Category: Workforce Development & Human Capital
Lessons for CED from Europe: Inclusive Communities and a New City-Run Food Pantry
The photo was eerily familiar to anyone interested in CED. The headline from the New York Times article on September 20, just days before the German national election, read, “Merkel Says Germans ‘Never Had It Better.’ But Many Feel Left Behind.” The accompanying photo by Gordon Welters, shown here … Read more
Vending Machines or Barn Raising: The Role of Local Government in Community Building
I recently was asked to speak to a joint meeting of town councils of four communities in Eastern North Carolina. The subject they asked me to speak about was community engagement. What I ended up spending most of my time talking about were two frames for thinking about the role of local government i … Read more
Leading development projects through text messages and skype?
In the community and economic development field, regional and statewide organizations are commonplace. In North Carolina, the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina is a statewide economic development agency with regional industry representatives in all corners of the state. The North Ca … Read more
New Resource on the Role of Local Elected Officials in Economic Development
The National League of Cities (NLC) recently released a guide to help local elected leaders better understand economic development and their role in the process. Produced in partnership with the International Economic Development Council (IEDC), What You Should Know 2.0: Elected Leaders and Economi … Read more
Student Corner: North Carolina Education and Workforce Development Part II: The North Carolina Community College System
The first post in this CED blog series on education and workforce development in North Carolina elaborated on Work Ready Communities. Part II examines opportunities for workforce development within the North Carolina Community College System. Improving pathways to higher education is a key component … Read more
Student Corner: North Carolina Education and Workforce Development: Work Ready Communities
A powerful common denominator between economic development and human capital development is education. Communities with well-regarded schools incentivize businesses to be recruited to an area to make use of local talent. It is a cycle in which the economic vitality of an area is contingent upon the … Read more
Understanding the Tools Available for CED Professionals: How Far Do NC Local Governments Go in Social Media Presence?
This past Friday, at the Southeastern Conference for Public Administration 2016 Annual Conference in Raleigh, second year UNC MPA graduate student Sabrina Willard accepted the Robert Klein Award for her paper on the presence of social media in North Carolina jurisdictions. The results of her paper r … Read more
Equity and Economic Development: What’s the Connection?
There is a renewed interest among many public officials in figuring out how to address intractable economic inequities that continue to exist in the U.S. In response, the UNC School of Government’s Public Executive Leadership Academy (PELA) now includes a session on equitable growth and developmen … Read more
Student Corner: Statistics on Your Corner: Using Data Better in CED
In previous posts the CED blog explored the many publicly available sources for local data that can inform municipal staff, real estate professionals, and policy makers. But how can local governments make use this data, and how can they know that the conclusions reached are valid? Often municipal go … Read more
Coordinating Staff Efforts for Development: Mixed Expectations and Missed Opportunities
You are excited about a new grant possibility for the city to help with a business incubator initiative on which you have been working. You realize that you need to start getting the application together because you are certain that this grant will soon become a city priority. You and a colleague, … Read more