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

Economic Data Outreach Workshops
U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Start Date: Oct 2004 — End Date: Dec 2006

Council for Community & Economic Research (C2ER) staff provided assistance to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) staff in gaining national input from economic development data users about BEA data products. The outreach sessions were scheduled for Baltimore, Mobile, Ala., Dallas, and Denver. They provided an opportunity for data users to review BEA activities, examine […]

Vision Plan for North Carolina’s Eastern Region
NCEast Alliance
Start Date: Jan 2005 — End Date: Oct 2006

The Council for Community & Economic Research (C2ER) and the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) assisted North Carolina’s Eastern Region Commission, today known as NCEast Alliance, in developing a strategic vision for the future. The organizations worked with more than 70 area representatives on the plan; and C2ER and CREC also conducted a regional cluster analysis that included an exploration of sub-regional cluster opportunities. […]

A Finance Roadmap for Moving Arizona Forward: Financing Needs and Resources
Arizona Commerce Authority
Start Date: Oct 2005 — End Date: Oct 2006

The Council for Community & Economic Research (C2ER) and the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) staff in collaboration with the Council of Development Finance Agencies (CDFA) and Practical Solutions conducted a study of economic development finance needs and options to help Arizona implement its 10-year economic strategy. In developing findings and conclusions for this report, the […]

Harnessing the Arizona Sun: A Solar Energy Industry Cluster Study
Arizona Commerce Authority
Start Date: Mar 2005 — End Date: Dec 2005

The Council for Community & Economic Research (C2ER) and the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) conducted a study of the Arizona’s solar energy industries to identify workforce development challenges. In conducting the analysis, the Center identified 170 firms directly involved in the solar cluster. Based on interviews and surveys of the firms, C2ER identified a series […]

El Paso Cluster Study
Upper Rio Grande Workforce Development Board
Start Date: Jan 2005 — End Date: Oct 2005

The Council for Community & Economic Research (C2ER) and the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness (CREC) collaborated with the Institute for Planning and Economic Development at the University of Texas El Paso to identify critical industry clusters in a six-county region of Texas’ western panhandle. An element of the study involved facilitating working group sessions of key stakeholders […]