Day 3: October 13, 2021

9:00 – 10:15 am Analysis for ED Strategic Planning
The next two sessions cover how to both qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate your area of jurisdiction. This session will introduce methods with which to do an economic base analysis. Input-output analysis and cluster analysis will also be discussed briefly. Once attendees have discussed the types of data to collect and the types of analysis that are applicable, how are the data used, interpreted and applied to the future needs of the community? The planning process will be influenced by the type of data that is collected and the conclusions made from that data.
10:15 – 10:30 am Techniques for Assessing Economic Data
The strategic planning process requires a great deal of analysis to understand the forces at work in the community. This session will discuss how to gather information on the local community, including an economic assessment and an analysis of real and perceived strengths and weaknesses.
12:00 – 1:30 pm Lunch
1:30 – 2:30 pm Strategic Project/Initiative Identification and Implementation
One key element to consider when creating an action plan is how to prioritize the projects that will help achieve the plan’s goals. The process for prioritizing includes determining from where resources are coming and the benefits and outcomes for each project. This critical phase of the planning process identifies the major initiatives and programs that the overall plan will address. What is realistic given the community’s constraints? What resources will be tapped for each project? How does the community decide which projects are realistic and feasible given the current situation, potential future situation and the given resources?Additionally, economic development practitioners must build support for the programs and projects to be implemented. During the implementation stage, a number of political and competition issues may arise. The practitioner must address these issues in advance with by developing an implementation plan.
2:45 – 3:45 pm Evaluations/Monitoring/Benchmarking
Although listed as the final step to the planning process, the choice of benchmarks and ways in which to monitor the progress in the plan need to be considered throughout the process. At this stage, specific measurements must not only be set in place, but a process with which to measure those measurements must be solidified. This includes tapping into other resources and leveraging information that is already available in the locality. This session will also look at how annual reports can be used as a tool to communicate progress toward plan goals.
3:45 – 4:30 pm Dashboard Indicators Discussion
Dashboard Indicators are relatively new economic development tools that gauge the overall performance of a local or regional economy. This session will introduce course participants to Dashboard Indicators and discuss what specific metrics can be collected to gauge the community’s economic development performance
4:30 – 4:45 pm Wrap-up/Evaluation/Certificates