Economic Development Toolbox

Welcome to an online series devoted to economic development strategies and methods that APA will be releasing every month. Each part of the series will serve as a practical guide for community leaders planning for economic development. This series was developed through a partnership with the U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA). As part of this joint effort, APA is releasing critical and timely economic development tools and techniques as well as highlighting important discussions among leaders and practitioners through a variety of outlets including an e-newsletter, quarterly publication, and several broadcasts over the next year. For full access to and more information about this partnership and the resources described, please click here.

Summer Planner Spotlight

Springfield, Missouri's C-Street Historic District Revitalization Springfield, Missouri is a city with promising economic development potential.  From its days as a passenger and freight depot, community residents and stakeholders are boosting this Midwestern city to new heights, recognizing the value in redeveloping community assets.  Olivia Hough, Springfield’s Brownfields coordinator, looks at the revitalization of the city’s Commercial Street (C-Street) corridor. Click here to read her story.

Spring 2008 Feature
Planning for Greensboro's Regional Success in the Worldwide Marketplace

APA and EDA Launch Online Series

In partnership with APA, the Economic Development Administration is producing a series of broadcasts called Economic Development Today.

JUST ANNOUCNED
C2C: From Clusters to Competitiveness
Propelling Regional Strategies for Success in the Worldwide Marketplace

This FREE September 10, 2008 broadcast will discuss an overview of regional industry clusters and their role in economic development; highlight regional industry cluster success stories; and offer a glimpse into the future of cluster development both nationally and globally. Regional industry clusters, an innovative economic development strategy, are designed to stimulate job growth and ensure future economic prosperity. Viewers will also have an opportunity to call or e-mail questions.

Hosted By: Benjamin Erulkar, U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Economic Development

Panelists include:

• Karen G. Mills, President, MMP Group
• Michael Porter, Professor, Harvard University
• Dr. Örjan Sölvell Professor, Stockholm School of Economics, Center for Strategy and Competitiveness
• Deborah L. Wince–Smith, President, Council on Competitiveness

Sign up for the September 10, 2008 EDA Webcast Now!- 2:30 p.m. EST

To Register visit: http://edabroadcast.haverstick.biz

Registrants will receive login information as well as information on how to participate (email or call-in) in the show.

AICP Members:

This telecast is Part Three of a multipart series that AICP members may obtain a total of 2 CM credits for viewing the two (2) 30-minute broadcasts and the one (1) one-hour broadcast, along with the adjoining curriculum.

To view the Part One of the broadcast series, On Connecting Regional Economies with the Worldwide Marketplace, visit www.eda.gov/NewsEvents/WebCastsVideos.xml

AICP Members: You must view both 30-minute broadcasts and the adjoining curriculum to receive 1 CM credit. 

To fulfill the CM requirement, please read the Economic Development Tools-of-the-Trade supplemental materials by accessing the following PowerPoint or PDF and Attachment.

Then type the words "Economic Development Today" in the search field to report this credit into your CM log.

Newsletters

August 2008

July 2008

June 2008

May 2008

April 2008

March 2008

February 2008

Planning and Economic Development

Many of the strategies and methods discussed in this series can be found in more detail from two of APA's Planning Advisory Service (PAS) Reports: An Economic Development Toolbox: Strategies and Methods (PAS 541) and Community Indicators (PAS 517). To find these two reports and additional materials on planning and economic development issues, please click here.

Part One: First Steps
Part Two: Quality Of Life
Part Three: Selecting Strategies
Part Four: Strategies For Economic Development
Part Five: Visioning Economic Development
Part Six: Principles For Sustained Economic Development
Part Seven: Economic Development Indicators I

Part One: First Steps

A standard planning process starts with goals (values, principles, a vision) and then looks at actions (strategies, policies, investments, initiatives) that seem to increase the odds of achieving that vision and do so in an affordable and cost-effective way. An economic vision is the formal expression of what the local government and its citizens want to be at some point in the future. Visioning processes frequently use public or town meetings, focus groups, questionnaires, newsletters, and computers to engage citizens in identifying problems and opportunities facing their community, and to depict a formal expression of what citizens want their community to be.

Case Study: Washington County, Utah's "Core Values"

These "core values" arise from the vision statement in Washington County's 2003 strategic plan for economic development.

Expanding diversified economy with increasing wages: We encourage a diverse mix of growth from both existing value-added businesses as well as those we recruit that will provide high-quality career opportunities for our citizens and their children, and that will increase wages and income, enabling our citizens to improve their standard of living.

Advanced quality of education: We value quality education for our youth and life-long learners, which includes the technical advanced skill courses necessary for our workforce and employers. We seek to deliver this education through neighborhood schools, Dixie Applied Technology Center, and increasing four-year offerings at Dixie State College.

Essential services and infrastructure: We are committed to ensuring the availability of services that are essential to sustain our growth and business development. This includes, but is not limited to, improving airport services, enhancing traffic flow, increasing telecommunications capability, and maintaining adequate supplies of water, sewer, electrical power, and natural gas.

Cooperation among communities and the region: We value a spirit of cooperation and coordination between all cities within the county, region, and state to resolve issues of common concern, and recognize the need to work together to promote the economic development of the region.

Maintain quality of life: Any economic development must maintain our traditional quality of life, which consists of quiet neighborhoods, supports and cultivates the arts and culture, and encourages affordable housing, especially for young families.

Stewardship of our natural beauty and preservation of open space: All economic development must be consistent with the stewardship we have over the natural scenic beauty that is an inherent part of our environment and natural surroundings. In doing so, we seek only those economic business opportunities that will enhance our natural environment and preserve the quality of our air and water. We maintain the amount of county land under private ownership by balancing public and private land development with the active preservation of targeted lands for open space.

"Quality of life" is a term used to describe various, sometimes intangible factors that make a community attractive to live. A quality-of-life strategy assumes government of some type of public/private partnership is able to have a significant influence on these factors and improve them over time. In theory new businesses will be attracted to communities with the most appropriate combination of factors, and existing businesses will expand for the same reason. People also use quality of life indicators to measure neighborhood and community desirability.

ALPHABETICAL LIST OF QULAITY-OF-LIFE ATTRACTION FACTORS

Part Three: Selecting Strategies

The process for selecting strategies and particular actions for economic development planning is not always a straightforward one and indeed can sometimes present uncertainty. Clearly, it should relate to the evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the area economy and the organizational capacity of the local government and potential partners. Here are some questions that local officials should ask themselves when deciding and detailing different courses of action:

• What are the direct costs of the strategy?
• How is the strategy to be funded?
• How stable or accessible is the funding?
• Who is to implement the strategy?
• What are the benefits? Can those benefits be quantified?
• How long will it take?
• Has it been tried before, either in our community or in others? If so, what were the outcomes?
• What are the legal implications of the strategy? Does the local government actually have the authority to carry out the strategy, or will it need to rely on other public or private partners to implement it?
• What is the anticipated outcome?
• Do the strategies need to be implemented in any particular order?
• Which strategies are central to the success of the whole plan? To other strategies?
• Which strategies are time-sensitive (e.g., those that depend on a funding source with a cut-off date?
• What strategies can be implemented quickly in order to demonstrate tangible results and build momentum?
• What strategies are mutually exclusive, duplicative, or negating?
• What strategies clearly have lower priorities? (WEDI 2003, 20)

Part Four: Strategies For Economic Development

There are several different ways to categorize economic development strategies. The following tables are illustrative, not comprehensive.

DIRECT ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES

1.) Direct Business Assistance

2.) Direct Business Program Policies
SOURCE: ECONorthwest

INDIRECT BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT STRATEGIES

1.) Indirect Business Assistance

2.) Indirect Business Program and Policies

SOURCE: ECONorthwest

Part Five: Visioning Economic Development

A visioning process yields the statement of what the local government hopes to become. Technical analyses components including setting a context for the vision process by putting some realistic boundaries for the vision statement; and determining which actions will most effectively move a jurisdiction toward its vision help create the economic development strategy.

EXAMPLE OF TRANSLATING VISIONS TO ACTIONS

SOURCE: ECONorthwest, Clackamas County Economic Development Strategy

Part Six: Principles For Sustained Economic Development

In 1996, an international group of practitioners and researchers, concerned with measuring and assessing progress towards sustainable development, convened in Bellagio, Italy. From this meeting, overseen by the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), located in Winnipeg, Manitoba, came the Bellagio Principles for Assessment.  These principles have exerted significant influence on subsequent sustainable development activities, policies, and study. The 10 Bellagio principles are:

1. Guiding Vision and Goals: develop a clear vision of sustainable development and goals to define that vision
2. Holistic Perspective: consider the well-being of social, ecological, and economic subsystems in monetary and non-monetary terms
3. Essential Elements: consider equity and disparity issues, ecological conditions, economic development, and other non-market activities contributing to human and social well-being
4. Adequate Scope: adopt a time horizon long enough to capture both human and ecological time scales; build on historic and current conditions to anticipate future conditions
5. Practical Focus: generate explicit set of categories or organizing framework to link vision and goals to indicators and assessment criteria
6. Openness: make methods and data accessible to all; make explicit all judgments and assumptions in data and interpretations
7. Effective Communication: design to address needs of users; draw from indicators and other tools to engage decision makers
8. Broad Participation: provide for inclusive representation and participation
9. Ongoing Assessment: ensure capacity for repeated measurement; adjust goals and framework as new insights gained
10. Institutional Capacity: clearly assign responsibilities; support development of local assessment capacity (adapted from Hardi and Zdan 1997, 2-4)

Part Seven: Economic Development Indicators (One of Three)

While specific indicators will vary depending on a community's needs and desires, there are several common criteria.

CRITERIA FOR SELECTING SUCCESSFUL INDICATORS

1. Validity: well grounded in sound data and accurately depicts a real situation
2. Relevance: appropriate for an important to the community's important issues
3. Consistency and reliability: data can be researched reliably over a period of time
4. Measurability: data can be obtained for the community
5. Clarity: unambiguous; understandable by a diverse group of people
6. Comprehensiveness: represent many parts of an issue and reduces the need for an excessive number of indicators
7. Cost-effectiveness: data collection is not overly expensive
8. Attractiveness to the media: the press is likely to embrace it

A SUCCESSFUL INDICATOR SHOULD ALSO…

• Be appropriate to its political, institutional, jurisdictional, or other contexts;
• Be meaningful and useful to stakeholders;
• Use affordable, relevant, and accessible data sources;
• Clearly state and accurately reflect its intent;
• Result from close collaboration with stakeholders during selection, application, and review processes; and
• Connect and be consistent with well-articulated vision statements and goals (Seasons 2001, 9)