Helping Communities Shine

Whether researching and implementing ways to shape a community's economic development plan or partnering to create ways to put people to work, CREC connects researchers and policymakers with:

• Data training
• Custom portfolios that aid regional competitiveness

What We Do

Analyze Your Clusters and Talent
We assist policymakers assess their region’s industries and understand their workforce so that the next level of improvements can be made.
Plan Your Economic Future
Working with public and private sector leaders, we identify and evaluate economic and workforce challenges and find solutions.
Leadership Development
Regional leaders are trained on topics such as impact analysis and GIS instruction. Custom data trainings help meet municipal needs.
Manage Your Professional Networks
We provide a quantitative analysis approach to management support to professional agencies that focuses on community and economic development.
Technical Assistance
Our technical assistance aids policymakers and workforce development staff to better implement innovation and job-creation strategies.

Project Catalogue

National Association of Development Organizations (NADO), EDD COP
National Association of Development Organizations (NADO)
Start Date: Jan 2023 — End Date: Apr 2027

CREC is partnering with the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO), University Economic Development Association (UEDA), National Association of Regional Councils (NARC), and First Nations Development Institute on a five-year effort to build and nurture the Economic Development District Community of Practice (EDD CoP). Led by NADO, with support from the U.S. Economic Development Administration […]

Gates Foundation Project — 2.0
Gates Foundation
Start Date: Aug 2024 — End Date: Jul 2026

CREC will be working to increase the capabilities of data users and data providers to inform education and training investments that strengthen regional economies. CREC will work to create a pipeline of organizations – including economic development organizations, community colleges, and workforce boards – to improve their regional data systems by providing learning and assessment […]

Reimagining the EDA University Center Program
U.S. Economic Development Administration
Start Date: Jan 2024 — End Date: Dec 2025

With EDA support, CREC, Virginia Tech University, and the University Economic Development Association (UEDA) are studying how the 70-plus EDA-designated University Centers (UCs) organize, operate, and implement their economic development programs.

Credential Engine – Counting U.S. Secondary and Postsecondary Credentials
Credential Engine
Start Date: Oct 2024 — End Date: Dec 2025

CREC is working to generate a national count of unique credentials available for American workers. The count provides the number of credentials by type and by state. CREC is conducting research on certain credential segments to better understand patterns of credentialing in certain key industries. CREC is providing a national report on the status of […]

ARC Outdoor Recreation and Tourism
SE Group
Start Date: Oct 2024 — End Date: Dec 2025

CREC is partnering with SE Group and the Virginia Tech Center for Economic and Community Engagement to deliver a comprehensive evaluation of the Appalachian Regional Commission’s outdoor recreation and tourism grant portfolio. The research effort will feature a mixed methods evaluation. Qualitative grantee and beneficiary interviews serve to identify exploratory items, leading to a quantitative […]

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