Recent Trends in Economic Development

Prepared for Economic Development AcademyAugust 22 2016

Presentation By:

Jim DamicisSenior Vice President

 

Jim Damicis, Senior Vice President – Principal - Camoin Associates• Immediate Past President, Northeastern Economic

Developers Association• IEDC, Economic Development Research Program,

International Economic Development Council & Course Instructor

• Collaborator – Communities of the Future• 25+ Years Experience in Economic and Community

Development

jim@camoinassociates.comwww.camoinassociates.comTwitter: @jdamicisLinkedin:  www.linkedin.com/in/jdamicisBlog:  www.camoinassociates.com/blog/

• Economic Development Strategies• Workforce Development• Market & Feasibility Analysis• Impact Analysis• Evaluation & Benchmarking Indicators• ED Communication & Marketing

What is Economic Development?

Planning, Organizing, and Acting to Support the Economy

Some commonly used end goals: Job stability and creation

Tax base stability and growth

Diversification of economic and tax base

Wealth creation and diversification

Economic Development Operates within a System

•People•Organizations•Networks

Key functions: Interactions, relationships, communications, collaboration

common barriers

focus on personalities & positions

o focus on shared interests & goals instead

lack of motivation for working together for change

being in the “comfort zone”

Economic Developer as a “Point GuardPrimary role is assessing the environment around them and making decisions to create scoring opportunities for others

Key Factors Driving Local & Regional Economic Development

•Workforce, workforce, workforce!• Quality of place – amenities, infrastructure, housing,

recreation and culture, etc.• Regional collaboration and holistic approach to economic

development• Customer service driven – permitting and approval

processes, transparency, accountability• Networks• Complex Systems requiring adaptability rather than

predictability

Economic Development Tools & Techniques Business Retention and Expansion Business Attraction Global Trade and foreign investment Workforce development Business technical assistance Innovation and entrepreneurial support Quality of place/place-based development

As well as supporting the economic development effort through:

Planning Organizing Implementation Resource Development

Ingredients for a successful economic development project/program:

Also:• Organizational• Technical• Leadership

Factors for Economic Development Implementation Success

Trust – internally and externally

Process and procedures – help build trust

Leadership qualities – within the organization as well as among the board and stakeholders; including adaptability and leading in periods of chaos or uncertainty

Communications and Engagement – among the board, committees, and among the many stakeholders and networks; open and active communications amongst the partners

Factors for Economic Development Implementation Success – Con’t

Building capacity - for functioning within a system composed of many networks, partnerships, alliances, and initiatives

Adaptability - Ability and respond and adapt to changes in the external environment

Building capacity and resources for business intelligence, working smarter – data, research, digital technologies and information resources

Incorporating new funding models – reducing reliance on government entities

On-going assessment and evaluation - for continual improvement and effective/efficient use of funding

Economic Trends

•Changing nature of manufacturing – advanced and artisan• Intersection/blending of sectors - NAICS codes no

longer make sense making traditional “targeting” difficult•Health, personal and businesses services continue

on the rise•Amazon effect – changing retail and logistics•Globalization - Global supply chains

Technology Trends•Gigabit demand –delivering a gig of speed is the

new goal. Demand being driven by: • Mobile consumerism, governance, etc…• Cloud based services• Big data• 3-D printing and related manufacturing technologies• User content provision – uploading data, videos, audio, etc…• Tele-health• Entrepreneurs and small businesses

•Demand for redundancy, reliability, and choice/competition• Internet of things, artificial intelligence

Workforce Trends

•Growth of the independent workers•Workforce is regional/not local•Diversity – immigration – movement from problem

to be dealt with to economic opportunity•No one answer - all of these are important:

• Service jobs • Middle skills jobs• High tech• Technical and soft skills

• Lifelong blended learning – traditional as well as non-tradition higher education – task economy

Placed Based Economic Development

•Geography still maters: access to workers/talent, access to market, housing, transportation and logistics, and digital infrastructure & culture•High quality, diverse amenities - attract and retain

workforce•Buy local, regional sourcing, local and regional

branding•Sustainability and resiliency

Financing Trends•Continued pressure on state and local budgets

means less public funds to support economic development•Growing public skepticism of tax credits and

incentives•Greater demand for transparency and on-demand

information/communications•Growth of crowdfunding (also tied to

crowdsourcing)•Growth in private funding and continuation of

public/private partnerships

Lessons from the Field

Don’t bite off more than you can chew! Break large projects into smaller digestible components based on your organization’s and partners’ capacity to implement

Get comfortable making collective decisions without perfect information and predictable outcomes

Give collaboration and engagement within region, diverse stakeholders, and the public more than lip service – design and implement together

Market externally AND Internally Understand what you can have impact over – i.e. at local level

you can impact land-use, zoning, permitting, customer service

Questions/Comments/Discussion?

Northeastern Economic Developers Association - NEDA

NEDA’s vision:• Advocacy• Networking• Professional Development• Thought Leadership

Annual Conference: Transportation At The Crossroads - The Economic Developer's Road MapNew Haven, CT | September 11-13

www.nedaonline.org