Low wage workers are core to the U.S. economy and often serve in vital front-line occupations related to childcare, food service, retail, personal services, transportation, and agriculture. Women and people of color, especially Black and Hispanic residents, comprise a large portion of the low-wage w … Read more

It is not unusual for North Carolina CED professionals to constantly assess elements critical for local economic growth and community enrichment: public-private partnerships, social capital relationships, placemaking, infrastructure needs and available affordable housing are just a few. This week, a … Read more

We are awash in data on CED issues from annexation to zoning. What NC CED professionals need, however, is valid data based in reliable research, appropriate for their current questions, and relevant and applicable to North Carolina. This post outlines how NC CED practitioners can access this kind of … Read more

State law requires North Carolina counties to administer and provide a number of social services and public assistance programs described in Chapter 108A of the North Carolina General Statutes, including (among others) Work First, Food and Nutrition Services, Medicaid, child protective services, ado … Read more

To attract, retain and expand businesses in today’s tight labor market, economic development organizations (EDOs) are becoming more involved than ever in partnerships to help meet employers’ talent pipeline and training needs. What do those partnerships look like? Effective Economic Development Role … Read more

CED officials prioritize good service. But are they undercutting their own efforts, increasing service availability on one hand but making it difficult to actively use the services on the other? A number of recent national reports, commentaries and even teaching case studies have raised the issue of … Read more

Labor shortages are not new to the construction industry, but the pandemic has added fuel to an already urgent issue. With an aging workforce vulnerable to economic shocks, the construction industry has seen sharp rises and falls in the last 20 years, increasing safety and quality concerns. Since 20 … Read more

It is often hard to make sense of monthly statistics on job growth. Year-over-year changes are dramatically impacted by COVID-19.  With COVID cases rising again, the impact of COVID on tracking job growth or loss, industries affected, and predictions for the future is likely to continue. Fortunately … Read more

In courses like the School’s Community Development Academy, community development professionals are taught to celebrate small victories. Perhaps the victory involves a strong volunteer turnout for a neighborhood cleanup day; or perhaps an owner agreed to remove an unsightly vehicle from view of the … Read more

Last May, the following message went out over the Food Policy Network’s (FPN) listserv. “We are working to put together a process for network mapping one of our local food policy councils’ COVID response efforts. (The) purposes are to document the networks that were developed and the associated outc … Read more