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

Project Catalogue

Future Forward Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy Implementation
Future Forward Workforce Alliance of Western North Carolina
Start Date: Oct 2004 — End Date: Oct 2009

The Council for Community & Economic Research (C2ER) and the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) was engaged by the Future Forward Economic Alliance Board on a multi-year assignment to help in implementing key elements of the strategic plan. The work under this project included: an industry growth analysis; a brownfields survey; developable site identification, and facilitation […]

Conducting an assessment of Statewide Comprehensive Economic Development Evaluation
Maine Department of Economic and Community Development
Start Date: Jan 2008 — End Date: Oct 2009

Working in partnership with EntreWorks, the RUPRI Center for Rural Entrepreneurship, and PolicyOne Research, the Council for Community & Economic Research (C2ER) and the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) provided analytic support for the state’s on-going comprehensive economic development evaluation. The research project focused on examining a wide array of Maine’s policies and programs in economic […]

Outreach to State Policymakers
National Institute of Standards & Technology – Manufacturing Extension Partnership
Start Date: Feb 2008 — End Date: Oct 2009

The Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness collaborated with the State Science & Technology Institute (SSTI) to facilitate a series of focus group sessions with key state policy leaders. The focus groups provided an opportunity for NIST officials to provide an overview of their program priorities and to gain critical insights from state technology officials about how those […]

Developing A Workforce Strategy for the Cedar Valley Region
Cedar Valley Regional Partnership
Start Date: Jan 2008 — End Date: Mar 2009

In partnership with the Institute for Decision Making at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, C2ER/CREC helped to facilitate a workforce strategy designed to bring together partners from the economic development, workforce development, higher education, and K-12 systems. Key partners involved in the process included the Cedar Valley Regional [Economic Development] Alliance, the […]

Siouxland Tri-State Regional Innovation Project
Western Iowa Tech Community College
Start Date: Jan 2009 — End Date: Jan 2009

CREC, in collaboration with the Institute for Decision Making, Iowa Workforce Development and Network Weavers, worked to develop a strategic regional workforce plan for an 11 county, tri-state region around Sioux City, Iowa. This work was funded by a Regional Innovation Grant from the US Department of Labor. The project sought to craft a unique […]