to economic development investment and explores the creation of new tools to finance new transportation infrastructure tied to current and future infrastructure projects.
Utility Economic Development Strategy. Electric and natural gas utilities in regulated or deregulated states grow when their region grows, and these companies drive the retention and creation of energy intensive industries through utility economic development strategies. These studies define the utilities region’s demographic, economic, workforce and industry cluster strengths with an eye towards retaining and attracting companies in energy intensive industries. Finally, this strategy will outline economic development tactics that can be used by the utilities, local communities and states to capture the growth of these energy intensive businesses.
Workforce Study. A workforce development study defines the skilled workforce in a specific geographic area usually within 45 minutes of the region—it is not limited by city or county government jurisdictions but instead defines a workforce labor shed that can serve specific businesses. Workforce development studies will include an industry cluster analysis to define occupational and industry strengths in a region, review of demographic data such as population growth and educational levels of area workers, occupational strengths of the workforce to tell the community and companies what skilled workforce is available and ready for work, and the level of underemployed and unemployed will be reviewed as well to define what workers are missing from the current workforce and are good targets for retraining efforts.
Communities can capture high-wage jobs and capital investment by determining what type of economic development plan can help them guide their future success.
Contact Dave Robinson at [email protected] if you need assistance with an economic development strategic plan.
